5 articles
Oil and gas companies and others who handle methane will face new requirements if the state adopts a rule proposed by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The proposal builds on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for methane super-emitter events and for process controllers but goes further. While the proposal primarily targets the oil […]
The EPA is reportedly taking another look at redesignating the Permian Basin in both Texas and New Mexico as an ozone nonattainment area. The first impact of an ozone redesignation would be to restrict air permits for constructing or modifying stationary sources of air emissions, including oil and gas facilities, by lowering the “major source” emissions rate threshold. The lower…
When it comes to operating on federal lands, timing and know-how are everything. To develop federal oil and gas leases, operators need to conduct extensive due diligence to avoid permitting delays and to identify and mitigate potential litigation risks. This is particularly important for current areas of renewed focus for developing natural gas resources (e.g., Colorado, Utah, and northern New…
Federal Action: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a discretionary redesignation of certain Permian Basin counties in southeast New Mexico and West Texas as ozone nonattainment areas under the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA has not yet formally initiated this process. Importance: An ozone nonattainment redesignation would immediately increase the time and expense of obtaining…
On June 30, 2022, in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Supreme Court ended EPA’s “Clean Power Plan,” an on-again off-again power plant greenhouse gas rule that had been volleyed between the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, and was the subject of prior court decisions. For the first time, the Supreme Court explicitly limited the power of…