Dec 23, 2018 3 min read

The oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania produces the second most natural gas in the nation, behind only Texas. Yet, an estimate earlier this year by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) found that we’re wasting more than 520,000 tons of methane a year – about $68 million worth of wasted energy resources – mostly due to old, outdated equipment. More concerning is that the group found that figure is far higher than what the industry reports to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

Gov. Tom Wolf has rightfully taken action to reduce that unnecessary waste of methane – the primary component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas contributing to climate change – by establishing permits that will put a threshold on methane emissions. In addition, the federal government has in place right now methane standards for new and modified sources in the oil and gas industry.

It should be a simple thing to say that methane leaks are a real problem. They don’t just unnecessarily waste a finite resource, but they also release with them volatile organic compounds that impact workers and communities – like benzene, a known carcinogen. In Washington County, oil and gas operations released an estimated 9,400 tons of volatile organic compounds in 2015, the most in the state by a wide margin, according to EDF. However, the standards currently in place at the federal level are under attack right now by the leadership at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA’s rollback would change how often leak detection and repair would be conducted. Companies would be allowed a year, and sometimes up to two years, between inspections, instead of the current six-month requirement. When they do find a leak, they currently have 30 days to fix it. The EPA’s proposal would double that. And, they’d also change how often gas trapping and compressing equipment needs to be inspected.

The EPA’s effort to roll back the standards would have serious repercussions for not only our environment and the health of workers and those around them, but also our economy. That’s because preventing methane leaks creates jobs. People have to design, manufacture, install, and maintain the cost-effective technology to stop leaks and flares. The BlueGreen Alliance estimates that nearly 5,400 direct and indirect jobs in the United States will be created each year in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing. With full and continuing adoption of leak reducing technologies and practices at new and modified oil and gas facilities, this would suggest creation of over 50,000 jobs across the country over the first decade of full implementation of methane standards. As the second largest producer of natural gas, Pennsylvania is poised to seize the opportunity to get many of those jobs.

Wolf has taken a stand to fight against methane leaks and for good jobs and a cleaner, healthier environment for workers and communities at the state level. The EPA is heading in the opposite direction and they could decide to let companies ignore the state standard in favor of their rollback. They should withdraw their ill-conceived proposal to weaken the current, effective standards we have in place at the federal level.

Khari Mosley is the Regional Program Manager for the BlueGreen Alliance in Pennsylvania.