Governor Tom Wolf introduced a new effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, specifically methane.
“Governor Tom Wolf today announced a nation-leading strategy to reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, and has been implicated in health risks,” the Governor’s Press Secretary Jeffrey Sheridan wrote. “The plan is designed to protect the environment and public health, reduce climate change, and help businesses reduce the waste of a valuable product by reducing methane leaks and emissions from natural gas well sites, processing facilities, compressor stations and along pipelines”
“Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the nation behind Texas,” said Governor Wolf. “We are uniquely positioned to be a national leader in addressing climate change while supporting and ensuring responsible energy development, creating new jobs, and protecting public health and our environment. These are commonsense steps that Pennsylvania can take to protect our air and reduce waste for industry. The best companies understand the business case for reducing methane leaks, as what doesn’t leak into the atmosphere can be used for energy production.”
Current estimates are that almost 115,000 tons of methane were released into the air in 2014 as a result of unconventional wells throughout the commonwealth.
“As the basis for our methane strategy, we’ve identified measures that the best companies in the industry are already employing, or that are required by the Federal government, or other states. These measures will pay for themselves in recovering saleable product that is otherwise lost,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley.
The Governor’s four-point plan is presented below:
1. To reduce leaks at new unconventional natural gas well pads, DEP will develop a new general permit for oil and gas exploration, development, and production facilities, requiring Best Available Technology (BAT) for equipment and processes, better record-keeping, and quarterly monitoring inspections.
2. To reduce leaks at new compressor stations and processing facilities, DEP will revise its current general permit, updating best-available technology requirements and applying more stringent LDAR, other requirements to minimize leaks. A new condition will require the use of Tier 4 diesel engines that reduce emissions of particulate matter and nitrous oxide by about 90%.
3. To reduce leaks at existing oil and natural gas facilities, DEP will develop a regulation for existing sources for consideration by the Environmental Quality Board.
4. To reduce emissions along production, gathering, transmission and distribution lines, DEP will establish best management practices, including leak detection and repair programs.
Loading ...
4 Responses
For millions of years methane and other gases at very high pressure below the earths crust have been diffusing through the rock and soil and into our atmosphere. That is why even before gas drilling took place, there is methane and other gases present in ground and well water. Some areas more than others. Now and for the past 50 years we have the technology to drill into the earth deep enough to safely capture and use that gas in beneficial ways. This process reduces the pressure of the gas below the surface of the Earth. Therefore, less gas will diffuse through the soil toward our atmosphere. A benefit that I thought those of you that are worried about drilling would have realized by now! So tell me how it is that by safely transferring the gas to the surface and reducing the pressure underground is a bad thing? Keep in mind that the gas that is currently underground will diffuse out anyway. Do you want it happening in a controlled beneficial way or do you want it to continue to diffuse into the atmosphere so you can continue to complain about global warming!
Neez: Sounds like a good plan. Move the methane pollution to GOP states AND all while collecting some tax money from the remaining drillers.
Wolf’s actual strategy to reducing methane emissions from pennsylvania is to invoke a high extraction tax which in total will make PA one of the highest cost to drill states in the union. Therefore effectively move drillers out of state into lower cost to drill areas effectively reducing methane emissions from PA. It’s a sound plan.
How about actually doing extensive testing of the leaking wells and shutting them down and fining them?
“These measures will pay for themselves in recovering saleable product that is otherwise lost”
Bullsh*t ! If the leak/emission reduction equipment and maintenance was cheaper than the lost gas, you couldn’t stop the industry from implementing it. You have to make implementation cheaper alternative to heavy fines and shutting them down.
They get away with the leaks, because they are invisible. If the leaks were bright yellow plumes, they couldn’t pretend they weren’t there.