On January 22,
2016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed new regulations to “reduce waste of natural gas from venting, flaring,
and leaking during oil and natural gas production activities on onshore Federal
and Indian leases.”
The proposed
regulations have been designed to serve energy and climate policy objectives as
well as the public interest by purporting to reduce the detrimental effects of
methane emissions on federal and tribal lands.
More precisely, BLM
would require the oil and gas industry to use the latest available technologies
and equipment to reduce the amount of venting and flaring during production
operations. It would also require periodic well inspections to prevent
potential and future leakage incidents.
In a press release, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell
declared that it has become necessary to “modernize decades-old standards to
reflect existing technologies so that we can cut down on harmful methane
emissions and use this captured natural gas to generate power and provide a
return to taxpayers, tribes and states for this public resources.”
The public will
have 60 days to submit comments on the proposed regulations once it is
published in the Federal Register.
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
01/26/2016
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