EPA Methane Waste Emissions Charge (Petroleum & Natural Gas Systems)
Current understanding
EPA rule implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s Waste Emissions Charge on methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas systems, including procedures for compliance, netting across facilities, and exemptions. The rule is a target of Congressional Review Act disapproval efforts seeking to nullify it.
Evidence log
- 2025-03-14 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to “Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions”.: 2025 — CRA joint resolution (H.J. Res. 35) enacted, nullifying EPA’s Waste Emissions Charge implementation rule (procedures, netting, and exemptions), which had operationalized the IRA §136 methane fee; nullification removes the regulatory mechanism to assess and collect the annual charge on covered petroleum and natural gas facilities. (novelty: 3)
- 2026-06-03 — Rescission of Climate-Related Disclosure Rules: cross-connection with sec-climate-related-disclosures: Both bear on federal accounting for GHG emissions from regulated entities; rescission of SEC disclosure and CRA rollback of the methane fee together reduce federal-level emissions reporting/pricing obligations on the oil & gas sector. (novelty: 3)
- 2026-06-24 — Royalty for Oil and Gas Lost From Onshore Federal and Indian Leases: cross-connection with blm-lost-oil-gas-royalty: Royalty treatment of vented/flared/leaked gas from federal leases interacts with EPA’s methane waste emissions charge — both influence the economics of methane loss on oil and gas operations. (novelty: 2)