91094 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 2, 98, and 99 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0434; FRL–10246.1– 

03–OAR] 

RIN 2060–AW02 

Waste Emissions Charge for 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: 

Procedures for Facilitating 

Compliance, Including Netting and 

Exemptions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is promulgating a 

regulation to facilitate compliance with 

the requirements of the Waste Emissions 

Charge in the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) 

Methane Emissions Reduction Program 

(MERP). Enacted as part of the Inflation 

Reduction Act (IRA), this program 

requires the EPA to impose and collect 

an annual charge on methane emissions 

that exceed waste emissions thresholds 

specified by Congress. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

January 17, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0434. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the https://www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., confidential business information 

(CBI) or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically in https://

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the EPA Docket Center, WJC West 

Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 

Ave. NW, Washington, DC. This Docket 

Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 

legal holidays. The telephone number 

for the Public Reading Room is (202) 

566–1744 and the telephone number for 

the Air Docket is (202) 566–1742. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Bohman, Climate Change 

Division, Office of Atmospheric 

Protection (MC–6207A), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 

telephone number: (202) 343–9548; 

email address: merp@epa.gov. 

World wide web (WWW). In addition 

to being available in the docket, an 

electronic copy of this final rule will 

also be available through the WWW. 

Following the Administrator’s signature, 

a copy of this final rule will be posted 

on the EPA’s Inflation Reduction Act 

Methane Emissions Reduction Program 

website at https://www.epa.gov/ 

inflation-reduction-act/methaneemissions-reduction-program. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulated entities. This final 

regulation affects certain owners or 

operators of facilities in certain 

segments of the petroleum and natural 

gas systems industry that report more 

than 25,000 metric tons (mt) of carbon 

dioxide equivalent (CO2e) pursuant to 

the requirements codified at 40 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) part 98, 

subpart W (Petroleum and Natural Gas 

Systems) (hereafter referred to as ‘‘part 

98, subpart W’’). Per the requirements of 

CAA section 136(d), the industry 

segments to which the waste emissions 

charge may apply are offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production, 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production, onshore natural gas 

processing, onshore gas transmission 

compression, underground natural gas 

storage, liquefied natural gas storage, 

liquefied natural gas import and export 

equipment, onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting, and 

onshore natural gas transmission 

pipeline. Regulated categories and 

entities include, but are not limited to, 

those listed in Table 1 of this preamble: 

TABLE 1—EXAMPLES OF AFFECTED ENTITIES BY CATEGORY

Category 

North American 

Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) 

Examples of affected facilities 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems ................................. 486210 Pipeline transportation of natural gas. 

221210 Natural gas processing and transmission compression. 

211120 Crude petroleum extraction. 

211130 Natural gas extraction. 

Table 1 of this preamble is not 

intended to be exhaustive, but rather 

provides a guide for readers regarding 

facilities likely to be affected by this 

final rule. This table lists the types of 

facilities that the EPA is now aware 

could potentially be affected by this 

action. Other types of facilities than 

those listed in the table could also be 

subject to requirements. To determine 

whether you would be affected by this 

action, you should carefully examine 

the applicability criteria found in 40 

CFR part 99, subpart A (General 

Provisions) and the applicability criteria 

found in 40 CFR part 98, subpart A 

(General Provisions) and subpart W 

(Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems). If 

you have questions regarding the 

applicability of this action to a 

particular facility, consult the person 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

The EPA must collect charges from 

owners or operators of applicable 

facilities that both: (1) Report more than 

25,000 metric tons (mt) of carbon 

dioxide equivalent (CO2e) of greenhouse 

gases (GHGs) per year pursuant to the 

petroleum and natural gas systems 

source category requirements of the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, and (2) 

exceed methane emissions intensity 

thresholds set forth in CAA section 136 

for different types of applicable 

facilities. This final rule facilitates 

compliance with provisions of the CAA, 

including those related to netting of 

emissions for purposes of determining 

the charge and various exemptions to 

the charge; establishes confidentiality 

determinations for data elements 

included in waste emissions charge 

filings; and establishes filing and 

auditing procedures to facilitate 

compliance with the statutory 

requirements. 

Acronyms and abbreviations. The 

following acronyms and abbreviations 

are used in this document. 

BOEM Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management 

CAA Clean Air Act 

CBI confidential business information 

CEMS continuous emission monitoring 

system 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

CH4 methane 

CO2 carbon dioxide 

CO2e carbon dioxide equivalent 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91095 

1 IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: 

Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. 

Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth 

Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel 

on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, 

A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Pe ́an, S. Berger, N. Caud, 

Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. 

Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, 

T. Waterfield, O. Yelekc ̧i, R. Yu, and B. Zhou 

(eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 

United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3– 

32, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.001. 

e-GGRT electronic Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Tool 

EG emission guidelines 

EIA Energy Information Administration 

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

ET Eastern time 

FR Federal Register 

GHG greenhouse gas 

GHGRP Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program 

GWP Global Warming Potential 

IRA Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 

ICR Information Collection Request 

LDC local distribution company 

LNG liquified natural gas 

mmBtu million British thermal units 

MMscf million standard cubic feet 

mt metric tons 

N2O nitrous oxide 

NAICS North American Industry 

Classification System 

NGLs natural gas liquids 

NSPS new source performance standards 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

PRA Paperwork Reduction Act 

RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act 

RY reporting year 

scfh standard cubic feet per hour 

U.S. United States 

UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

UNFCCC United Nations Framework 

Convention on Climate Change 

VOC volatile organic compound 

WEC waste emissions charge 

WWW World Wide Web 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

A. How is this preamble organized? 

B. Executive Summary 

C. Background and Related Actions 

D. Legal Authority 

II. Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, 

Including Netting and Exemptions 

A. Final Definitions To Support WEC 

Implementation and Associated 

Revisions to Part 98, Subpart A 

B. Common Ownership or Control for 

Netting of Emissions 

C. Waste Emissions Thresholds 

D. Exemptions to the Waste Emissions 

Charge 

III. General Requirements of the Final Rule 

A. WEC Filing Requirements 

B. Remittance and Assessment of WEC 

C. Authorizing the Designated 

Representative 

D. General Recordkeeping Requirements 

E. General Provisions, Including Auditing 

and Compliance and Enforcement 

F. Other Final Minor Revisions or 

Clarifications 

IV. Final Confidentiality Determinations for 

Certain Data Reporting Elements 

A. Overview and Background 

B. Final Confidentiality Determinations for 

New Data Elements 

C. Final Amendments to 40 CFR Part 2 

D. Final Reporting Determinations for 

Inputs to Emission Equations 

E. Changes to Confidentiality 

Determinations for Data Elements 

Reported Under Subpart W 

V. Impacts of the Final Rule 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory 

Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions 

To Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations and Executive Order 14096: 

Revitalizing our Nation’s Commitment to 

Environmental Justice for All 

K. Congressional Review Act 

L. Judicial Review 

M. Determination under CAA Section 

307(d) 

N. Severability 

I. Background 

A. How is this preamble organized? 

This first section (section I) of this 

preamble contains background 

information regarding the final rule. 

This section also discusses the EPA’s 

legal authority under the Clean Air Act 

(CAA) to promulgate implementing 

regulations for aspects of the waste 

emissions charge, codified at 40 CFR 

part 99 (hereafter referred to as ‘‘part 

99’’). Section I of the preamble also 

discusses the EPA’s legal authority to 

make confidentiality determinations for 

new data elements included in waste 

emissions charge filings (WEC filings) 

required by the final rule. Section II. of 

this preamble contains detailed 

information on the provisions in this 

final rule to facilitate implementation of 

CAA section 136(c) through (g), in 

particular the netting and exemption 

provisions. Section II. of this preamble 

also contains information on the 

revisions to 40 CFR part 98, subpart A 

to harmonize part 99 and part 98 

reporting obligations. Section III. of this 

preamble describes the general 

requirements for the final rule, 

including procedures to facilitate filing 

and compliance. Section IV. of this 

preamble discusses the final 

confidentiality determinations for new 

data reporting elements for the proposed 

part 99 and also discusses 

confidentiality determinations for two 

data elements reported under part 98, 

subpart W. Section V. of this preamble 

discusses the impacts of this action. 

Section VI. of this preamble describes 

the statutory and Executive order 

requirements applicable to this final 

action. 

B. Executive Summary 

In August 2022, Congress passed, and 

President Biden signed, the Inflation 

Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) into law. 

Section 60113 of the IRA created the 

Methane Emission Reduction Program 

(MERP) and amended the Clean Air Act 

(CAA) by adding section 136, ‘‘Methane 

Emissions and Waste Reduction 

Incentive Program for Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Systems’’. CAA section 136, 

as designed by Congress, establishes a 

three-part framework to help States, 

industry, and communities reduce 

methane (CH4) emissions from the oil 

and gas sector. It further complemented 

a recently finalized rule under section 

111 of the CAA (that was proposed at 

the time the Inflation Reduction Act was 

passed) to reduce methane emissions 

from new and existing oil and gas 

facilities. Oil and natural gas facilities 

are the nation’s largest industrial source 

of methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) that 

is 28 times more potent than carbon 

dioxide (CO2) and is responsible for 

approximately one third of all warming 

resulting from anthropogenic emissions 

of greenhouse gases.1 The three-part 

framework established by Congress in 

CAA section 136 addresses these 

emissions by: (1) directing the EPA to 

impose and collect a ‘‘Waste Emissions 

Charge’’ (WEC) on methane emissions 

from high-emitting and inefficient oil 

and gas operations; (2) directing the 

EPA to update subpart W of the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to 

ensure accurate reporting of methane 

emissions by oil and natural gas 

facilities that is based on empirical data; 

and (3) providing over $1 billion in 

financial and technical assistance to 

assist the industry, States, and 

communities in deploying methane 

mitigation and monitoring solutions. By 

implementing provisions of the WEC, 

this final rule helps to fulfill one of the 

pillars of this three-part framework. As 

Congress intended, the WEC, including 

the provisions finalized in this final 

rule, will incentivize a variety of nearterm actions to reduce methane 

emissions from oil and natural gas 

operations while the EPA and States 


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91096 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

2 42 U.S.C. 7436(c) (‘‘The Administrator shall 

impose and collect a charge on methane emissions 

that exceed an applicable waste emissions 

threshold under subsection (f) from an owner or 

operator of an applicable facility that reports more 

than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide 

equivalent of greenhouse gases emitted per year 

pursuant to of part 98 of title 40, Code of Federal 

Regulations, regardless of the reporting threshold 

under that subpart.’’). 

3 42 U.S.C. 7436(d). 

4 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(1)–(3). 

5 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(4) (‘‘In calculating the total 

emissions charge obligation for facilities under 

common ownership or control, the Administrator 

shall allow for the netting of emissions by reducing 

the total obligation to account for facility emissions 

levels that are below the applicable thresholds 

within and across all applicable segments identified 

in subsection (d).’’). 

work to implement the EPA’s recently 

finalized CAA section 111 methane 

standards. 

This action is also intended to work 

hand-in-hand with the other two 

elements of the CAA section 136 

framework. Earlier this year, the EPA 

finalized a rule (89 FR 42062, May 14, 

2024) (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘2024 

Subpart W Final Rule’’) that fulfills 

Congress’s directive in CAA section 136 

to improve the reporting of GHG 

emissions under subpart W of the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program and 

ensure that oil and gas facilities’ 

reporting requirements are based on 

empirical data and more accurately 

reflect emissions. Because CAA section 

136 requires that the EPA utilize subpart 

W emissions reports as the basis for 

determining the applicability of the 

WEC and calculating WEC obligations 

for owners and operators of applicable 

facilities, the EPA’s recent revisions to 

subpart W are an important adjunct to 

this final rule that will ensure WEC 

obligations are based on the most 

accurate and comprehensive emissions 

data available. In addition, to 

implement the third part of the CAA 

section 136 framework, the EPA is 

partnering with the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) to provide up to $1.36 

billion in financial and technical 

assistance to a broad range of 

stakeholders to identify, measure, and 

mitigate emissions from the oil and gas 

sector. As described in section I.C.2. of 

this preamble, the EPA and its partners 

are acting expeditiously to award this 

funding through a combination of 

formula and competitive grant 

processes. These funds will accelerate 

the deployment of methane monitoring 

and mitigation technologies that will 

reduce methane emissions from oil and 

natural gas facilities and, potentially, 

help reduce or eliminate WEC 

obligations for certain applicable 

facilities by lowering their emissions 

intensity. 

The WEC final rule requirements in 

this action are designed to meet 

Congress’s directive to provide an 

incentive for the early adoption of 

methane emission reduction practices 

and technologies, including those that 

are required under the Standards of 

Performance for New, Reconstructed, 

and Modified Sources and Emissions 

Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and 

Natural Gas Sector Climate Review 

(NSPS/EG), which Congress expected to 

be promulgated pursuant to CAA 

section 111 at the time it created the 

WEC. CAA section 136 makes this 

connection to the oil and gas methane 

emission standards clear by including 

an exemption from the charge for 

operations that are subject to and in 

compliance with final methane 

emissions requirements promulgated 

pursuant to CAA sections 111(b) and 

(d). The WEC is thus an important piece 

of a comprehensive national strategy 

established by Congress via the IRA to 

reduce methane emissions. The WEC 

advances the reduction of methane 

emissions from the oil and gas sector by 

providing for sources covered under the 

CAA section 111 rules a set of emissions 

reduction incentives that are in effect 

until full implementation of oil and gas 

methane emissions standards 

promulgated by the EPA on March 8, 

2024. Those standards were, as Congress 

specifically acknowledged via explicit 

reference in the IRA, under 

development at the time the WEC was 

enacted. For methane emissions sources 

not covered by the CAA section 111 

rules, the emission reduction incentives 

created by the WEC remain in place 

after full implementation of the CAA 

section 111 methane standards. 

On January 26, 2024, the EPA 

proposed a regulation to facilitate 

implementation of the provisions of the 

WEC, following the requirements of 

CAA section 136(c)–(g) (89 FR 5318). 

The WEC program applies to applicable 

facilities that report more than 25,000 

mt CO2e of greenhouse gases emitted 

per year pursuant to the Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Rule’s requirements for the 

petroleum and natural gas systems 

source category (codified as 40 CFR part 

98, subpart W).2 An applicable facility, 

as defined in CAA section 136(d), is a 

facility within the following industry 

segments (as the following industry 

segments are defined in part 98, subpart 

W): onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production, offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production, onshore 

petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting, onshore natural gas 

processing, onshore gas transmission 

compression, onshore natural gas 

transmission pipeline, underground 

natural gas storage, liquefied natural gas 

import and export equipment, and 

liquefied natural gas storage.3

CAA section 136 defines three 

important elements of the WEC 

program: (1) waste emissions 

thresholds; (2) netting of emissions 

across different facilities; and (3) 

exemptions for certain emissions and 

facilities. Facilities may owe a WEC 

obligation if their subpart W reported 

emissions exceed the waste emissions 

thresholds specified in CAA section 

136(f) and they are not eligible for an 

exemption.4 The waste emissions 

threshold is a facility-specific amount of 

metric tons of methane emissions 

calculated using the methane intensity 

thresholds specified by Congress in 

CAA section 136(f)(1) through (3) and a 

facility’s natural gas throughput (or oil 

throughput in certain circumstances). 

Congress specifically laid out certain 

requirements in the text of the statute. 

The waste emissions charge is specified 

in CAA section 136(e) to begin for 

emissions occurring in 2024 at $900 per 

metric ton of methane exceeding the 

threshold, increasing to $1,200 per 

metric ton of methane in 2025, and to 

$1,500 per metric ton of methane in 

2026 and subsequent years. The WEC 

only applies to the subset of a facility’s 

emissions that are above the waste 

emissions threshold. 

Congress structured the WEC so that 

it focuses on high-emitting and 

inefficient oil and gas facilities (i.e., 

those with emissions greater than 

25,000 mt CO2e of greenhouse gases 

emitted per year and that have a 

methane emissions intensity in excess 

of the statutory waste emissions 

threshold). Facility efficiency, reflected 

in the amount of methane emissions per 

unit of production or throughput, can 

directly affect a facility’s WEC 

obligations since more efficient facilities 

have emissions below the thresholds at 

which facilities are required to pay a 

charge. The WEC therefore incentivizes 

more efficient operations because the 

charge applies only to the least efficient 

and most wasteful of oil and gas 

facilities (and only to the subset of their 

emissions that exceed thresholds and 

are not exempt). CAA section 136(f)(4) 

allows facilities subject to the WEC that 

are under common ownership or control 

to net emissions across those facilities, 

which could result in a reduced total 

charge, or avoidance of the charge.5

In addition, Congress created three 

exemptions that may lower a facility’s 

WEC obligation or exempt the facility 

entirely from the charge. The first 

exemption, found in CAA section 

136(f)(5), exempts from the charge 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91097 

6 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(5) (‘‘Charges shall not be 

imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) on emissions 

that exceed the waste emissions threshold specified 

in such paragraph if such emissions are caused by 

unreasonable delay, as determined by the 

Administrator, in environmental permitting of 

gathering or transmission infrastructure necessary 

for offtake of increased volume as a result of 

methane emissions mitigation implementation.’’). 

7 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(6) (‘‘Charges shall not be 

imposed pursuant to subsection (c) on an applicable 

facility that is subject to and in compliance with 

methane emissions requirements pursuant to 

subsections (b) and (d) of section 7411 of this title 

upon a determination by the Administrator that— 

(i) methane emissions standards and plans pursuant 

to subsections (b) and (d) of section 7411 of this 

title have been approved and are in effect in all 

States with respect to the applicable facilities; and 

(ii) compliance with the requirements described in 

clause (i) will result in equivalent or greater 

emissions reductions as would be achieved by the 

proposed rule of the Administrator entitled 

‘‘Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, 

and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for 

Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector 

Climate Review’’ (86 FR 63110 (November 15, 

2021)), if such rule had been finalized and 

implemented.’’). 

8 Id. 

9 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(7) (‘‘Charges shall not be 

imposed with respect to the emissions rate from any 

well that has been permanently shut-in and plugged 

in the previous year in accordance with all 

applicable closure requirements, as determined by 

the Administrator.’’). 

emissions occurring at facilities in the 

onshore or offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production industry 

segments that are caused by eligible 

delays in environmental permitting of 

gathering or transmission 

infrastructure.6 The second exemption, 

found in CAA section 136(f)(6), exempts 

from the charge, if certain conditions are 

met, those facilities that are subject to 

and in compliance with final methane 

emissions requirements promulgated 

pursuant to CAA sections 111(b) and 

(d).7 This exemption becomes available 

only if a determination is made by the 

Administrator that such final 

requirements are approved and in effect 

in all States with respect to the 

applicable facilities, and that the 

emissions reductions resulting from 

those final requirements will achieve 

equivalent or greater emission 

reductions as would have resulted from 

the EPA’s methane emissions 

requirements proposed in 2021.8 The 

third exemption, found in CAA section 

136(f)(7), exempts from the charge 

reporting year emissions from wells that 

are permanently shut in and plugged.9

As a result of these key design 

features of the WEC, the EPA anticipates 

that many facilities in the oil and 

natural gas sector will not be subject to 

WEC obligations. Many oil and natural 

gas facilities already fall below the 

annual emissions threshold and waste 

emissions thresholds that would cause 

them to be subject to the WEC, or are 

likely to avail themselves of the netting 

provisions in this final rule to reduce or 

eliminate WEC obligations. Further, as 

the EPA and States implement the CAA 

section 111 2024 Final NSPS/EG for 

new and existing sources, many oil and 

natural gas facilities are likely to qualify 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption. The CAA section 111 2024 

Final NSPS/EG as well as the financial 

and technical assistance the EPA is 

administering under section 136 of the 

CAA, are also expected to drive 

methane emission reductions that will 

help applicable facilities reduce or 

eliminate their WEC obligations. The 

charge, then, will primarily serve as an 

incentive, particularly to high-emitting 

and inefficient facilities, to reduce their 

emissions of methane. 

The EPA received over 50,000 

comments in response to the proposal. 

After consideration of the public 

comments, the EPA has made several 

changes in this final rule that are 

described in section I.B. and in sections 

II. and III. of this preamble. While some 

of these changes represent a meaningful 

shift from the proposed approach, all 

changes were within the scope of notice 

provided through the EPA’s request for 

comment, and discussion, at proposal. 

Moreover, these changes result in a final 

rule that better aligns with the statutory 

purpose and structure of the WEC. 

Specifically, the final rule is designed to 

achieve several goals: (1) Provide a 

strong incentive for early action to 

reduce methane by States, companies, 

and facilities, as Congress directed; (2) 

appropriately implement the 

exemptions specified by Congress; (3) 

give additional clarity to regulated 

entities; and (4) streamline 

implementation. By harmonizing the 

WEC regulations with implementation 

of the CAA section 111 requirements, 

this final rule encourages early 

emissions reductions and reduces the 

WEC burden on facilities that are in 

compliance with applicable CAA 

section 111 requirements. Furthermore, 

this final rule aims to increase flexibility 

so that accessing the exemptions created 

by Congress is not unduly restrictive, 

while still maintaining the integrity of 

the program. Finally, this rulemaking 

allows for expanded netting compared 

to the proposal while providing more 

specificity on the conditions under 

which netting may occur to minimize 

the potential for fraud. 

The EPA is revising the regulatory 

compliance exemption in response to 

the many commenters that suggested 

changes to better align with Congress’ 

purpose to incentivize States to move 

promptly toward full implementation of 

the CAA section 111 program, and to 

motivate regulated facilities to achieve 

emissions reductions as quickly as 

possible. This Congressional intent is 

illustrated in the language of the law 

and in the suite of incentives for 

expeditious methane emissions 

reductions it creates. The principal 

change to the regulatory compliance 

exemption in this final rule addresses 

when the exemption becomes available. 

The EPA concludes that allowing the 

exemption to be available for each State 

once it has fully implemented the 

methane emissions requirements 

promulgated pursuant to CAA sections 

111(b) and (d), rather than all at once 

after the last State’s plans are approved, 

is both a better reading of the law and 

has greater fidelity to the Congressional 

purpose. Industry commenters 

emphasized that a State-by-State 

approach would incentivize States to 

move quickly to develop and submit 

approvable State plans implementing 

the section 111 emissions guidelines, 

furthering Congress’s intent in enacting 

the compliance exemption. Making the 

compliance exemption available to 

facilities in a State as soon as all CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities within 

that State are subject to all of their 

applicable methane emissions 

requirements will provide an incentive 

for every State to move expeditiously, 

and avoid delays in effectuating the 

compliance exemption that might occur 

if the slowest State sets the pace. At the 

same time, to fully implement Congress’ 

intention that the WEC serve as a 

mechanism for incentivizing emissions 

reductions until sources begin to 

comply with all of their emissions 

control obligations, the final rule 

provides that the regulatory compliance 

exemption becomes available in each 

State only after sources are required to 

comply with all of their State plan 

requirements. As described in more 

detail in section II.D.2. of this preamble, 

these changes ensure the regulatory 

compliance exemption reflects the facts 

on the ground for facilities operating in 

each State, while tying the exemption to 

the date actual emissions reductions are 

achieved as Congress intended. 

In response to the information 

provided in comments, the EPA is also 

finalizing other changes to the 

regulatory compliance exemption that 

help ensure the WEC and the CAA 

section 111 rules work together as 

intended. As noted by commenters, it is 

important that the WEC incentivize 

early action before compliance 

deadlines and then relieve from the 

charge those facilities operating in 

compliance with the CAA section 111 

rules. In this final rule, as many 


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91098 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

10The EPA did not and is not reopening previous 

determinations regarding endangerments to public 

health and welfare in providing this background in 

this rulemaking. 

11NOAA, https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/ 

trends/ch4/ch4_annmean_gl.txt. Accessed 8/22/24. 

12Blunden, J. and T. Boyer, Eds., 2022: ‘‘State of 

the Climate in 2021.’’ Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 103 

(8), Si–S465, https://doi.org/10.1175/ 

2022BAMSStateoftheClimate.1, 103 (8), Si–S465, 

https://doi.org/10.1175/ 

2022BAMSStateoftheClimate.1. 

13 IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: 

Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. 

Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth 

Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel 

on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, 

A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Pe ́an, S. Berger, N. Caud, 

Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. 

Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, 

T. Waterfield, O. Yelekc ̧i, R. Yu, and B. Zhou 

(eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 

United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3– 

32, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.001. 

14EPA (2024). Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2022 U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 430R– 

24004. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/ 

commenters suggested, the EPA is 

limiting the types of noncompliance 

that would cause a facility to lose the 

regulatory compliance exemption, 

reducing the timeframe for which the 

exemption would be lost in the event of 

noncompliance, and narrowing the 

scope of emissions that would lose the 

exemption in the event of 

noncompliance for facilities in segments 

with unique, basin-wide facility 

definitions. The final rule will thereby 

create a stronger incentive for facilities 

to meet the requirements of the CAA 

section 111 rules while making the 

regulatory compliance exemption more 

accessible. 

To reflect comments persuasively 

suggesting that a more expansive 

approach to netting would reflect a 

better reading of the legislative text, the 

final rule changes the approach from the 

proposal to apply netting to encompass 

facilities under common ownership or 

control at the parent company level. 

One of the key provisions of the WEC 

created in CAA section 136(f) relates to 

the ability of facilities under common 

ownership or control to net emissions, 

such that facilities with emissions 

below the waste emissions threshold 

can offset emissions from facilities 

above the threshold to reduce the 

overall WEC burden. The EPA proposed 

that a facility’s owner or operator would 

be the regulated entity under WEC as 

well as the entity used for netting of 

emissions across facilities under 

common ownership or control. As 

commenters highlighted, the text of 

section 136(f) suggests Congress 

supported broad application of netting, 

and commenters also noted that broader 

application of netting may help 

incentivize emission reductions by 

allowing companies to take advantage of 

cost-effective reduction opportunities 

across their entire operations rather than 

being limited by reductions that can be 

achieved across a smaller number of 

facilities. The EPA received significant 

comments that restricting the netting 

provisions to the owner or operator was 

inconsistent with the intent of the 

provision, since parent companies both 

own and control subsidiaries. As 

described in more detail in section 

II.B.1., the final regulations continue to

define a facility’s owner or operator as

the regulated entity under WEC (i.e.,

responsible for the payment of the

WEC), consistent with CAA section

136(c). However, these final regulations

reflect that the best reading of the

statute entails a broader interpretation

of the term ‘‘common ownership or

control,’’ and so the final rule expands

the use of netting to the parent company

level by allowing owners and operators 

with a common parent to transfer 

negative emissions amongst each other. 

This approach of maintaining the WEC 

regulatory obligations at the owner and 

operator level, while allowing the 

transfer of negative emissions or 

‘‘netting’’ across owners and operators 

with a common parent, reconciles the 

difference in statutory language in CAA 

sections 136(c) and 136(f). 

The EPA is also making a number of 

changes to improve the implementation 

of the WEC in response to logistical and 

feasibility concerns raised in response 

to the proposal. For example, the EPA 

is specifying WEC filing and resubmittal 

deadlines of August 31 and December 

15, respectively. These dates are later 

than the proposed deadlines, thereby 

allowing for more accurate reporting 

prior to WEC submission, reducing the 

number of resubmissions and 

corrections, and reducing overall 

burden. 

In this final rule, the EPA is also 

making modifications to the 

implementation of the unreasonable 

delay and plugged well exemptions, as 

well as revisions to definitions and 

calculations to support the finalized 

rule. We are also finalizing revisions to 

40 CFR part 98, subpart A (general 

provisions) for all facilities that report 

under subpart W to harmonize reporting 

responsibilities in part 98 with the 

reporting responsibilities and WEC 

obligation in part 99 such that 

responsibility to report and resubmit 

reports under part 98 if errors are 

identified in the part 98 report align 

with the obligated party under part 99. 

The final provisions of part 99 and part 

98 under this rulemaking are described 

in further detail in sections II. and III. 

of this preamble. 

C. Background and Related Actions

Congress designed the WEC to work

in tandem with several related EPA 

programs. Together, these actions are 

expected to greatly reduce methane 

emissions. This section discusses the 

impacts of methane on public health 

and welfare and provides more details 

on the EPA programs relevant to 

methane emissions from oil and gas 

systems. 

1. How does methane affect public

health and welfare?

Elevated concentrations of greenhouse 

gases (GHGs) including methane have 

been warming the planet, leading to 

harmful changes in the Earth’s climate 

that are occurring at a pace and in a way 

that threatens human health, our 

economy and infrastructure, and the 

natural environment, both in the United 

States (U.S.) and at a global level. While 

the EPA is not statutorily required to 

make any particular scientific or factual 

findings regarding the impact of GHG 

emissions on public health and welfare 

in support of the WEC, the EPA is 

providing in this section a brief 

scientific background on methane and 

climate change to offer additional 

context for this rulemaking and to help 

the public understand the 

environmental impacts of GHGs such as 

methane.10

As a GHG, methane in the atmosphere 

absorbs terrestrial infrared radiation, 

which in turn contributes to increased 

global warming and continuing climate 

change, including increases in air and 

ocean temperatures, changes in 

precipitation patterns, retreating snow 

and ice, increasingly severe weather 

events, such as hurricanes of greater 

intensity, and sea level rise, among 

other impacts. Methane also contributes 

to climate change through chemical 

reactions in the atmosphere that 

produce tropospheric ozone and 

stratospheric water vapor. In 2023, 

atmospheric concentrations of methane 

increased by nearly 11 parts per billion 

(ppb) over 2022 levels to reach 1922 

ppb.11 Concentrations are now more 

than two and a half times larger than the 

preindustrial level of 729 ppb.12

Methane is responsible for about one 

third of all warming resulting from 

human emissions of well-mixed 

GHGs,13 and due to its high radiative 

efficiency compared to carbon dioxide, 

methane mitigation is one of the best 

opportunities for reducing near-term 

warming. In the U.S., the oil and gas 

sector is the largest source of industrial 

methane emissions.14


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inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks1990-2022. 

15 Id. 

16 (1) EPA. 2024. Technical Documentation on the 

Framework for Evaluating Damages and Impacts 

(FrEDI). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

EPA 430–R–24–001. 

(2) Hartin C., E.E. McDuffie, K. Novia, M. 

Sarofim, B. Parthum, J. Martinich, S. Barr, J. 

Neumann, J. Willwerth, & A. Fawcett. Advancing 

the estimation of future climate impacts within the 

United States. EGUsphere doi: 10.5194/egusphere2023–114, 2023. 

17 (1) USGCRP, 2023: Fifth National Climate 

Assessment. Crimmins, A.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. 

Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. 

Maycock, Eds. U.S. Global Change Research 

Program, Washington, DC, USA. https://doi.org/ 

10.7930/NCA5.2023. 

(2) IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: 

Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. 

Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth 

Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel 

on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, 

A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Pe ́an, S. Berger, N. 

Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, 

K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. 

Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekc ̧i, R. Yu and B. 

Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. 

18As defined at 40 CFR 98.238, effective January 

1, 2025, an other large release event means any 

planned or unplanned uncontrolled release to the 

atmosphere of gas, liquids, or mixture thereof, from 

wells and/or other equipment that result in 

emissions for which there are no methodologies in 

40 CFR 98.233 other than under 40 CFR 98.233(y) 

to appropriately estimate these emissions. Other 

large release events include, but are not limited to, 

well blowouts, well releases, pressure relief valve 

releases from process equipment other than 

hydrocarbon liquids storage tanks, storage tank 

cleaning and other maintenance activities, and 

releases that occur as a result of an accident, 

equipment rupture, fire, or explosion. Other large 

release events also include failure of equipment or 

equipment components such that a single 

equipment leak or release has emissions that exceed 

the emissions calculated for that source using 

applicable methods in 40 CFR 98.233(a) through 

(h), (j) through (s), (w), (x), (dd), or (ee) by the 

threshold in 40 CFR 98.233(y)(1)(ii). Other large 

release events do not include blowdowns for which 

emissions are calculated according to the provisions 

in 40 CFR 98.233(i). 

19 In the 2024 Final GHGRP Rule, the EPA 

estimated that 188 additional facilities would be 

subject to subpart W due to the increase in GWP. 

However, many of these facilities would also report 

under other subparts, such as subpart C, and for 

some of these facilities, reported emissions to 

subpart W will be below the WEC applicable 

threshold of 25,000 metric tons CO2e. 

Major scientific assessments continue 

to be released that further advance our 

understanding of the climate system and 

the impacts that methane and other 

GHGs have on public health and welfare 

both for current and future generations. 

According to the Intergovernmental 

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth 

Assessment Report, ‘‘it is unequivocal 

that human influence has warmed the 

atmosphere, ocean and land. 

Widespread and rapid changes in the 

atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and 

biosphere have occurred.’’ 15 Recent 

EPA modeling efforts 16 have also 

shown that impacts from these changes 

are projected to vary regionally within 

the U.S. For example, large damages are 

projected from sea level rise in the 

Southeast, wildfire smoke in the 

Western U.S., and impacts to 

agricultural crops and rail and road 

infrastructure in the Midwest and 

Northern Plains. Scientific assessments, 

the EPA analyses, and updated 

observations and projections document 

the rapid rate of current and future 

climate change and the potential range 

impacts both globally and in the United 

States,17 presenting clear support 

regarding the current and future dangers 

of climate change and the importance of 

GHG emissions mitigation. The Methane 

Emissions Reduction Program is 

intended to respond to and mitigate 

these impacts by improving availability 

of and access to monitoring and 

emission reduction technologies and 

incentivizing methane emissions 

reductions from oil and gas systems. 

2. Related Actions 

Congress designed the WEC to work 

in tandem with several related EPA 

programs, in particular the Greenhouse 

Gas Reporting Program and the CAA 

section 111 requirements. As mandated 

by CAA section 136(c) and (d), the 

scope and effect of the WEC is closely 

related to the EPA’s long-standing 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program 

requirements for oil and natural gas 

facilities, which are codified in subpart 

W of the EPA’s GHGRP regulations. 

Specifically, the applicability of the 

WEC is based upon the quantity of 

metric tons of CO2e emitted per year 

pursuant to the requirements of subpart 

W. Further, CAA section 136(e) requires 

that the WEC amount be calculated 

based upon methane emissions reported 

pursuant to subpart W. In order to 

ensure that WEC charges are based on 

methane emissions data that is as 

accurate and comprehensive as possible, 

section 136(h) further required the EPA 

to undertake a rulemaking to review and 

revise subpart W as necessary to ensure 

that reporting is ‘‘based on empirical 

data,’’ ‘‘accurately reflect[s] the total 

methane emissions and waste emissions 

from applicable facilities,’’ and 

‘‘allow[s] owners and operators of 

applicable facilities to submit empirical 

emissions data.’’ As a result, this final 

action builds upon previous subpart W 

rulemakings. 

In the 2024 Subpart W Final Rule, the 

EPA finalized revisions to subpart W 

consistent with the authority and 

directives set forth in CAA section 

136(h) as well as the EPA’s authority 

under CAA section 114. In that 

rulemaking, the EPA finalized revisions 

to require reporting of additional 

emissions or emissions sources to 

address potential gaps in the total 

methane emissions reported by facilities 

to subpart W. For example, these 

revisions added a new emissions source, 

referred to as ‘‘other large release 

events,’’ to capture large emission 

events that are not accurately accounted 

for using the existing methods in 

subpart W.18 See section II.B. of the 

preamble to the 2024 Subpart W Final 

Rule (89 FR 42062) for more information 

on this source category. The emissions 

from these events and other newly 

added sources are required to be 

included in the total emissions reported 

under subpart W starting with reporting 

year 2025. The EPA also finalized 

revisions to add or revise existing 

calculation methodologies to improve 

the accuracy of reported emissions, 

incorporate additional empirical data, 

and allow owners and operators of 

applicable facilities to submit empirical 

emissions data that could appropriately 

demonstrate the extent to which a 

charge is owed in implementation of 

CAA section 136, as directed by CAA 

section 136(h). The EPA also finalized 

revisions to existing reporting 

requirements to collect data that will 

improve verification of reported data, 

ensure accurate reporting of emissions, 

and improve the transparency of 

reported data. For clarity of discussion 

within this preamble, unless otherwise 

stated, references to provisions of 

subpart W (i.e., 40 CFR 98.230 through 

98.238) reflect the language of that 

subpart as effective January 1, 2025. 

Under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting 

Program, the EPA also finalized a 

separate rule (89 FR 31802, April 25, 

2024), which included updates to the 

General Provisions of the Greenhouse 

Gas Reporting Rule to reflect revised 

global warming potentials (GWPs), 

reporting of GHG data from additional 

sectors (i.e., non-subpart W sectors), and 

revisions to source categories other than 

subpart W that improve implementation 

of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. 

The revision to the GWP of methane 

(from 25 to 28) is expected to lead to a 

small increase in the number of 

facilities (<188 facilities) 19 that exceed 

the subpart W 25,000 mt CO2e threshold 

and thus become subject to the part 99 

requirements. This final Greenhouse 

Gas Reporting Program rule is not 

expected to otherwise impact subpart W 

reporting requirements as they pertain 

to the applicability or implementation 

of the part 99 requirements. 

Separately, on November 15, 2021 (86 

FR 63110), the EPA proposed under 

CAA section 111(b) standards of 

performance regulating GHGs (in the 


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91100 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

20Examples of some of the changes the 2022 

Supplemental proposed included proposed 

requirements that all well sites are monitored for 

leaks, requirements to ensure the proper operation 

of flares, zero-emission requirement for process 

controllers and pumps, standards for dry seal 

centrifugal compressors, and a super-emitter 

response program, among other things. 

21 In this action, the EPA also finalized several 

related actions stemming from the joint resolution 

of Congress, adopted on June 30, 2021, under the 

CRA, disapproving the 2020 Policy Rule, and also 

finalized a protocol under the general provisions for 

use of Optical Gas Imaging. 

form of limitations on emissions of 

methane) and volatile organic 

compounds (VOCs) for certain new, 

reconstructed, and modified sources in 

the oil and natural gas source category 

(proposed as 40 CFR part 60, subpart 

OOOOb) (hereafter referred to as ‘‘NSPS 

OOOOb’’), as well as emissions 

guidelines regulating emissions of 

methane under CAA section 111(d) for 

certain existing oil and natural gas 

sources (proposed as 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart OOOOc) (hereafter referred to as 

‘‘EG OOOOc’’). The November 15, 2021 

proposal (covering both NSPS OOOOb 

and EG OOOOc)—which Congress 

explicitly referred to in section 

136(f)(6)—will be referred to hereafter as 

the ‘‘2021 NSPS/EG Proposal.’’ The 

2021 NSPS/EG Proposal sought to 

strengthen standards of performance 

previously in effect under section 111(b) 

of the CAA for new, modified and 

reconstructed oil and natural gas 

sources, and to establish emissions 

guidelines under section 111(d) of the 

CAA for States to follow in developing 

plans to establish standards of 

performance for existing oil and natural 

gas sources. 

On December 6, 2022, the EPA issued 

a supplemental proposal to update, 

strengthen, and expand upon the 2021 

NSPS/EG Proposal (87 FR 74702). This 

supplemental proposal modified certain 

standards proposed in the 2021 NSPS/ 

EG Proposal and added proposed 

requirements for sources not previously 

covered.20 Among other things, the 

supplemental proposal sought to 

encourage the deployment of innovative 

and advanced monitoring technologies 

by establishing more flexible 

performance requirements than the 2021 

NSPS/EG Proposal, and also included 

provisions to establish a process for 

certified expert monitoring to identify 

‘‘super-emitters’’ for prompt mitigation. 

On March 8, 2024, the final NSPS 

OOOOb and EG OOOOc rules (hereafter 

referred to as the ‘‘2024 Final NSPS/ 

EG’’) were published in the Federal 

Register (89 FR 16820). First, the EPA 

finalized NSPS OOOOb regulating 

methane and VOCs emissions from new, 

modified, and reconstructed sources in 

the Crude Oil and Natural Gas source 

category pursuant to CAA section 

111(b)(1)(B). Second, the EPA finalized 

emission guidelines, including 

presumptive standards in EG OOOOc 

that would limit methane emissions 

from existing sources in the Crude Oil 

and Natural Gas source category, as well 

as requirements under the CAA section 

111(d) for States to follow in 

developing, submitting, and 

implementing State plans to establish 

performance standards.21 Among other 

things, the final rule strengthens 

standards, phases out routine flaring of 

natural gas from new oil wells, requires 

all well sites and compressor stations to 

be routinely monitored for leaks, 

requires storage vessels to reduce 

emissions by 95 percent, sets standards 

for certain facilities that have not been 

previously regulated, and provides 

companies greater flexibility to use 

innovative and cost-effective methane 

detection technologies. It will also 

utilize data collected by certified third 

parties to identify and address ‘‘super 

emitting’’ sources and eliminate or 

minimize emissions from common 

pieces of equipment used in oil and gas 

operations such as process controllers, 

pumps, and storage tanks. 

Congress envisioned a strong 

connection between EPA programs for 

methane emissions from oil and gas 

systems. The 2024 Final NSPS/EG is 

relevant to this WEC final rule in two 

ways: first, implementation of the CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) standards will 

help drive methane emissions 

reductions that can help many facilities 

achieve methane emission levels that 

are below the thresholds specified by 

Congress (described in section II.B. of 

this preamble), thereby enabling 

applicable facilities to reduce or avoid 

charges under the WEC program; and 

second, compliance with the CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) standards may (if 

certain criteria are met) exempt facilities 

from the WEC under the regulatory 

compliance exemption outlined at CAA 

section 136(f)(6) (discussed in section 

II.D.2. of this preamble). The WEC thus 

serves as an important bridge and 

backstop to the full implementation of 

the 2024 Final NSPS/EG, and an 

additional incentive thereafter to 

continue to comply with the CAA 

section 111 rules. 

In addition to creating the WEC and 

directing the EPA to revise subpart W, 

Congress also established the MERP 

under section 136 of the CAA to provide 

financial and technical assistance to 

reduce methane emissions from the oil 

and gas sector. To implement this 

program, the EPA is partnering with the 

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to 

provide up to $1.36 billion in financial 

and technical assistance. On December 

15, 2023, the EPA and the DOE 

announced the award of $350 million in 

formula grant funding to 14 States help 

measure and reduce methane emissions, 

supporting industry efforts to cut 

methane emissions from low-producing, 

marginal conventional wells on nonFederal lands and support 

environmental restoration of well sites. 

On June 21, 2024, the EPA and the DOE 

announced the availability of $850 

million in federal funding to help 

measure and reduce methane emissions 

from the oil and gas sectors. This 

competitive solicitation will enable a 

broad range of eligible U.S. entities to 

apply, including industry, academia, 

non-governmental organizations, Tribes, 

State and local government, and others. 

As designed by Congress, these 

resources and incentives were intended 

to complement the regulatory programs 

and to help facilitate the transition to a 

more efficient petroleum and natural gas 

industry. 

D. Legal Authority 

In August 2022, the IRA was signed 

into law. Section 60113 of the IRA 

amended the CAA by adding section 

136, and the EPA is finalizing this 

rulemaking under the authority 

provided by that section. As noted in 

section I.B. of this preamble, the IRA 

added CAA section 136, ‘‘Methane 

Emissions and Waste Reduction 

Incentive Program for Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Systems,’’ which requires 

that the EPA impose and collect an 

annual specified charge on methane 

emissions that exceed an applicable 

waste emissions threshold from an 

owner or operator of an applicable 

facility that reports more than 25,000 mt 

CO2e of greenhouse gases emitted per 

year pursuant to subpart W of the 

GHGRP. Under CAA section 136, an 

‘‘applicable facility’’ is a facility within 

nine of the ten industry segments 

subject to subpart W, as currently 

defined in 40 CFR 98.230 (excluding 

natural gas distribution). 

The EPA is also finalizing elements of 

this rulemaking under its authority 

provided in CAA section 114. CAA 

section 114(a)(1) authorizes the 

Administrator to require emissions 

sources, persons subject to the CAA, or 

persons whom the Administrator 

believes may have necessary 

information to monitor and report 

emissions and provide other 

information the Administrator requests 

for the purposes of carrying out any 

provision of the CAA (except for a 

provision of title II with respect to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91101 

22See 42 U.S.C. 7436(d). 

manufacturers of new motor vehicles or 

new motor vehicle engines). Thus, CAA 

section 114(a)(1) additionally provides 

the EPA authority to require the 

information in this final rule because 

the information is relevant for carrying 

out CAA section 136. 

The Administrator has determined 

that this action is subject to the 

provisions of section 307(d) of the CAA. 

Section 307(d) contains a set of 

procedures relating to the issuance and 

review of certain CAA rules. 

In addition, pursuant to sections 114, 

301, and 307 of the CAA, the EPA is 

publishing final confidentiality 

determinations for the new data 

elements required by this final 

regulation. 

II. Procedures for Facilitating 

Compliance, Including Netting and 

Exemptions 

A. Final Definitions To Support WEC 

Implementation and Associated 

Revisions to Part 98, Subpart A 

In accordance with CAA section 

136(d), applicable facilities under part 

99 are those facilities within certain 

industry segments as defined under part 

98, subpart W. To support 

implementation of the WEC, we are 

finalizing several definitions within the 

general provisions of 40 CFR 99.2 which 

follow from the statutory text. 

1. Applicable Facility and WEC 

Applicable Facility Definitions 

The EPA received comments 

expressing support for the proposed 

definitions for ‘‘applicable facility’’ and 

‘‘WEC applicable facility.’’ Certain 

commenters disagreed that the statutory 

text requires alignment of the definition 

of an ‘‘applicable facility’’ in the 

proposed WEC rule with the subpart W 

facility definitions, and stated that CAA 

section 136(d) leaves room for 

interpretation as to the definition of an 

‘‘applicable facility.’’ After 

consideration of comments received, the 

EPA is finalizing as proposed a 

definition of ‘‘applicable facility’’ as 

specified by the statute to mean a 

facility within one or more of the 

following industry segments: onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production, 

offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production, onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting, 

onshore natural gas processing, onshore 

natural gas transmission compression, 

onshore natural gas transmission 

pipeline, underground natural gas 

storage, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) 

import and export equipment, or LNG 

storage, as those industry segments are 

defined in 40 CFR 98.230 of subpart 

W.22 The EPA does not agree with the 

commenters that the statute leaves open 

for interpretation the meaning of 

‘‘applicable facility;’’ rather, the agency 

concludes that the statute expressly 

defines ‘‘applicable facility’’ in the same 

manner as the term ‘‘facility’’ has long 

been defined under 40 CFR part 98 and 

applied to the nine industry segments 

listed in CAA section 136(d). In 

addition to reflecting the plain language 

of the statutory text, aligning the 

definition of an applicable facility with 

the definitions of a facility within the 

industry segments in subpart W, for 

each corresponding industry segment, 

simplifies implementation and reduces 

burden on industry and the EPA. The 

approach supported by some 

commenters would have established 

different definitions of ‘‘facility’’ for 

subpart W and WEC, requiring the EPA 

to establish new reporting requirements 

for certain industry segments and 

requiring industry to calculate and 

report emissions for the same 

equipment twice. The EPA also received 

comments requesting that we clearly 

state that oil and gas producers 

generating less than 25,000 tons of CO2

equivalent are not required to submit 

documentation to the regulatory body 

proving that the emissions threshold 

was not exceeded. After consideration 

of comments, the EPA is finalizing with 

clarifying revisions a definition of 

‘‘WEC applicable facility’’ in 40 CFR 

99.2, which means an applicable 

facility, as defined in this section, for 

which the owner(s) or operator(s) of a 

part 98 reporting facility was required to 

report GHG emissions under part 98, 

subpart W of this chapter of more than 

25,000 metric tons CO2e for the 

reporting year. This final definition 

clarifies that the obligation for reporting 

under part 98 may apply to multiple 

owners or operators for a facility, that 

the status as a WEC applicable facility 

is based upon reporting in compliance 

with part 98, and that whether or not a 

part 98 reporting facility is a WEC 

applicable facility is based upon a 

specific reporting year. This definition 

is taken from the threshold set in the 

statute. Only WEC applicable facilities 

are required to report under part 99. 

A single reporting facility under part 

98, subpart W, typically consists of 

operations within a single petroleum 

and natural gas industry segment. 

However, a single reporting facility may 

represent operations in two or more 

industry segments. Facilities that may 

potentially have operations representing 

multiple industry segments and would 

report as the same facility if co-located 

include facilities that have co-located 

operations in the onshore natural gas 

processing, onshore natural gas 

transmission compression, underground 

natural gas storage, LNG import and 

export equipment, and LNG storage 

industry segments. We are finalizing as 

proposed that such operations would be 

considered a single WEC applicable 

facility under part 99. 

In cases where a subpart W facility 

reports under two or more of the 

industry segments listed in the previous 

paragraph, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed that the 25,000 mt CO2e 

threshold is evaluated based on the total 

facility GHG emissions reported to 

subpart W across all the relevant 

industry segments (i.e., the facility’s 

total subpart W GHGs). As discussed in 

section II.C.1. of this preamble, the 

waste emissions threshold is the 

facility-specific quantity of annual 

emissions, based upon the relevant 

intensity thresholds specified by 

Congress, above which the EPA must 

impose and collect the WEC. For the 

purposes of determining the waste 

emissions threshold for a WEC 

applicable facility that operates within 

multiple industry segments, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that each 

industry segment is assessed separately 

(i.e., using industry segment-specific 

throughput and methane intensity 

threshold) and then summed together to 

determine the waste emissions 

threshold for the facility. The EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that this 

approach is used in all cases where a 

WEC applicable facility contains 

equipment in multiple subpart W 

industry segments. 

The EPA considered an alternative 

definition of WEC applicable facility as 

it applies to subpart W facilities that 

report under two or more industry 

segments. This alternative approach 

would have assessed these facilities 

against the 25,000 mt CO2e applicability 

threshold using the CO2e reported under 

subpart W for each individual segment 

at the facility rather than the total 

facility subpart W CO2e reported across 

all segments. CAA section 136(d) 

defines an applicable facility as ‘‘a 

facility within the [nine] industry 

segments’’ subject to the WEC and does 

not specify that an applicable facility is 

in one and only one industry segment. 

The EPA understands this to mean that 

an applicable facility constitutes an 

entire subpart W facility, including 

those that report under more than one 

segment. Thus, based on the statutory 

text, the EPA is finalizing as proposed 

to assess WEC applicability based on the 

entire subpart W facility’s emissions 

that are reported under subpart W. 


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23For example, 40 CFR 98.238 defines Facility 

with respect to onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production for purposes of reporting under this 

subpart and for the corresponding subpart A 

requirements as all petroleum or natural gas 

equipment on a single well-pad or associated with 

a single well-pad and CO2 EOR operations that are 

under common ownership or common control 

including leased, rented, or contracted activities by 

an onshore petroleum and natural gas production 

owner or operator and that are located in a single 

hydrocarbon basin as defined in 40 CFR 98.238. 

Where a person or entity owns or operates more 

than one well in a basin, then all onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production equipment associated 

with all wells that the person or entity owns or 

operates in the basin would be considered one 

facility. 

Based on subpart W data for the 2022 

reporting year, no more than two dozen 

facilities report data for multiple 

segments, and when total subpart W 

CO2e is summed across all segments at 

these facilities, almost all of these 

facilities remain below the 25,000 mt 

CO2e threshold. Historic data also show 

that the industry segments (onshore 

natural gas processing, onshore natural 

gas transmission compression, and 

underground natural gas storage) 

located at these facilities that report data 

for multiple segments generally have 

methane emissions below the waste 

emissions thresholds. The final 

approach of using total subpart W 

facility CO2e for determining WEC 

applicability therefore should not result 

in a significant number of facilities 

being subject to the WEC compared to 

an approach that assessed applicability 

using subpart W CO2e for each 

individual industry segment at a 

facility. Based on historic data, the EPA 

does not expect the very small number 

of facilities with operations in multiple 

subpart W segments that could be 

subject to the WEC under the final 

approach to experience a substantially 

different financial impact than they 

would have under this alternative 

approach. 

2. Facility Applicable Emissions, WEC 

Applicable Emissions, Net WEC 

Emissions, and Net WEC Emissions 

After Transfers Definitions 

We are finalizing as proposed a 

definition for ‘‘facility applicable 

emissions’’ in 40 CFR 99.2 which means 

the annual methane emissions from a 

WEC applicable facility that are either 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for the facility prior 

to consideration of any applicable 

exemptions. We are also finalizing as 

proposed a definition for ‘‘WEC 

applicable emissions’’ in 40 CFR 99.2, 

which means the annual methane 

emissions from a WEC applicable 

facility after consideration of any 

applicable exemptions. The calculation 

methodology for WEC applicable 

emissions is addressed in section II.C.3. 

of this preamble. 

The EPA is also finalizing definitions 

of ‘‘net WEC emissions’’ and ‘‘net WEC 

emissions after transfers’’ to clarify the 

total amount of methane that is subject 

to charge and to account for revisions 

from the proposal to netting 

requirements. The EPA is finalizing a 

definition of ‘‘net WEC emissions’’ in 40 

CFR 99.2 to mean the sum of WEC 

applicable emissions from facilities with 

the same WEC obligated party, as 

calculated pursuant to 40 CFR 99.22 

using equation B–8. If a WEC obligated 

party only has one WEC applicable 

facility, net WEC emissions are equal to 

that facility’s WEC applicable 

emissions. The EPA is finalizing a 

definition of ‘‘net WEC emissions after 

transfers’’ to mean the total quantity of 

methane emissions subject to charge for 

a WEC obligated party. If the WEC 

obligated party is not eligible to, or 

elects not to, transfer or receive negative 

net WEC emissions pursuant to 40 CFR 

99.23, the net WEC emissions after 

transfers are determined pursuant to 40 

CFR 99.22 and are equal to net WEC 

emissions. If the WEC obligated party 

transfers or receives negative net WEC 

emissions pursuant to 40 CFR 99.23, the 

net WEC emissions after transfers reflect 

such transfers subject to the 

requirements of 40 CFR 99.23. If a WEC 

obligated party does not participate in 

any transfer of net WEC emissions with 

other WEC obligated parties with a 

common parent company, that WEC 

obligated party’s net WEC emissions 

after transfers are equal to its net WEC 

emissions. 

3. WEC Obligated Party Definition 

We are finalizing the definitions of 

‘‘WEC obligated party’’ and ‘‘WEC 

applicable facility’’. The EPA received 

comment requesting that we recognize 

the differences between ownership and 

operatorship as well as the complexity 

of ownership and operator agreements, 

including acknowledging the dynamics 

of these across basins, facilities, and 

individual wells. After consideration of 

the comments received, and in addition 

to finalizing the definition for WEC 

applicable facility discussed earlier in 

this section, we are finalizing with 

revision a definition for the term ‘‘WEC 

obligated party’’ in 40 CFR 99.2. As 

finalized, the term WEC obligated party 

refers to the owner or operator of one or 

more WEC applicable facilities. The 

WEC obligated party of a WEC 

applicable facility must be one of the 

owners or operators of that facility 

under subpart W, as reported under 40 

CFR 98.3(c)(14). We note that although 

there are differences in the common 

definitions of ownership and 

operatorship and there may be complex 

agreements between owners and 

operators, for the purposes of subpart 

W, there are specific definitions for 

owner(s) and operators(s) in subpart A 

and subpart W of part 98, with some 

segments, such as onshore natural gas 

production, having unique 

definitions.23 We are finalizing the term 

‘‘WEC obligated Party’’ to be consistent 

with these definitions. For WEC 

applicable facilities that have more than 

one owner or operator, we are finalizing 

that the WEC obligated party is an 

owner or operator selected by a binding 

agreement among the owners and 

operators of the WEC applicable facility. 

The EPA anticipates that such an 

agreement would be similar to those 

used in carrying out 40 CFR 98.4(b) 

under the GHGRP. We are finalizing as 

proposed that the WEC obligated party 

must be one of the owners or operators 

of the WEC applicable facility as of 

December 31 of the reporting year, with 

one exception. This exception is related 

to the circumstances in which a WEC 

applicable facility is involved in a 

transaction(s) subsequent to the end of 

the reporting year (i.e., between January 

1 and December 31 of the year following 

the reporting year) that results in all of 

the owners or operators (of the facility 

as of December 31 of the reporting year) 

ceasing to exist prior to the WEC filing 

date. In this case, the WEC obligated 

party would be one of the owner(s) or 

operator(s) that acquired the facility as 

a result of the transaction(s) to be 

selected by mutual agreement among all 

of the acquiring owner(s) or operator(s). 

This revision is necessary to avoid cases 

in which there is no eligible owner or 

operator to serve as the WEC obligated 

party. We note that in case of 

transactions where only one owner or 

operator ceases to exist and that entity 

was the WEC obligated party, the 

remaining owners or operators of the 

WEC applicable facility that were the 

owners or operators as of December 31 

of the reporting year would need to 

select a new WEC obligated party. 

Additionally, we have finalized 

clarifying language in the definition of 

WEC obligated party to make clear that 

each WEC applicable facility must have 

only one WEC obligated party for a 

reporting year. This requirement was 

included in the proposed rule under 

proposed 40 CFR 99.4, but we are 

further clarifying by making it explicit 

in the definition of WEC obligated party. 

The EPA notes that WEC obligated 

parties may only net for the applicable 


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reporting year for which they are 

reporting; in other words, emissions 

occurring before December 31 should 

not be netted with emissions occurring 

after December 31. 

In addition to establishing the entity 

regulated under the WEC, the EPA is 

finalizing the temporal bounds for 

which a WEC obligated party is 

responsible for its facilities and their 

associated emissions, as well as 

establishing obligations for transacted 

assets. For the purposes of submitting 

the WEC filing, we are finalizing that 

the WEC obligated party’s (including 

through binding agreement) WEC 

applicable facilities are the WEC 

applicable facilities for which it is the 

owner or operator, as of December 31 of 

each reporting year. Under the final 

rule, the WEC obligated party is 

responsible for any WEC applicable 

emissions from facilities for which it 

was the facility owner or operator as of 

December 31 of the corresponding 

reporting year. The EPA recognizes that 

facilities may be acquired or divested at 

any time in a given reporting year, and 

that under the final rule the year-end 

WEC obligated party, or the WEC 

obligated party selected by mutual 

agreement among all of the acquiring 

owner(s) or operator(s) if the existing 

WEC obligated party ceases to exist, 

would be responsible for data and any 

corresponding WEC obligation for the 

entire reporting year. The EPA believes 

that this approach is both reasonable 

and necessary for implementation of the 

WEC program. Subpart W data reporting 

uses the same approach for 

circumstances where facilities are 

acquired or divested during a given 

reporting year; the facility owner or 

operator as of December 31 is 

responsible for reporting emissions for 

the entire year. Because the subpart W 

data is inextricably linked to the WEC 

filing, the EPA assessed that it would 

complicate and potentially be 

inappropriate to have different parties 

be liable for the legal obligations of the 

same facility under each regulation. 

Specifically, different entities being 

legally liable for the same facility under 

subpart W and the WEC program could 

lead to challenges for WEC filings and 

associated data verification, increase 

industry burden by requiring significant 

coordination between different 

companies, and lead to situations where 

separate entities are responsible for 

reporting subpart W data and paying 

any charge calculated from that data. 

The EPA therefore believes it would be 

neither practical nor accurate for the 

reporting responsibility and potential 

WEC obligation for a single facility to be 

split among multiple WEC obligated 

parties in such circumstances. 

The EPA also recognizes that a 

facility’s owner or operator may change 

between December 31 of a given 

reporting year and August 31 of the 

following year, when WEC filings are 

due, or later in the year and prior to 

when corrections may occur. In such 

situations, under the final rule the WEC 

obligated party associated with a facility 

as of December 31 of a given reporting 

year is responsible for accounting for 

that facility in its WEC filing and is 

responsible for any WEC obligation 

associated with that facility for that 

reporting year. The new owner or 

operator after the transaction would 

only become the new WEC obligated 

party starting with the year of purchase, 

assuming they are still the owner or 

operator as of December 31 of the year 

of the transaction. The EPA received 

several comments related to the 

acquiring of a WEC obligated party by 

another WEC obligated party prior to the 

WEC filing such that the WEC obligated 

party as of December 31 for the 

applicable reporting year ceases to exist. 

One commenter stated that the proposal 

was ambiguous as to whether 

companies that purchase WEC 

applicable facilities (and thus would 

become WEC obligated parties, as of 

December 31 of the reporting year) 

would be responsible for retaining 

records, and all associated obligations, 

that were generated by the previous 

owners or operators of those facilities. 

Another commenter suggested that the 

responsibility for reporting emissions 

under the WEC should remain with the 

party responsible for recordkeeping for 

a facility at the time the emissions occur 

at the facility, rather than the time 

reporting would be required. After 

consideration of the comments received, 

we are further clarifying from proposal 

that under this final rule, in cases where 

a facility has a single owner or operator 

and that WEC obligated party is 

acquired by single WEC obligated party 

such that the WEC obligated party as of 

December 31 for the applicable 

reporting year ceases to exist, the 

acquiring WEC obligated party assumes 

responsibility for the acquired WEC 

obligated party’s WEC applicable 

facilities for that reporting year. In cases 

where a facility has a single owner or 

operator and that WEC obligated party 

is acquired by multiple owners or 

operators following a transaction that 

results in the WEC obligated party as of 

December 31 for the applicable 

reporting year to no longer exist, the 

post-transaction owners or operators 

must select among themselves by 

binding agreement which owner or 

operator will be the facility’s WEC 

obligated party for that reporting year. 

4. Gathering and Boosting Related 

Definitions 

The EPA is revising the definitions for 

‘‘gathering and boosting system’’ and 

‘‘gathering and boosting system owner 

or operator’’ under 40 CFR part 99. The 

EPA received comments indicated that 

proposed definitions of ‘‘gathering and 

boosting system’’ and ‘‘gathering and 

boosting system owner or operator’’ 

under part 99 do not match the 

revisions under subpart W. The EPA 

agrees these definitions should align 

with subpart W. Therefore, the EPA is 

revising from proposal the definition for 

‘‘gathering and boosting system’’ to 

mean a single network of pipelines, 

compressors and process equipment, 

including equipment to perform natural 

gas compression, dehydration, and acid 

gas removal, that has one or more 

connection points to gas and oil 

production or one or more other 

gathering and boosting systems and a 

downstream endpoint, typically a gas 

processing plant, transmission pipeline, 

LDC pipeline, or other gathering and 

boosting system. Additionally, the EPA 

is revising from proposal the definition 

of ‘‘gathering and boosting system 

owner or operator’’ to mean any person 

that holds a contract in which they 

agree to transport petroleum or natural 

gas from one or more onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production wells or one 

or more other gathering and boosting 

systems to a downstream endpoint, 

typically a natural gas processing 

facility, another gathering and boosting 

system, a natural gas transmission 

pipeline, or a distribution pipeline, or 

any person responsible for custody of 

the petroleum or natural gas 

transported. 

5. Revisions to 40 CFR Part 98, Subpart 

A Related to WEC Obligated Party 

Definition 

As part of these final amendments, 

the EPA is also finalizing revisions to 40 

CFR part 98, subpart A, for all facilities 

that are subject to the GHGRP and report 

under subpart W. On August 1, 2023 (88 

FR 50282), the EPA proposed revisions 

to 40 CFR 98.4 to address changes in the 

owner or operator of a facility in the 

four industry segments in subpart W 

(Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems) 

that have unique definitions of facility. 

The proposed provisions would define 

which owner or operator is responsible 

for current and future reporting years’ 

reports and clarify how to determine 

responsibility for revisions to annual 

reports for reporting years prior to 


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owner or operator changes for specific 

industry segments in subpart W, 

beginning with RY2025 reports. In the 

2024 Subpart W Final Rule, the EPA 

finalized the provisions regarding 

current and future reporting years’ 

reports in 40 CFR 98.4(n). However, the 

EPA did not take action on proposed 

amendments related to responsibility for 

revisions to annual reports for reporting 

years prior to owner or operator changes 

for specific industry segments in 

subpart W and indicated the intent to 

consider those proposed revisions in 

coordination with the 2024 WEC 

rulemaking and take action, if finalized, 

on these requirements at the same time. 

The current regulations at 40 CFR 

98.4(h), which cover changes in owners 

and operators, absent the changes being 

finalized in this rulemaking, state that 

in the event an owner or operator of the 

facility or supplier is not included in 

the list of owners and operators in the 

certificate of representation under this 

section for the facility or supplier, such 

owner or operator shall be deemed to be 

subject to and bound by the certificate 

of representation, the representations, 

actions, inactions, and submissions of 

the designated representative and any 

alternate designated representative of 

the facility or supplier, as if the owner 

or operator were included in such list. 

40 CFR 98.4(h) goes on to additionally 

state that within 90 days after any 

change in owners or operators of the 

facility or supplier (including the 

addition of a new owner or operator), 

the designated representative or any 

alternate designated representative shall 

submit a certificate of representation 

that is complete under this section 

except that such list shall be amended 

to reflect the change. Thus the owners 

and operators of facilities are bound to 

the actions, inactions and submissions 

of the designated representative of the 

facility when they become an owner or 

operator of the facility, as defined in 40 

CFR part 98. The current regulations at 

40 CFR 98.4(g), absent the changes being 

finalized in this rulemaking, state that if 

there is a change in the designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative, then all representations, 

actions, inactions, and submissions by 

the previous designated representative 

or the previous alternate designated 

representative of the facility are binding 

on the new designated representative 

and the owners and operators of the 

facility or supplier. Thus, any new 

owners and operators are bound to the 

actions and submissions of the previous 

designated representatives, including 

historical submissions for the facility 

prior to becoming an owner or operator. 

However, the responsibility for 

reporting under part 98 could 

potentially be inconsistent with the 

WEC obligated party responsible for 

reporting under 40 CFR part 99, as 

described earlier in this section. 

Many commenters recommended that 

no new owner should be responsible for 

the WEC generated by the prior owner 

and that emissions reporting should 

remain the responsibility of the owner 

or operator who generated the 

reportable emissions. The EPA believes 

that preparation and submission of 

multiple reports by different entities 

related to the same emission sources 

would lead to duplicative burden and 

raise the potential for inconsistencies in 

reported data. After consideration of 

comments received, and in alignment 

with 40 CFR part 99, in this final rule, 

the EPA is making changes to the 

regulations for facilities that report 

under subpart W to specify that, with 

two exceptions, the owner(s) and 

operator(s) as of December 31 of the 

reporting year, will remain responsible 

for that reporting year, even after sale of 

the facility. These changes are intended 

to ensure that the entity responsible for 

subpart W data for specific reporting 

years under various transaction 

scenarios is aligned with the WEC 

obligated party responsible for WEC 

filing and any WEC obligation in those 

years. The EPA is also clarifying that for 

the first transaction after January 1, 

2025, the sellers will also remain 

responsible for historic reporting, (i.e., 

reporting years prior to 2024). 

Specifically, in this final rule, the EPA 

is adding 40 CFR 98.4(o), which applies 

in lieu of the last sentence of 40 CFR 

98.4(g) for facilities that report under 

subpart W, starting with transactions 

that occur on or after January 1, 2025, 

to address responsibility for reporting 

years prior to a year in which there is 

a change in the owners and operators. 

According to the new paragraph, when 

there is a change in the owner(s) or 

operator(s) of a subpart W facility on or 

after the effective date of this final rule 

that involve the owner(s) or operator(s) 

as of December 31 of the year prior to 

the year of the transaction, the owners 

and operators as of December 31 of the 

year prior to the year of the transaction, 

i.e., the sellers, must select a historic 

reporting representative who will be 

responsible after the transaction(s) for 

that reporting year and if it is the first 

transaction after January 1, 2025, for all 

prior years. In these cases, the owner(s) 

and operator(s) of the facility as of 

December 31 of the year prior to the 

year in which the facility is sold are 

bound to the actions of the historic 

reporting representative and any 

previous designated representative or 

historic reporting representative for the 

relevant years. The historic reporting 

representative is selected by an 

agreement binding on the selling 

owner(s) and operator(s), unless the 

owner(s) or operator(s) selling the 

facility ceases to exist and/or is acquired 

as a result of a transaction(s), in which 

case all of the owners or operators 

involved in that transaction shall select 

at the time of sale a historic reporting 

representative by an agreement binding 

on each of the owners and operators 

involved in the transaction. The second 

exception is that for changes in owners 

or operators that occur after December 

31, 2024 and before the effective date of 

this final rule that involve the owner(s) 

and operator(s) as of December 31, 2024, 

the buying and selling owners and 

operators must jointly select a historic 

reporting representative. In these cases, 

the owners and operators of the facility 

as of December 31 of the year prior to 

the year in which the facility is sold and 

the acquiring owners and operators are 

bound to the actions of the historic 

representative. In any of these scenarios, 

it is the EPA’s intent for this person to 

be the WEC obligated party designated 

representative or represent the WEC 

obligated party corresponding to the 

applicable part 98 reporting year, for a 

facility that is a WEC applicable facility 

as defined in 40 CFR 99.2, so that there 

is alignment between WEC obligated 

parties and the owner(s) and operator(s) 

responsible for reporting for facilities 

that report under subpart W while also 

clarifying historical reporting 

requirements. The final provisions of 40 

CFR 98.4(o) also specify that for cases 

where an entire facility is merged or 

acquired by a new owner(s) or 

operator(s), the seller must notify the 

EPA of the date of the last transaction 

resulting in the change to the owner(s) 

or operator(s) and that the acquiring 

owner or operator must notify the EPA 

of the e-GGRT ID number of the facility 

acquired in transaction. This additional 

information is necessary to determine 

when a historical reporting 

representative is required and maintain 

the ability to verify year-to-year changes 

in annual emissions for facilities posttransaction. 

The final provisions of 40 CFR 

98.4(o)(6) specify the reporting years for 

which a historic reporting 

representative is responsible. Based on 

the effective date of these amendments, 

these provisions will first apply to 

transactions that occur in calendar year 

2025. For the first transaction that occur 

after January 1, 2025, the historic 


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reporting representative is responsible 

for submissions (if they have not 

occurred prior to the transaction) and 

revisions to annual GHG reports under 

40 CFR 98.3(h) for all reporting years 

prior to the reporting year in which the 

transaction occurred. For subsequent 

transactions, the owners or operators of 

a facility that reports under subpart W 

as of December 31 of each reporting year 

are responsible for reporting and 

revisions to annual GHG reports 

corresponding to that reporting year. We 

note that these revisions do not impact 

how reporting responsibility for years 

prior to reporting year 2024 transfer 

upon a change in ownership prior to the 

effective date of this final rule. The 

existing provisions of subpart A 

(specifically 40 CFR 98.4(g)) continue to 

apply, so that the designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative or historic reporting 

representative, as applicable, of the 

facility for reporting year 2024 maintain 

responsibility for the submissions of the 

previous designated representative and 

any necessary revisions to reports for 

reporting year 2024 and earlier. The 

final provisions of 40 CFR 98.4(o)(6) 

also specify that if the responsible 

owner(s) or operators(s) are acquired 

such that the owner(s) or operator(s) 

cease to exist as a result of a transaction, 

the acquiring owners would become 

responsible for submission (if not 

already submitted before the 

transaction) and any revisions to annual 

reports for the reporting year prior to the 

transaction and, if applicable, annual 

GHG reports under 40 CFR 98.3(h) for 

additional reporting years prior to the 

transaction as specified in paragraphs 

40 CFR 98.4(o)(6)(i) and (ii). 

6. Additional Definitions To Support 

WEC Implementation 

The EPA is adding definitions in 40 

CFR 99.2 for ‘‘parent company,’’ 

‘‘United States parent company,’’ 

‘‘qualified professional engineer,’’ and 

‘‘well identification (ID) number,’’ 

which were not included as proposed 

part 99 regulatory definitions in the 

proposed rule. Commenters stated that 

definitions are necessary to implement 

CAA section 136 and create regulatory 

harmony. After consideration of 

comments, the EPA believes it will 

provide clarity to add definitions for 

these terms to implement the WEC. In 

alignment with part 98 subpart A, we 

are finalizing the definition of ‘‘United 

States parent company’’ to mean the 

highest-level United States company, as 

reported under 40 CFR 98.3 for a WEC 

applicable facility, with an ownership 

interest in the facility as of December 31 

of the year for which data are being 

reported. Additionally, for ease of 

understanding, the EPA is finalizing the 

definition of ‘‘parent company’’ to be 

the United States parent company. 

We are also finalizing a definition for 

the term ‘‘Administrator’’ to mean the 

Administrator of the United States 

Environmental Protection Agency or the 

Administrator’s authorized 

representative. This definition is aligned 

with the definition of the same term in 

part 98 subpart A. We proposed to 

define the term ‘‘e-GGRT ID number’’ as 

the identification number assigned to a 

facility by the EPA’s electronic 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool for 

submission of the facility’s part 98 

report. We are instead finalizing the 

defined term as ‘‘Facility ID number’’ 

for consistency of terminology in the 

final rule and with revised definition 

referring to the Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Program where the proposal 

referred to the associated reporting tool 

and omitting the reference to 

submission of reports as these 

identifiers are not used solely for report 

submission. 

The EPA also received comments 

stating that the proposed rule did not 

include sufficient detail regarding the 

certification criteria for third-party 

auditors. After consideration of 

comments and as discussed in section 

III.B.2., the EPA is requiring that 

auditors be qualified professional 

engineers, and is finalizing the 

definition for ‘‘qualified professional 

engineer,’’ in alignment with the 

definition of ‘‘qualified professional 

engineer’’ in NSPS OOOOb, to mean an 

individual who is licensed by a State as 

a Professional Engineer to practice in 

one or more disciplines of engineering 

and who is qualified by education, 

technical knowledge, and experience to 

review and interpret the records 

required under 40 CFR 99. Additionally, 

to align with the definition under part 

98 subpart W, we are also finalizing the 

definition for ‘‘well ID number,’’ to 

mean the unique and permanent 

identification number assigned to a 

petroleum or natural gas well. Under the 

final definition, if the well has been 

assigned a U.S. Well Number, the well 

ID number required in this subpart is 

the US Well Number. Under the final 

definition, if a U.S. Well Number has 

not been assigned to the well, the well 

ID number is the identifier established 

by the well’s permitting authority. 

B. Common Ownership or Control for 

Netting of Emissions 

One of the important flexibilities 

created by Congress in section 136(f)(4) 

allows for facilities to reduce their 

overall WEC payments by transferring 

emissions from facilities that are below 

the waste emissions threshold to 

facilities that have emissions that are 

above the waste emissions threshold 

(otherwise known as ‘‘netting’’). The 

EPA proposed that the owner or 

operator of the facility should be both 

the WEC obligated party (i.e., the entity 

responsible for paying the WEC 

obligation) and the highest-level 

organization across which this netting 

should be allowed. The EPA received 

numerous comments arguing that 

netting should be allowed at the parent 

company level to maximize flexibility in 

implementation. After careful 

consideration of the comments and 

further review of the statutory language, 

the EPA is finalizing provisions that 

increase access to the netting provisions 

by allowing for the netting of emissions 

across facilities that are under common 

ownership or control of a parent 

company, rather than an owner or 

operator as proposed. However, the EPA 

is finalizing as proposed that the owner 

or operator is the WEC obligated party, 

thereby making a distinction in this 

final rule that the WEC obligated party 

and the corporate level at which netting 

may occur do not have to be one and the 

same. Although the EPA is allowing for 

additional access to netting in this final 

rule by allowing netting to occur at the 

parent company level, the EPA is also 

providing more specificity on the 

parameters and conditions under which 

this netting may occur. Additionally, 

the EPA is finalizing requirements for 

the treatment of net WEC emissions 

used in netting that are subsequently 

revised or invalidated. 

1. EPA Interpretation To Implement 

‘‘Common Ownership or Control’’ for 

the Purposes of Part 99 

CAA section 136(c), which establishes 

the methane charge, states that ‘‘the 

Administrator shall impose and collect 

a charge on methane emissions that 

exceed an applicable waste emissions 

threshold under subsection (f) from an 

owner or operator of an applicable 

facility. . .’’ Congress directly requires 

that a facility owner or operator, which 

has a distinct and established legal 

meaning, be the entity on which the 

WEC is imposed and from which a 

charge is collected. Therefore, the EPA 

is finalizing its determination that the 

WEC obligated party for a particular 

applicable facility shall be the owner or 

operator of that applicable facility; or if 

more than one owner or operator exists, 

the owners or operators of that facility 

must designate an entity to be the WEC 

obligated party. The netting provision at 

CAA section 136(f)(4), meanwhile, 

allows WEC applicable facilities under 


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24As further explained in section II.C.3., to 

calculate the amount by which a WEC applicable 

facility is below or exceeding the waste emissions 

threshold, the EPA is finalizing as proposed to use 

equation B–6 of 40 CFR 99.21(a), in which the 

facility waste emissions threshold, as determined in 

40 CFR 99.20, is subtracted from total methane 

emissions from the WEC applicable facility. This 

calculation results in a value of metric tons of 

methane, the total facility applicable emissions, that 

is positive for facilities exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold (‘‘positive net emissions’’) and 

negative for facilities below the waste emissions 

threshold (‘‘negative net emissions’’). 

‘‘common ownership or control’’ to net 

‘‘emissions by reducing the total 

obligation to account for facility 

emissions levels that are below the 

applicable thresholds within and across 

all applicable segments’’ listed in 

section 136(d) and as defined in subpart 

W. In this final rulemaking, the EPA is 

interpreting this language to allow 

netting at the parent company level. 

Notably, sections 136(c) and 136(f)(4) 

employ different language—while 

136(c), which establishes the WEC 

obligated party, refers specifically to an 

‘‘owner or operator’’ of an applicable 

facility, section 136(f)(4) refers to 

facilities ‘‘under common ownership or 

control.’’ The statute therefore requires 

that the facility owner or operator must 

be the WEC obligated party but provides 

for netting at the parent company level. 

The final requirements for netting are 

designed to align with both of these 

statutory directives. In this section, the 

EPA details the overall approach for 

application of common ownership or 

control and the justification for use of a 

facility’s owner or operator as the WEC 

obligated party with netting based on 

common parent company. 

The EPA proposed that netting would 

be limited to the WEC obligated party 

level. That is, the owner or operator 

would be both the WEC obligated party 

and the highest-level entity across 

which emissions could be netted. We 

received comments on the proposed use 

of the owner or operator as the highestlevel entity across which facilities could 

net their emissions. Certain commenters 

disagreed with the proposed 

interpretation to define ‘‘common 

ownership or control’’ at the owner or 

operator level and stated that a parent 

company approach would not only 

reflect Congressional intent but would 

also align with legal precedent and the 

EPA’s application of ‘‘common 

ownership or control’’ under other 

programs. These commenters also stated 

that a parent company approach would 

better incentivize methane emissions 

reductions, as parent companies could 

more effectively allocate resources 

across their operations for methane 

mitigation—and would have an 

incentive to do so if netting were 

allowed at the parent company level. 

Other commenters were supportive of 

the proposed approach and believed it 

was aligned with the statutory text. 

After consideration of comments 

received, the EPA is finalizing revisions 

from the proposed approach such that 

the facility owner or operator remains 

the WEC obligated party, but netting is 

allowed across owners or operators with 

the same parent company. 

The EPA interprets the netting 

provision at CAA section 136(f)(4) to 

mean that amongst WEC obligated 

parties with a common parent company, 

WEC obligated parties with metric tons 

of methane below the waste emissions 

thresholds (i.e., the difference between 

emissions equal to the waste emissions 

threshold and reported emissions) may 

transfer ‘‘negative net WEC emissions’’ 

to one or more WEC obligated parties 

with facilities with metric tons of 

methane emissions that exceed the 

waste emissions thresholds (i.e., 

positive net WEC emissions).24 For the 

purposes of establishing common 

ownership or control under CAA 

section 136(f)(4), the EPA is finalizing a 

definition of ‘‘WEC obligated party’’ in 

40 CFR 99.2. The EPA is finalizing that 

each WEC applicable facility be 

associated with a single WEC obligated 

party (though each WEC obligated party 

may be associated with multiple WEC 

applicable facilities), which is reported 

under the requirements at 40 CFR 99.7. 

As discussed in section II.A. of this 

preamble, the EPA is finalizing the 

definition of ‘‘WEC obligated party’’ to 

mean the WEC applicable facility’s 

‘‘owner or operator’’ as defined in 40 

CFR 99.2 for the applicable industry 

segment as of December 31 of the 

reporting year or that became an owner 

or operator of the WEC applicable 

facility in a transaction occurring 

subsequent to the end of the reporting 

year (i.e., between January 1 and 

December 31 of the year following the 

reporting year) that resulted in the 

owner or operator of the facility as of 

December 31 of the reporting year 

ceasing to exist. For WEC applicable 

facilities with more than one owner 

and/or operator, the WEC obligated 

party must be selected by binding 

agreement following the provisions of 

40 CFR 99.4. Each WEC applicable 

facility must have only one WEC 

obligated party for any given reporting 

year. WEC obligated parties may only 

net for the applicable reporting year for 

which they are reporting. The EPA is 

finalizing definitions for owner or 

operator that are applicable to the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production, offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production, onshore 

petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting, onshore natural gas 

processing, onshore natural gas 

transmission compression, onshore 

natural gas transmission, underground 

natural gas storage, LNG import and 

export equipment, and LNG storage 

industry segments at 40 CFR 99.2. These 

definitions are identical to the 

corresponding definitions in 40 CFR 

part 98; that is, the owner or operator (or 

one of the owners or operators, selected 

by binding agreement between all 

existing owners or operators) associated 

with a subpart W facility as reported 

under 40 CFR 98.3(c)(14) and included 

in the relevant COR as directed in 40 

CFR 98.4(i)(3) would also be the WEC 

obligated party for that facility. 

In some cases, a WEC applicable 

facility may have multiple owners and/ 

or operators. In these situations, the 

EPA is finalizing as proposed a system 

by which the facility owner or operators 

must designate one of the owners and/ 

or operators as the WEC obligated party 

for that facility, as detailed in 40 CFR 

99.4. The process for selection of the 

WEC obligated party at facilities with 

multiple owners or operators is similar 

to the approach for selecting a 

designated representative under 40 CFR 

part 98. This process requires selection 

of a single WEC obligated party for the 

WEC applicable facility by an agreement 

binding on each of the owners or 

operators associated with the facility. 

The final requirements for facilities with 

multiple owners or operators allocate all 

facility-level methane emissions below 

or exceeding the waste emissions 

thresholds to a single WEC obligated 

party for each facility. 

The EPA proposed that a facility 

owner or operator would be both the 

WEC obligated party, and the entity 

used to define common ownership or 

control. Comments received by the EPA 

on the proposed approach focused on 

the entity used for netting, and did not 

distinguish between the concepts of the 

WEC obligated party and the netting 

entity. Many of these comments focused 

on the proposed interpretation of 

common ownership or control rather 

than the WEC obligated party; though it 

is likely that commenters assumed that 

they would be the same entity. In other 

words, the EPA did not receive 

comments critical of defining the WEC 

obligated party as a facility’s owner or 

operator outside the broader discussion 

of common ownership or control. 

Instead, commenters supported defining 

the WEC obligated party as the parent 

company because they supported the 


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25The EPA notes that in some cases, the owner 

or operator of a facility may be a parent company. 

In these instances, the WEC obligated party would 

by default be a parent company. 

use of netting at the parent company 

level. 

In this final rule, the EPA recognizes 

that the appropriate corporate level at 

which netting is allowed need not be 

the same as the WEC obligated party. 

The EPA is finalizing the use of facility 

owner or operator as the WEC obligated 

party for three reasons. First, the plain 

text of the statute specifies that an 

‘‘owner or operator of an applicable 

facility’’ is the entity on which a charge 

is imposed and from which a charge is 

collected. Second, as noted in the 

proposed rule, designating the owner or 

operator as the WEC obligated party 

aligns with the approach used in 

subpart W of the Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Program, under which the 

facility owner or operator is responsible 

for reporting the annual emissions 

which, pursuant to requirements under 

CAA section 136(c), will be used to 

calculate the charge under this program. 

Third, the agency appreciates that a 

parent company is often a separate legal 

entity from a facility’s owner or 

operator, which could be a wholly 

owned subsidiary or company of which 

a parent company has partial 

ownership.25 Depending on the 

structure of the corporate family and the 

applicable corporate laws, the liabilities 

of an owner or operator may not transfer 

to the parent corporate company, even 

if that parent company fully owns the 

owner or operator. Furthermore, while a 

parent company may have ownership or 

control over certain aspects of a 

subsidiary’s operations or corporate 

decisions, it does not necessarily have 

control over the subsidiary’s assets 

(such as a facility). In light of Congress’s 

specific reference to the ‘‘owner or 

operator of an applicable facility’’ as the 

entity from which the WEC be imposed 

and collected, and the limitations on the 

extent to which parent companies can 

assume liabilities held by their 

corporate subsidiaries, the EPA does not 

believe it is consistent with the statute 

to define the WEC obligated party as a 

parent company. 

Although the statute expressly 

requires the EPA to treat the owner or 

operator of an applicable facility as the 

WEC obligated party, it does not limit 

netting solely to facilities belonging to 

the same owner or operator. Further, 

based upon our consideration of the 

public comments, the EPA has 

concluded that netting amongst WEC 

obligated parties with the same parent 

company, rather than at the level of an 

owner or operator, is best supported by 

the statutory text. There is no language 

in CAA section 136(f)(4), or any other 

part of CAA section 136, that limits the 

definition of ‘‘common ownership or 

control’’ for the purposes of netting. The 

proposed approach of limiting netting 

solely to facilities belonging to the same 

owner or operator would have 

represented a narrower interpretation of 

‘‘common ownership or control’’ than 

the statute requires, and in many 

instances reduced the number of 

‘‘common’’ facilities available for 

netting relative to a parent company 

approach. In this case, the complete text 

136(f)(4) states that ‘‘in calculating the 

total emissions charge obligation for 

facilities under common ownership or 

control, the Administrator shall allow 

for the netting of emissions by reducing 

the total obligation to account for 

facility emissions levels that are below 

the applicable thresholds within and 

across all applicable segments identified 

in subsection (d).’’ The EPA believes 

that the best reading of this provision 

would allow for netting at the parent 

company level, because the statutory 

text does not put any limitations on the 

definition of ‘‘common ownership or 

control.’’ Instead, the full text of the 

provision suggests that the term 

‘‘common ownership or control’’ should 

be read broadly in this context because 

136(f)(4) directs the EPA to allow for 

netting ‘‘with and across all applicable 

segments . . .’’ The number of 

‘‘common’’ facilities will usually be 

higher when the parent company 

approach is used, and lower when the 

owner or operator approach is used— 

and owners or operators under common 

ownership or control of a parent 

company will tend to have operations 

across more applicable segments; the 

owner or operator of a facility is less 

likely to also own or operate facilities in 

different industry segments. Congress’s 

reference to netting ‘‘within and across’’ 

all applicable segments indicates an 

intent that netting be available across a 

broader geographic area, which supports 

the parent company approach. 

Therefore, the EPA is finalizing that 

netting may occur via transfer of 

negative net WEC emissions from a 

WEC obligated party to one or more 

WEC obligated parties with the same 

parent company that have positive net 

emissions, since these WEC obligated 

parties (i.e., owners or operators) are 

under common ownership or control. 

The requirements finalized in this 

rulemaking define the WEC obligated 

party at the owner or operator level 

while allowing for netting to occur 

across owners or operators with a 

common parent company. This 

approach reconciles the statutory 

language in CAA section 136(c) and 

136(f)(4) in a manner that is 

implementable and provides the EPA 

with a means to verify netting activities 

to ensure the integrity of the final WEC 

rule. The use of parent company for 

determining ‘‘common ownership or 

control’’ in this final rule is specific to 

part 99 and the WEC program and does 

not affect how ‘‘common ownership or 

control’’ is defined under other existing 

EPA or Federal regulations, or in any 

way limit how ‘‘common ownership or 

control’’ may be defined in future 

regulations. 

While the EPA is finalizing a 

regulatory structure that allows for 

netting to occur across owners or 

operators with a common parent 

company, the EPA understands that the 

control a parent company has over its 

subsidiaries (i.e., owners or operators) to 

take action and to participate in netting 

may vary. Parent/subsidiary 

relationships are heterogeneous and 

governed by various corporate law 

structures and/or other legal constraints 

that this rulemaking is not intended to 

impact or alter. Although commenters 

stated that parent companies have 

control over subsidiaries and make 

resource allocations across the 

subsidiaries, the EPA cannot confirm 

whether that is true in all cases. This 

rulemaking allows owners and operators 

with a common parent company to net 

emissions, provided such netting is not 

constrained or prohibited by other rules 

or laws. 

2. Facilities Eligible for the Netting of 

Emissions 

The EPA is finalizing which facilities 

are eligible to participate in netting, as 

allowed by CAA section 136(f)(4). We 

are finalizing netting eligibility criteria 

based on a facility’s total reported 

subpart W GHG emissions, status in 

relation to the regulatory compliance 

exemption, and overall regulated status 

under the GHGRP. In our final approach 

to netting, we chose interpretations 

which are the most consistent with a 

plain reading of the CAA, were 

reasonable from a policy perspective, 

and were the most transparent and 

straightforward to implement. As 

described in more detail in the 

following sections, the final approach 

establishes that if a facility’s emissions 

are not subject to the WEC, either 

because the facility is not a WEC 

applicable facility, or because a WEC 

applicable facility has zero WEC 

applicable emissions, as a result of 

application of one or more eligible 

exemptions, that facility’s emissions 


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26 42 U.S.C. at 7436(f)(1). 27Specifically: (3) onshore natural gas processing; 

(6) liquefied natural gas storage; (7) liquefied 

natural gas import and export equipment; and (8) 

onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting. 

would not factor into the netting of 

emissions for a WEC obligated party. In 

other words, only WEC applicable 

facilities may net, and only WEC 

applicable emissions may be netted. As 

explained further in this section of the 

preamble, we believe this interpretation 

is consistent with CAA section 136(f)(4), 

‘‘the Administrator shall allow for the 

netting of emissions by reducing the 

total obligation to account for facility 

emissions levels that are below the 

applicable thresholds within and across 

all applicable segments identified in 

subsection (d),’’ since the reference to 

‘‘applicable thresholds’’ and ‘‘applicable 

segments’’, which reflect other 

subsections under CAA section 136, 

implies that only WEC applicable 

emissions should be considered in the 

netting calculation. We note that for 

applicable facilities eligible for any 

exemptions, emissions associated with 

these exemptions are removed from any 

emissions exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold prior to netting 

calculations. 

The WEC proposal explained that 

certain categories of subpart W facilities 

are not eligible for netting because they 

are out of the scope of the WEC 

program. There are two categories of 

subpart W facilities that report annually 

under the GHGRP but may have subpart 

W emissions less than or equal to 25,000 

mt CO2e. These include subpart W-only 

facilities that are on the GHGRP offramp 

due to an emissions level below 25,000 

mt CO2e, and subpart W facilities with 

total emissions from all GHGRP 

subparts equal to or exceeding 25,000 

mt CO2e but subpart W emissions less 

than or equal to 25,000 mt CO2e. The 

EPA proposed that these facilities 

would not be subject to the WEC, would 

not be WEC applicable facilities, and 

would not be eligible for netting. The 

EPA received comments supporting an 

approach that would allow these 

facilities to net with facilities under 

common ownership or control whose 

subpart W emissions are above 25,000 

mt CO2e (i.e., WEC applicable facilities). 

Commenters also supported allowing 

facilities not required to report under 

subpart W to voluntarily report 

emissions and include those facilities in 

netting. In all of these suggested 

approaches, only those emissions below 

the waste emissions thresholds would 

be brought into the netting pool; any 

additional facilities with subpart W 

emissions equal to or less than 25,000 

mt CO2e would not increase potential 

exposure to charge because charges for 

such facilities are specifically 

prohibited by the statute. A facility with 

subpart W emissions equal to or less 

than 25,000 mt CO2e would, by statute, 

not be subject to charge. Other 

commenters were supportive of the 

proposed approach to only allow 

facilities with subpart W emissions 

greater than 25,000 mt CO2e to 

participate in netting. After 

consideration of comments received, the 

EPA is finalizing the proposed 

requirements delineating the types of 

facilities that are eligible for netting. 

Sections II.B.2.a–d of this preamble 

provide detailed information on the 

final requirements for netting eligibility 

and the EPA’s justification for not 

expanding netting eligibility. 

a. Facilities Required To Report to 

GHGRP and That Have Subpart W 

Emissions Greater Than 25,000 Metric 

Tons of CO2e 

In accordance with CAA section 

136(c) and the definition of ‘‘WEC 

applicable facility’’ in 40 CFR 99.2, we 

are finalizing as proposed that subpart 

W facilities that have subpart W 

emissions greater than 25,000 mt CO2e 

are eligible for netting, with the 

exception of those that are receiving the 

regulatory compliance exemption for 

the entire year (as discussed in section 

II.D.2. of this preamble). Facilities that 

report 25,000 mt CO2e or less under 

subpart W are not subject to the WEC, 

and the EPA is finalizing as proposed 

that such facilities are not eligible for 

netting. These types of facilities are 

discussed in greater detail in section 

II.B.2.c. of this preamble. The final 

approach follows what the Agency 

considers to be the best reading of the 

plain text of, and the relationship 

between, CAA sections 136(d), 136(c), 

and 136(f) (which includes subsections 

136(f)(4) and 136(f)(1)–(3)). The final 

approach also represents a reasonable 

policy choice in line with the EPA’s 

understanding of Congress’s intent that 

the WEC program constitute a 

meaningful incentive to reduce methane 

emissions. Accordingly, the following 

sections provides an overview of the 

relevant statutory text, and the 

corresponding legal basis for the final 

approach under which only WEC 

applicable facilities may net, and only 

WEC applicable emissions may be 

netted, under CAA section 136(f)(4). 

This section also explains the policy 

rationale behind the EPA’s final 

approach. 

CAA section 136(d) introduces the 

nine industry segments within which all 

subpart W facilities must fall in order to 

be evaluated for WEC applicability. 

Importantly, facilities within these 

segments are ‘‘applicable facilities’’, per 

CAA section 136(d), but they are not 

necessarily ‘‘WEC applicable facilities’’, 

subject to possible WEC obligation, 

unless they report over 25,000 mt CO2e 

per year under subpart W. CAA section 

136(c) clarifies this point. Specifically, 

CAA section 136(c) requires the 

Administrator to impose and collect a 

charge on the owner or operator ‘‘of an 

applicable facility that reports more 

than 25,000 metric tons of carbon 

dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases 

emitted per year pursuant to subpart 

W’’. Thus, building upon the CAA 

section 136(d) definition, CAA section 

136(c) establishes that only facilities 

which both fall within one or more of 

the nine CAA section 136(d) industry 

segments and report more than 25,000 

mt CO2e under subpart W are subject to 

the WEC program. For clarity, in this 

rulemaking the EPA refers to these 

facilities as ‘‘WEC applicable facilities’’. 

CAA section 136(f), which is entitled 

‘‘Waste Emissions Threshold’’, includes 

a series of subsections under this 

heading. Subsections 136(f)(1)–(3) 

illustrate the meaning of ‘‘waste 

emissions threshold’’ in this context and 

explain that these are actually a series 

of thresholds which determine when 

and how to impose a charge on methane 

emissions from WEC applicable 

facilities, depending on which industry 

segment or segments they fall under. 

Specifically, the nine CAA section 

136(d) industry segments are 

categorized into four groups, and a 

waste emissions threshold is applied to 

each of the four. CAA section 136(f)(1) 

covers offshore and onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production (industry 

segments (1) and (2) under CAA section 

136(d)), and further divides this 

category depending on whether or not 

natural gas is sent to sale: ‘‘With respect 

to imposing and collecting the charge 

under subsection (c) for an applicable 

facility in an industry segment listed in 

paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (d), 

the Administrator shall impose and 

collect the charge on the reported metric 

tons of methane emissions from such 

facility that exceed (A) 0.20 percent of 

the natural gas sent to sale from such 

facility; or (B) 10 metric tons of methane 

per million barrels of oil sent to sale 

from such facility, if such facility sent 

no natural gas to sale.’’ 26

CAA sections 136(f)(2) and (3) follow 

the same model: section 136(f)(2) 

establishes thresholds for 

nonproduction petroleum and natural 

gas systems (industry segments (3), (6), 

(7), and (8) under section 136(d),27) and 


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28 Id. at section 7436(f)(2). 29Specifically, (4) onshore natural gas 

transmission compression; (5) underground natural 

gas storage; and (9) onshore natural gas 

transmission. 30 Id. at section 7436(f)(3). 

imposes a charge on ‘‘the reported 

metric tons of methane emissions that 

exceed 0.05 percent of the natural gas 

sent to sale from or through such 

facility’’; 28 and section 136(f)(3) 

establishes thresholds for natural gas 

transmission (industry segments (4), (5), 

and (9)) 29 and imposes a charge on ‘‘the 

reported metric tons of methane 

emissions that exceed 0.11 percent of 

the natural gas sent to sale from or 

through such facility.’’ 30 But each 

industry-specific threshold is 

introduced in the same way: ‘‘With 

respect to imposing and collecting the 

charge under subsection (c) for an 

applicable facility in an industry 

segment listed in paragraph (x) of 

subsection (d), [charges shall be 

imposed as follows].’’ Following this 

plain text, it is clear that the CAA 

section 136(f) waste emission thresholds 

apply only to WEC applicable 

facilities—that is, facilities within one 

or more of the nine WEC industry 

segments listed in CAA section 136(d) 

which emit more than 25,000 mt per 

year CO2e under subpart W, and thus 

may be subject to charge under CAA 

section 136(c). 

Finally, the netting provision itself, 

CAA section 136(f)(4), states that ‘‘in 

calculating the total emissions charge 

obligation for facilities under common 

ownership or control, the Administrator 

shall allow for the netting of emissions 

by reducing the total obligation to 

account for facility emissions levels that 

are below the applicable thresholds 

within and across all applicable 

segments identified in subsection (d).’’ 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

this netting provision applies to WEC 

applicable facilities and WEC applicable 

emissions only, for three reasons. 

First, the EPA believes that under the 

best reading of the statute, the term 

‘‘applicable thresholds’’ refers to the 

waste emission thresholds outlined in 

CAA section 136(f)(1)–(3). This is 

important because, the waste emissions 

thresholds apply only to WEC 

applicable facilities—they determine 

whether, and how, a charge shall be 

imposed on methane emissions from a 

facility which has already been triggered 

into the WEC program by virtue of its 

emissions being greater than 25,000 mt 

per year CO2e in subpart W. The 

thresholds do not apply to facilities 

which emit 25,000 or fewer metric tons 

per year of CO2e under subpart W, 

because under CAA section 136(c), no 

charge may be imposed or collected on 

such facilities. Because methane 

emissions from facilities that emit 

25,000 or less metric tons per year of 

CO2e under subpart W are not WEC 

applicable emissions, they cannot be 

compared to the waste emissions 

thresholds, and they cannot be 

considered to fall either above or below 

these thresholds. 

As previously stated, the EPA’s 

conclusion that the term ‘‘applicable 

thresholds’’ in CAA section 136(f)(4) 

refers to the waste emissions thresholds 

outlined in CAA section 136(f)(1)–(3) is 

supported by both the text and structure 

of the statute. The structure of the 

statute strongly supports the 

presumption that CAA section 136(f)(4) 

refers to netting based on a facility’s 

relationship to the waste emissions 

thresholds because CAA section 

136(f)(4) appears as part of CAA section 

136(f), under the ‘‘waste emissions 

threshold’’ heading, and immediately 

following CAA section 136(f)(1)–(3)’s 

establishment of the specific waste 

emissions thresholds for each industry 

segment. It follows that CAA section 

136(f)(4)’s reference to ‘‘applicable 

thresholds’’ refers to these industry 

segment-specific requirements, and 

accordingly ‘‘applicable segments’’ 

refers to the industry segments 

identified in CAA section 136(f)(1)–(3). 

The text also strongly supports this 

interpretation because CAA section 

136(f)(4) refers to facility emissions 

levels that are ‘‘below the applicable 

thresholds,’’ plural. The use of the 

plural, and the use of the term 

‘‘applicable,’’ both indicate that 

Congress was referring here to the 

multiple waste emissions thresholds 

introduced in CAA sections 136(f)(1) 

through (3), which specifically and 

separately apply to WEC applicable 

facilities within various subsets of 

industry segments, defined in CAA 

section 136(d). Again, these separate 

thresholds only apply to WEC 

applicable facilities, which emit over 

25,000 metric tons per year of CO2e. 

In addition to the ‘‘applicable 

thresholds’’ question, the EPA believes 

that Congress’s use of the term 

‘‘applicable segments’’ in stating that 

the EPA may ‘‘redu[ce] the total 

obligation to account for facility 

emissions levels that are below the 

applicable thresholds within and across 

all applicable segments identified in 

subsection (d),’’ is significant here. 

While CAA section 136(d) introduces 

the nine relevant ‘‘industry segments’’ 

within which all WEC applicable 

facilities must fall, CAA section 

136(f)(4) classifies these segments into 

four groups, and is the only provision to 

use the term ‘‘applicable segments.’’ 

CAA section 136(f) establishes a set of 

requirements determining when and 

how to impose a charge on those 

facilities triggered into the program, 

depending on their industry segment 

and the amount of methane they emit. 

It follows that CAA section 136(f)(4)’s 

reference to ‘‘applicable thresholds’’ 

refers to these four group-specific 

thresholds, and ‘‘applicable segments’’ 

refers to the nine segments within the 

four segment groups. In other words, 

each group of segments constitutes the 

‘‘applicable’’ segments to their 

corresponding applicable threshold. 

This is important, again because the 

four groups laid out under CAA section 

136(f) include only WEC applicable 

facilities. 

Finally, Congress’s statement that 

netting shall be employed ‘‘in 

calculating the total emissions charge 

obligation for facilities under common 

ownership or control’’, further indicates 

that only WEC applicable facilities may 

be netted. Logic indicates that only WEC 

applicable facilities, with WEC 

applicable emissions, would be relevant 

to a determination of total emissions 

charge obligation. As regards the WEC 

program, WEC obligated parties are 

concerned with methane emissions for 

the WEC applicable facilities for which 

they are responsible—not various other 

subpart W facilities for which a WEC 

charge can never be imposed. 

In addition to this stated legal 

rationale, the final approach also 

represents a reasonable policy choice in 

line with the EPA’s understanding of 

Congress’s intent that the WEC program 

constitute a meaningful incentive to 

reduce methane emissions. Specifically, 

should the WEC program allow netting 

from subpart W facilities emitting 

25,000 mt CO2e per year or less under 

subpart W, WEC obligated parties would 

lose an incentive to reduce emissions at 

WEC applicable facilities that exceed 

their waste emissions thresholds. 

Negative emissions from facilities with 

subpart W emissions of 25,000 mt CO2e 

or less could be used to net out positive 

emissions from WEC applicable 

facilities, allowing WEC obligated 

parties to zero out WEC obligations 

without actually reducing emissions 

overall. Given that many subpart W 

facilities that report 25,000 mt CO2e or 

less under subpart W would also be well 

below their waste emissions threshold, 

allowing these facilities to net could add 

significant negative tons to the WEC 

program such that actual methane 

emissions from WEC applicable 

facilities could increase without 

increasing WEC obligations. 


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b. Facilities With Subpart W Emissions 

Greater Than 25,000 Metric Tons of 

CO2e That Are Receiving the Regulatory 

Compliance Exemption 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

during such time that a facility receives 

the regulatory compliance exemption, 

that facility would have zero WEC 

applicable emissions and thus would 

not be able to participate in the netting 

of methane emissions across facilities 

under common ownership or control of 

a WEC obligated party. The final 

approach is based on a plain reading of 

the statutory text, and follows the same 

reasoning outlined in section II.B.2.a. of 

this preamble, which explains that 

under the best reading of the text, only 

WEC applicable facilities may net. This 

section will further expand upon the 

EPA reasoning that only WEC 

applicable emissions may be netted, and 

clarify this point for purposes of the 

regulatory compliance exemption. 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A) states that 

‘‘[c]harges shall not be imposed 

pursuant to subsection (c) on an 

applicable facility that is subject to and 

in compliance with methane emissions 

requirements pursuant to subsections 

(b) and (d) of section 111’’ if specific 

criteria are met (these criteria are 

discussed in section II.D.2. of this 

preamble). The EPA’s interpretation of 

the regulatory compliance exemption is 

that, for a WEC applicable facility 

meeting the exemption criteria, the 

entire facility is exempted, and therefore 

the facility does not generate WECapplicable emissions. In order to net, 

facilities must be WEC applicable 

facilities (they must emit over 25,000 mt 

CO2e per year under subpart W) and 

they must also generate WEC applicable 

emissions (methane emissions, as 

reported under subpart W, below or 

above the WEC emissions thresholds 

that are subject to charge.) Again, this 

follows from the text. Section 136(f)(4) 

applies ‘‘in calculating the total 

emissions charge obligation’’ only. 

Emissions which are subject to an 

exemption are by definition not subject 

to charge. WEC applicable emissions are 

only those subpart W methane 

emissions subject to charge under 

section 136(c). Because WEC applicable 

facilities that receive the regulatory 

compliance exemption for the entire 

year would have zero WEC applicable 

emissions, these facilities would by 

default not be able to participate in 

netting (i.e., they would have no 

emissions to net). The approach of 

facilities with the regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year having 

zero WEC applicable emissions allows 

for the practical implementation of the 

exemption within the broader 

framework of the WEC calculations. 

Clarifying that, pursuant to the statutory 

directive, exempted facilities generate 

zero WEC applicable emissions ensures 

that charges shall not be imposed on 

these facilities without interfering with 

netting calculations or removing 

facility-specific reporting elements 

necessary for WEC implementation. 

Such facilities continue to be included 

in WEC filings reported under part 99 as 

long as they remain WEC applicable 

facilities. Further, if such facilities fall 

out of compliance such that the 

regulatory compliance exemption no 

longer applies and they again generate 

WEC applicable emissions, such 

facilities can again be included in 

netting. Similarly, for WEC applicable 

facilities that have partial eligibility for 

the regulatory compliance exemption, as 

described in section II.D.2.f. of this 

preamble, such that they have positive 

WEC applicable emissions, those 

facilities would also be included in 

netting. 

The EPA notes that facilities with 

emissions below the waste emissions 

threshold would not have positive WEC 

applicable emissions and therefore 

would not benefit from the exemption. 

In this final rule, facilities with 

emissions below the waste emissions 

threshold would not receive the 

regulatory compliance exemption, and 

thus these facilities would always have 

WEC applicable emissions and be able 

to participate in netting across facilities 

under common ownership or control. 

Section II.D.2.f. of this preamble 

discusses the regulatory compliance 

exemption in relation to facilities that 

are below the waste emissions 

threshold. 

c. Exclusion of Facilities Reporting 

25,000 or Fewer Metric Tons of CO2e to 

Subpart W of Part 98 

Per CAA section 136(c), the WEC 

shall only be imposed on owners or 

operators of applicable facilities that 

report more than 25,000 mt CO2e under 

subpart W. A large number of facilities 

that report under the GHGRP have 

subpart W emissions below 25,000 mt 

CO2e because they report emissions 

under multiple subparts (e.g., subpart W 

and subpart C) and have total emissions 

greater than 25,000 mt CO2e across 

multiple subparts. In addition, some 

part 98 subpart W facilities have 

reduced their emissions over time and 

are allowed to cease reporting or 

‘‘offramp’’ due to meeting either the 

15,000 mt CO2e level or the 25,000 mt 

CO2e level for the number of years 

specified in 40 CFR 98.2(i) based on the 

CO2e reported, as calculated in 

accordance with 40 CFR 98.3(c)(4)(i) 

(i.e., the annual emissions report value 

as specified in that provision). 

We are finalizing as proposed that 

subpart W facilities with subpart W 

emissions equal to or below 25,000 mt 

CO2e are not WEC applicable facilities 

and are therefore excluded from netting. 

This approach aligns with a plain 

reading of the requirement in CAA 

section 136(c) that only applicable 

facilities with subpart W emissions 

exceeding 25,000 mt CO2e are subject to 

the WEC—facilities below this threshold 

are not subject to the WEC and therefore 

do not generate WEC applicable 

emissions and are not eligible to net 

emissions. 

d. Exclusion of Facilities Not Required 

To Report to the GHGRP 

Per CAA section 136(c) and (d), CAA 

section 136(f)(4), and the definition of 

‘‘WEC Applicable Facility’’ in 40 CFR 

99.2, which reflects the statutory text at 

CAA section 136(d), we are finalizing as 

proposed that facilities that are not 

required to report to the GHGRP, and 

thus are not WEC applicable facilities, 

are not eligible for netting. Again 

following the reasoning outlined in 

section II.B.2.a. of this preamble, this 

approach is based on a plain reading of 

CAA section 136(f)(4), which states that 

netting is allowed within and across the 

nine subpart W industry segments 

identified in CAA section 136(d); 

section 136(d), which states that 

‘‘applicable facility(ies)’’ are facilities 

within industry segments ‘‘as defined in 

subpart W’’; and section 136(c), which 

states that the WEC is only applicable to 

subpart W facilities that report more 

than 25,000 mt CO2e per year under 

subpart W. Following the plain text, 

only facilities subject to subpart W may 

be evaluated as possible WEC applicable 

facilities, and only WEC applicable 

facilities (subpart W facilities emitting 

over 25,000 mt CO2e under subpart W) 

can have WEC applicable emissions that 

may be subject to charge. As explained 

in section II.B.2.a. of this preamble, only 

WEC applicable facilities are eligible to 

net, and only WEC applicable emissions 

may be netted. Further, CAA section 

136(c) states that the WEC is only 

applicable to certain facilities that 

report under subpart W of the GHGRP. 

C. Waste Emissions Thresholds 

Congress established waste emissions 

thresholds for certain oil and gas 

operations to incentivize emissions 

reductions and efficient production, 

processing, and transport of 

hydrocarbons. These waste emissions 

thresholds are applied to individual oil 

and gas facilities; facilities that exceed 


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the thresholds may be subject to charge, 

while facilities that are below the 

threshold are not subject to charge. 

Building upon the definitions described 

in section II.A. of this preamble, this 

section explains the mechanics of the 

WEC calculations. 

The waste emissions thresholds are 

defined in terms of industry segmentspecific methane intensity thresholds 

applicable to certain facilities that 

report GHG emissions under subpart W 

of the GHGRP. The industry segmentspecific methane intensity thresholds 

specified in CAA 136(f) and listed in 

Table 2 of this preamble are based on a 

rate of methane emissions per amount of 

natural gas or oil sent to sale from or 

through a facility. The industry 

segment-specific methane intensity 

thresholds are generally defined in 

terms of a percentage of throughput 

(e.g., 0.002 percent of natural gas sent to 

sale). However, since the WEC is based 

on metric tons of methane (e.g., $900/ 

metric ton) that exceed the threshold, 

for the purposes of calculating the 

number of metric tons that are subject 

to charge, we are finalizing as proposed 

an approach that calculates the facility 

waste emissions thresholds in metric 

tons of methane. 

The EPA proposed specific 

calculation methodologies and data 

input elements for the WEC 

calculations. The EPA received 

comments supportive of the proposed 

approaches for the WEC calculations. 

We also received comments suggesting 

revisions to the proposed approaches for 

the waste emissions threshold 

calculation, the methane emissions 

metric used to determine facility tons 

above or below the waste emissions 

threshold, and the treatment of facilities 

with zero throughput. However, the 

proposed changes suggested by 

commenters would not be consistent 

with the plain reading of the CAA and 

would make the calculations much 

more complicated to implement without 

necessarily improving accuracy. 

Therefore, the EPA is finalizing the 

approaches discussed in this section of 

the preamble as proposed, with the 

exception of the treatment of certain 

facilities with zero throughput. 

For the onshore and offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segments, CAA section 136(f) 

differentiates based on whether the 

facility is sending natural gas to sale or 

only sending oil to sale, and if the 

facility does not send natural gas to sale, 

the threshold is based on methane 

emissions per amount of oil sent to sale. 

For facilities that are not in the onshore 

or offshore production industry 

segments, the industry segment-specific 

methane intensity thresholds are based 

on the amount of natural gas sent to sale 

from or through the facility. The 

industry segment-specific methane 

intensity thresholds are applied to the 

natural gas or petroleum throughput 

attributable to that industry segment to 

calculate facility-specific waste 

emissions thresholds. See Table 2 for an 

overview of how the waste emissions 

thresholds are calculated. When 

determining whether a facility has WEC 

applicable emissions, the owner or 

operator of an applicable facility must 

compare the facility’s reported methane 

emissions, as reported under subpart W, 

to the facility’s waste emissions 

threshold. Facilities with methane 

emissions that exceed the waste 

emissions threshold may be subject to 

charge. For WEC applicable facilities 

with the same WEC obligated party, the 

WEC applicable emissions for each 

facility are summed to calculate the net 

WEC emissions for that WEC obligated 

party. For WEC obligated parties with 

the same parent company, WEC 

obligated parties with negative net 

emissions may transfer those negative 

emissions to WEC obligated parties with 

positive net emissions. A WEC obligated 

party’s total WEC obligation is based on 

its total emissions at the end of this 

transfer of any negative emissions. 

Subpart W requires reporting of 

natural gas throughput by thousand 

standard cubic feet, oil by barrels, and 

methane by metric ton. As a practical 

matter, since the WEC is based on a 

dollar per metric ton of methane, the 

waste emissions thresholds must 

generally be converted into metric tons 

of methane for comparison against 

reported methane, generally by 

multiplying the thresholds by the 

density of methane. 

TABLE 2—INDUSTRY SEGMENT THROUGHPUT METRICS AND METHANE INTENSITIES

Industry segment Throughput metric a Industry segment-specific methane intensity 

Onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production.

The quantity of natural gas produced from producing wells that is sent 

to sale in the calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(1)(i)(B); or the quantity of crude oil produced from producing wells that is sent to sale in the calendar year, in barrels, if facility sends no natural gas to sale under 40 CFR 98.236(aa)(1)(i)(C) b.

0.20 percent of natural gas sent to sale from facility; 

or 10 metric tons of methane per million barrels of 

oil sent to sale from facility, if facility sends no natural gas to sale. 

Offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production.

The quantity of natural gas produced from producing wells that is sent 

to sale in the calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(2)(i); or the quantity of crude oil produced from producing 

wells that is sent to sale in the calendar year, in barrels, if facility 

sends no natural gas to sale under 40 CFR 98.236(aa)(2)(ii).

Onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting.

The quantity of natural gas transported through the facility to a downstream endpoint such as a natural gas processing facility, a natural 

gas transmission pipeline, a natural gas distribution pipeline, a storage facility, or another gathering and boosting facility in the calendar 

year, in thousand standard cubic feet under 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(10)(ii).

0.05 percent of natural gas sent to sale from or 

through facility. 

Onshore natural gas processing ..... The quantity of residue gas leaving that has been processed by the facility and any gas that passes through the facility to sale without 

being processed by the facility in the calendar year, in thousand 

standard cubic feet under 40 CFR 98.236(aa)(3)(ix) b.

Onshore natural gas transmission 

compression.

The quantity of natural gas transported through the compressor station 

in the calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet under 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(4)(i).

0.11 percent of natural gas sent to sale from or 

through facility. 

Onshore natural gas transmission 

pipeline.

The quantity of natural gas transported through the facility and transferred to third parties such as LDCs or other transmission pipelines 

in the calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet under 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(11)(iv).

Underground natural gas storage .... The quantity of natural gas withdrawn from storage and sent to sale in 

the calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet under 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(5)(ii).


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31Equation B–1 reflects the statutory text at 

136(f)(1)(A), which states: ‘‘With respect to 

imposing and collecting the charge under 

subsection (c) for an applicable facility [in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas production and 

offshore petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segments], the Administrator shall impose 

and collect the charge on the reported metric tons 

of methane emissions from such facility that exceed 

(A) 0.20 percent of the natural gas sent to sale from 

such facility. . .’’ 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(1)(A). 

32Equation B–2 reflects the statutory text at 

136(f)(1)(B), which states: ‘‘With respect to 

imposing and collecting the charge under 

subsection (c) for an applicable facility [in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas production and 

offshore petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segments], the Administrator shall impose 

and collect the charge on the reported metric tons 

of methane emissions from such facility that 

exceed. . . (B) 10 metric tons of methane per 

million barrels of oil sent to sale from such facility, 

if such facility sent no natural gas to sale.’’ 42 

U.S.C. 7436(f)(1)(B). 

33Equation B–3 reflects the statutory text at 

136(f)(2), which states: ‘‘With respect to imposing 

and collecting the charge under subsection (c) for 

an applicable facility in [the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting, onshore natural 

gas processing, LNG import and export equipment, 

and LNG storage industry segments], the 

Administrator shall impose and collect the charge 

on the reported metric tons of methane emissions 

that exceed 0.05 percent of the natural gas sent to 

sale from or through such facility.’’ 42 U.S.C. 

7436(f)(2). 

34Equation B–4 reflects the statutory text at 

136(f)(3), which states: ‘‘With respect to imposing 

and collecting the charge under subsection (c) for 

an applicable facility in [the onshore natural gas 

transmission compression, onshore natural gas 

transmission pipeline, and underground natural gas 

storage industry segments], the Administrator shall 

impose and collect the charge on the reported 

metric tons of methane emissions that exceed 0.11 

percent of the natural gas sent to sale from or 

through such facility.’’ 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(3). 

TABLE 2—INDUSTRY SEGMENT THROUGHPUT METRICS AND METHANE INTENSITIES—Continued 

Industry segment Throughput metric a Industry segment-specific methane intensity 

LNG import and export equipment .. For LNG import equipment, the quantity of LNG imported that is sent to 

sale in the calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet; for LNG 

export equipment, the quantity of LNG exported that is sent to sale 

in the calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet under 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(6) and (7).

0.05 percent of natural gas sent to sale from or 

through facility. 

LNG storage .................................... The quantity of LNG withdrawn from storage and sent to sale in the 

calendar year, in thousand standard cubic feet under 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(8)(ii).

aThroughput metrics in this table are based on the subpart W reporting elements as effective January 1, 2025 and would apply for assessment of WEC beginning 

with reporting year 2025. Instances where the citation for the throughput metric for reporting year 2024 differs are noted in additional footnote. Note that in instances 

where there is no change to the citation for the segment-specific throughput metric, the EPA has amended the verbiage of subpart W, effective January 1, 2025, for 

consistency with CAA section 136. Refer to section III.U. of the preamble to the 2024 Subpart W Final Rule for full discussion of these amendments. bFor reporting year 2024, the applicable subpart W throughput reporting element for the onshore natural gas processing industry segment is 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(3)(ii). 

1. Facility Waste Emissions Thresholds 

CAA section 136(f)(1) through (3) 

establishes facility-specific waste 

emissions thresholds above which the 

EPA must impose and collect the WEC. 

The CAA defines waste emissions 

threshold requirements, and establishes 

the method for calculation of the charge, 

for nine segments of the oil and gas 

industry. 

CAA section 136(f)(1) requires the 

EPA to impose and collect the WEC on 

facilities in the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production and offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segments with methane 

emissions, in metric tons, that exceed 

either 0.20 percent of the natural gas 

sent to sale from the facility or, if no 

natural gas is sent to sale, 10 metric tons 

of methane per million barrels of oil 

sent to sale from the facility. To 

determine the waste emissions 

threshold from a WEC applicable 

facility in the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production and the offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segments, the EPA is finalizing 

as proposed two equations based on 

whether the facility sends natural gas to 

sale, which reflect the statutory text at 

136(f)(1)(A) and (B). For onshore and 

offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production WEC applicable facilities 

that send natural gas to sale, we are 

finalizing as proposed equation B–1 of 

40 CFR 99.20(a). This equation 

multiplies the annual quantity of 

natural gas sent to sale from a WEC 

applicable facility by 0.002 (i.e., 0.20 

percent) and the density of methane 

(0.0192 metric tons per thousand 

standard cubic feet).31 For onshore and 

offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production facilities that have no 

natural gas sent to sale, we are finalizing 

as proposed equation B–2 of 40 CFR 

99.20(b). In equation B–2, the annual 

quantity of oil sent to sale from a WEC 

applicable facility is multiplied by 10 

metric tons of methane per million 

barrels of oil.32

For WEC applicable facilities in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting, onshore natural 

gas processing, LNG import and export 

equipment, and LNG storage industry 

segments, CAA section 136(f)(2) 

requires the EPA to impose and collect 

a WEC on facilities with reported 

methane emissions, in metric tons, that 

exceed 0.05 percent of the natural gas 

sent to sale from or through such 

facility. To determine the waste 

emissions threshold from a WEC 

applicable facility in these industry 

segments, we are finalizing as proposed 

equation B–3 under 40 CFR 99.20(c). 

This equation multiplies the annual 

quantity of natural gas sent to sale from 

or through a WEC applicable facility by 

0.0005 (i.e., 0.05 percent) and the 

density of methane (0.0192 metric tons 

per thousand standard cubic feet) to 

determine the facility-level waste 

emissions threshold.33 The EPA notes 

that certain facilities in the gathering 

and boosting and natural gas processing 

industry segments may have zero 

throughput values using this approach, 

because these facilities either receive no 

natural gas, or process or dispose of 

natural gas received in a manner that 

results in sending zero quantities of 

natural gas to sale. Treatment of these 

facilities is discussed in section II.C.6. 

of this preamble. 

CAA section 136(f)(3) requires the 

EPA to impose and collect a waste 

emissions charge on WEC applicable 

facilities in the onshore natural gas 

transmission compression, onshore 

natural gas transmission pipeline, and 

underground natural gas storage 

industry segments with methane 

emissions, in metric tons, that exceed 

0.11 percent of the natural gas sent to 

sale from or through such facility. We 

are finalizing as proposed equation B– 

4 under 40 CFR 99.20(d) to calculate the 

waste emissions threshold from a WEC 

applicable facility in these industry 

segments. Equation B–4 multiplies the 

annual quantity of natural gas sent to 

sale from or through a WEC applicable 

facility by 0.0011 (i.e., 0.11 percent) and 

the density of methane (0.0192 metric 

tons per thousand standard cubic feet) 

to determine the facility-level waste 

emissions threshold.34

The annual quantity of natural gas 

sent to sale from or through a facility 

reported under subpart W is reported in 

units of thousand standard cubic feet of 


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35See 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(1)–(3). 

natural gas per year, while facility 

methane emissions are reported in 

metric tons. The EPA interprets the 

industry segment-specific methane 

intensity thresholds (i.e., 0.20 percent, 

0.05 percent, and 0.11 percent) 

indicated in CAA section 136(f)(1) 

through (3) to be in units of thousand 

standard cubic feet of methane 

emissions per thousand standard cubic 

feet of natural gas. This requires 

reconciliation of methane emissions 

reported on mass basis and throughput 

reported on a volumetric basis. Because 

the waste emission charge is assessed 

using dollars per metric ton, the amount 

by which a facility is below or 

exceeding the waste emissions 

threshold must ultimately be converted 

to metric tons. The approach in 

equations B–1, B–3, and B–4 calculates 

facility waste emissions thresholds in 

metric tons by calculating the volume of 

gas at the given industry segmentspecific methane intensity and then 

calculating what the mass of that 

volume would be if it were methane by 

multiplying by the density of methane 

(0.0192 metric tons per thousand 

standard cubic feet at standard 

temperature and pressure of 60 °F and 

14.7 psia). This allows the waste 

emissions threshold to be directly 

compared to reported metric tons of 

methane. This approach is 

mathematically equivalent to, but 

simpler than, an approach that would 

convert reported methane emissions to 

volume, subtract a volumetric waste 

emissions threshold from that reported 

volume, and then convert the resulting 

value back to metric tons methane. The 

EPA notes that the approach used in 

this final rule does not require 

information on the constituents or 

density of natural gas throughput. 

As described in this section of the 

preamble, the waste emissions 

thresholds are calculated at the facility 

level, using the industry segmentspecific methane intensity threshold 

given in CAA sections 136(f)(1) through 

(3), and specific industry segment 

throughput metrics reported under part 

98, subpart W. The vast majority of 

facilities report as a single subpart W 

facility to a single subpart W industry 

segment. However, as discussed in 

section II.A. of this preamble, there are 

a small number of reporters that report 

as a single subpart W facility to multiple 

subpart W industry segments. 

Specifically, for facilities that report to 

multiple industry segments under a 

single subpart W facility, we are 

finalizing in 40 CFR 99.20(e) that the 

facility-level waste emissions threshold 

is determined as the sum of the waste 

emissions thresholds for each industry 

segment within which the facility 

operates. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed its 

interpretation of ‘‘natural gas sent to 

sale’’ to mean the amount of natural gas 

sent to sale from a facility in the 

onshore or offshore petroleum and 

natural gas industry segments, as 

reported under subpart W. The EPA is 

finalizing as proposed its interpretation 

of ‘‘natural gas sent to sale from or 

through’’ to mean the natural gas 

throughput volume for a facility not in 

the onshore or offshore petroleum and 

natural gas industry segments that 

aligns with the movement of gas 

through a facility (e.g., gas transported 

rather than gas received), as reported 

under subpart W. For facilities in the 

onshore and offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production industry 

segments that do not send natural gas to 

sale, the EPA is finalizing as proposed 

its interpretation of ‘‘barrels of oil sent 

to sale’’ to mean the quantity of crude 

oil sent to sale, as reported under 

subpart W. 

The EPA is aware of and received 

comment on other approaches for 

calculating ‘‘methane intensity’’ 

currently in use. These include 

methodologies that allocate total 

methane emissions between the 

petroleum and natural gas value chains 

and/or use methane rather than natural 

gas as the throughput value. CAA 

section 136(f)(1) through (3) refers to 

reported facility emissions and does not 

discuss allocation of emissions between 

petroleum and natural gas. In the case 

of the methane charge program 

established in CAA section 136, the 

statutory text is clear that facilities that 

produce only oil are to calculate the 

waste emissions threshold based on 

only on the quantity of oil sent to sale. 

The statutory text is clear that in all 

other cases, the quantity of natural gas 

sent to sale is the appropriate 

throughput value.35 Further, the final 

approach can be implemented with data 

currently reported under subpart W, 

while alternative methane intensity 

methodologies would require reporting 

of additional data and increase the 

burden on the oil and gas industry. For 

example, an approach that calculates 

intensity as methane emissions divided 

by the methane in natural gas 

throughput would require facilities to 

collect and report additional 

information of the methane content of 

natural gas. Again, this approach would 

not be aligned with the statute, which 

defines the intensity as methane 

emissions as a percentage of natural gas, 

not methane emissions as a percentage 

of methane. An approach that calculates 

methane intensity as the mass of 

methane emissions divided by the mass 

of natural gas would also not align with 

a plain reading of the statutory text or 

standard conventions. The natural gas 

sent to sale from or through a facility is 

reported under subpart W in thousand 

standard cubic feet, a volumetric unit of 

measure. Congress was aware of this 

metric when it established the waste 

emissions thresholds. Further, all 

percentage-based methane intensity 

metrics that the EPA is aware of are 

volume-based rather than mass-based, 

and while natural gas throughput is 

commonly reported both in terms of 

volume and energy content, it is not 

common practice to report throughput 

in terms of mass. Such an approach 

would also require facilities to collect 

and report detailed information on all of 

the constituents of natural gas 

throughput. Finally, an approach that 

allocates methane emissions between 

the petroleum and natural gas value 

chains based on energy content would 

not be aligned with the statute, which 

does not make any mention of allocating 

total facility methane emissions to the 

petroleum and natural gas value chains 

and assessing the WEC using a subset of 

total facility emissions. This approach 

would also require facilities to collect 

and report detailed data on the 

constituents and energy content of all 

hydrocarbon throughput. The EPA 

therefore believes that the approaches 

finalized in this rulemaking not only 

follow a plain reading of CAA section 

136(f) but are also the best and most 

reasonable approaches. 

2. Facility Methane Emissions 

To determine the total methane 

emissions from a WEC applicable 

facility, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed to use facility-level methane 

data as reported under subpart W. 

Facility methane emissions must be 

calculated using methods or data 

required by subpart W and by this final 

rule for the emissions year covered by 

the annual WEC filing. For example, for 

the first year of the WEC (2024 

emissions), WEC calculations are based 

on the subpart W requirements effective 

for the 2024 reporting year, and 

emissions year 2025 emissions and 

beyond are based on subpart W 

requirements effective in reporting year 

2025 or any future revisions. The final 

approaches for calculating waste 

emissions thresholds and facility 

methane emissions align with the text of 

CAA section 136(f). CAA section 

136(f)(1) through (3) states that the WEC 

is to be calculated based ‘‘on the 


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reported metric tons of methane 

emissions from such facility that 

exceed’’ specified percentages of the 

‘‘natural gas sent to sale from such 

facility’’ or ‘‘natural gas sent to sale from 

or through such facility’’ (or for onshore 

and offshore petroleum facilities that do 

not send gas to sale, ‘‘ten metric tons of 

methane per million barrels of oil sent 

to sale from such facility’’). The EPA is 

finalizing its interpretation of ‘‘reported 

metric tons of methane emissions’’ to 

mean all reported methane emissions 

from a facility, as reported under 

subpart W, except in cases when 

emissions for stationary combustion 

emissions reported under 40 CFR 

98.236(z) double-count emissions 

reported for an other large release event 

under 40 CFR 98.236(y), in which case 

the ‘‘reported metric tons of methane 

emissions’’ are adjusted according to the 

provisions finalized at 40 CFR 

99.7(b)(2)(ix). This value, only adjusted 

to prevent double-counting as specified, 

is an input to equation B–6 of 40 CFR 

99.21. 

We are finalizing these provisions to 

adjust the subpart W methane emissions 

to prevent double-counting in the 

unlikely event that a stationary 

combustion source emits at the level 

requiring reporting as an other large 

release event in the subpart W report for 

a WEC applicable facility. In general, we 

did not expect that any stationary 

combustion source would have 

emissions above the threshold required 

to be reported under the provisions at 

40 CFR 98.236(y) for other large release 

events. To qualify for reporting as an 

other large release event, the stationary 

combustion source must have methane 

emissions of 100 kg/hr or greater. We 

note that this emission rate would be 

evaluated on a per individual stationary 

combustion source basis unless they 

have a single root cause and we do not 

believe any single stationary 

combustion source would emit methane 

at this level unless it was significantly 

malfunctioning. Therefore, we expect 

that stationary combustion sources 

would be reported under the provisions 

of other large release events only under 

rare circumstances. For sources other 

than stationary combustion sources that 

have calculation methods in subpart W, 

the 100 kg/hr threshold is evaluated 

incremental to the emissions estimated 

using the methods in subpart W and 

subpart W contains provisions in 40 

CFR 98.233(y)(1)(ii) to prevent doublecounting of emissions reported under 

other large release events and these 

other subpart W calculation methods. 

However, stationary combustion 

emissions are subject to direct 

assessment of the 100 kg/hr threshold as 

specified in 40 CFR 98.233(y)(1)(i) with 

no provisions to revise emissions 

calculated under 98.233(z) for the 

period of time the stationary source was 

malfunctioning and emitting methane at 

rates exceeding 100 kg/hr. Therefore, it 

is possible, however unlikely, that there 

may be some double-counting of 

emissions being reported under 40 CFR 

98.236(y) and (z) and we are finalizing 

part 99 provisions to ensure that the 

total methane emissions (and the total 

CO2e emissions) for the facility are 

corrected for part 99 purposes to 

prevent this potential for doublecounting of emissions under the WEC 

program. In the exceedingly unlikely 

event that the total CO2e for a facility 

drops below the 25,000 mt CO2e WEC 

reporting threshold as a result of this 

adjustment for double-counting of 

emissions, we are finalizing 40 CFR 

99.7(b)(2)(ix) related to the reporting 

requirements and assessment of WEC 

for such facilities. In this circumstance, 

the total facility applicable emissions 

and WEC applicable emissions for the 

facility would be defined as zero, and 

the facility would not be subject to 

reporting requirements beyond those 

necessary to link the facility to subpart 

W reporting and substantiate the 

existence of double-counting of 

emissions due to the reporting of 

stationary combustion source emissions 

as an other large release event. 

3. Facility WEC Calculation 

To calculate the amount by which a 

WEC applicable facility is below or 

exceeding the waste emissions 

threshold, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed to use equation B–6 of 40 CFR 

99.21(a), in which the facility waste 

emissions threshold, as determined in 

40 CFR 99.20, is subtracted from facility 

total methane emissions. This 

calculation results in a value of metric 

tons of methane, the total facility 

applicable emissions, that is negative for 

facilities below the waste emissions 

threshold and positive for facilities 

exceeding the waste emissions 

threshold. The remainder of 40 CFR 

99.21 describes how to determine the 

WEC applicable emissions below or 

exceeding the waste emissions 

threshold considering any exemptions 

that may apply for WEC applicable 

facilities with total facility applicable 

emissions greater than 0 mt CH4 (see 

section II.D. of this preamble for more 

information on the exemptions). As 

discussed in section II.D.2. of this 

preamble, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed that WEC applicable facilities 

receiving the regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year are 

exempted from the WEC, and therefore 

have zero WEC applicable emissions. 

Section II.D.2.g. of this preamble also 

explains the facility-level WEC 

applicable emissions calculation for 

facilities with partial eligibility for the 

regulatory compliance exemption. For 

facilities with total facility applicable 

emissions greater than 0 mt CH4 that are 

eligible for the unreasonable delay or 

plugged well exemptions, any methane 

emissions associated with those 

exemptions are subtracted to calculate 

WEC applicable emissions. See sections 

II.D.1.b and II.D.3.b of this preamble for 

explanation of how the quantity of 

methane emissions that qualify for 

exemption due to the unreasonable 

delay and plugged well exemptions, 

respectively, are calculated. These 

calculations rely upon methane 

emissions data reported to subpart W 

and calculation methodologies specified 

in this final rule. For all other facilities, 

facility applicable emissions are equal 

to WEC applicable emissions (unless the 

facility is receiving the regulatory 

compliance exemption). 

4. Calculation Procedures for Netting 

As described in section II.B., the EPA 

is finalizing that the owner or operator 

is the WEC obligated party while 

allowing for netting among WEC 

obligated parties with the same parent 

company. This structure creates a 

potential mismatch in liability should 

one owner or operator incorrectly 

calculate their subpart W emissions 

and/or their WEC obligation, and then 

magnifies this error by netting emissions 

with another owner or operator with the 

same parent company. Therefore, in this 

section, the EPA is providing additional 

details and restrictions on how the 

netting calculations must be done when 

netting is used, and how the netting 

transactions must be tracked and 

reported. 

As described in section II.A.3. of this 

preamble, if a WEC applicable facility 

has multiple owners or operators, those 

entities must elect among themselves by 

binding agreement a single owner or 

operator as the WEC applicable facility’s 

WEC obligated party for a given year. 

Similarly, if a WEC applicable facility 

has multiple parent companies, that 

facility’s WEC obligated party must 

indicate in its certificate of 

representation for the reporting year and 

its annual WEC filing which parent 

company is selected for the purposes of 

designating the WEC obligated party’s 

(i.e., owner’s or operator’s) netting pool. 

If a WEC applicable facility has multiple 

owners or operators and multiple parent 

companies, the owner or operator 

selected as the WEC obligated party and 


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the parent company selected for netting 

must be related (e.g., the WEC obligated 

party must be a subsidiary or at least 

partially owned by the parent company 

selected for netting). These 

requirements are included as part of the 

contents of the certificate of 

representation submitted by the WEC 

obligated party for the reporting year 

pursuant to the finalized requirements 

of 40 CFR 99.4(i) as well as the annual 

WEC filing pursuant to the finalized 

requirements of 40 CFR 99.7(b). Within 

the certificate of representation, the 

WEC obligated party must identify the 

WEC applicable facilities for which they 

are responsible for the reporting year as 

well as the parent company for which 

these facilities would be included in 

netting. Within the annual WEC filing, 

the WEC obligated party must indicate 

whether any of the WEC applicable 

facilities were acquired in transactions 

that resulted in the owners or operators 

for the facility as of December 31 of the 

reporting year ceasing to exist, and 

whether such facilities were associated 

with a parent company that is different 

from the WEC obligated party’s parent 

company pursuant to the finalized 

requirements of 40 CFR 99.7(b)(1)(iv). 

This reporting is required because as a 

result of the finalized requirement of 40 

CFR 99.4, a WEC obligated party may 

become responsible for the reporting of 

a WEC applicable facility for which they 

were not an owner or operator of as of 

December 31 of the reporting year, and 

which may not have been under the 

common ownership or control of the 

WEC obligated party’s parent company 

as of December 31 of the reporting year. 

The EPA is finalizing rules and 

requirements at 40 CFR 99.23 to govern 

the transfer of net WEC emissions across 

WEC obligated parties with a common 

parent company. The first step in the 

finalized netting process is the 

calculation of metric tons of methane 

emissions equal to, below, or exceeding 

the waste emissions threshold, or WEC 

applicable emissions, for each WEC 

applicable facility as specified in 40 

CFR 99.21. The next step is summing 

WEC applicable emissions across all of 

a WEC obligated party’s WEC applicable 

facilities. This calculation, finalized at 

40 CFR 99.22(a) using equation B–8, 

yields net WEC emissions for each WEC 

obligated party. In circumstances where 

a WEC obligated party became 

responsible for facilities for which they 

were not an owner or operator of as of 

December 31 of the reporting year, the 

requirements at 40 CFR 99.2(b) and (c) 

would instead apply and the WEC 

obligated party would determine 

separate net WEC emission totals for 

their WEC applicable facilities that 

shared the same parent company as 

identified in the certificate of 

representation and those WEC 

applicable facilities that did not share 

the same parent company. The final step 

involves optional netting of emissions 

across WEC obligated parties with the 

same parent company. In this process, 

WEC obligated parties with negative net 

WEC emissions (as calculated using 

Equation B–8) may transfer those 

negative net WEC emissions to WEC 

obligated parties (with positive net WEC 

emissions) with the same parent 

company. After the negative net WEC 

emissions have been transferred as 

determined by each of the WEC 

obligated parties with a common parent 

company, each WEC obligated party’s 

net WEC emissions after transfers, or 

total methane emissions above or below 

the waste emissions threshold is 

finalized. This final amount of metric 

tons methane is used to determine if a 

WEC obligated party owes a WEC 

obligation for the given year. 

Since the owner or operator is the 

WEC obligated party, they are ultimately 

responsible for the entire WEC payment 

associated with their total emissions 

above the waste emissions threshold. 

Although an individual owner or 

operator’s WEC obligation may be 

reduced based on netting with another 

owner or operator that has WEC 

applicable emissions below the waste 

emissions threshold within the 

parameters specified, if those negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions are 

later invalidated, the WEC obligated 

party who received the negative WEC 

emissions to reduce their WEC 

obligation would be required to 

resubmit their WEC filing to remove the 

negative WEC emissions from their 

calculations and would have to adjust 

their payment accordingly. Provisions 

applicable to this scenario are finalized 

at 40 CFR 99.23(f)(2). 

A key element of WEC obligated party 

netting is that WEC obligated parties 

with zero or negative net WEC 

emissions cannot be subject to charge. A 

WEC obligated party with negative net 

WEC emissions may transfer negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions to WEC 

obligated parties with whom it shares 

the same parent company as finalized at 

40 CFR 99.23(a), but it can never receive 

positive emissions. Similarly, the WEC 

obligation of a WEC obligated party can 

never exceed the charge that would be 

calculated using their net WEC 

emissions. The WEC obligated party’s 

positive net WEC emissions after 

transfers can decrease but can never 

increase as a result of netting. In other 

words, only negative quantities of net 

WEC emissions can be transferred, and 

positive quantities of net WEC 

emissions cannot be transferred as 

finalized at 40 CFR 99.23(b). Further, 

negative net WEC emissions and 

negative net WEC emissions after 

transfers cannot be banked or otherwise 

saved for a future WEC filing year; all 

negative net WEC emissions and 

negative net WEC emissions after 

transfers are valid only for the WEC 

filing year in which they were created. 

The EPA is also finalizing 

requirements to address impacts to 

netting that result from WEC filing 

resubmissions. While the EPA expects 

that most questions related to unverified 

subpart W data will be resolved by the 

time of the WEC filing, continued 

revisions to subpart W reports or WEC 

filing resubmissions that impact 

emissions (e.g., revisions to exemption 

data) could impact a WEC obligated 

party’s net WEC emissions and thus 

netting. These include situations in 

which revisions invalidate negative net 

WEC emissions that have been 

transferred and situations in which 

revisions result in additional negative 

net WEC emissions that become 

available for transfer. As discussed in 

section III.B. of this preamble, 

resubmissions of WEC filings, including 

the applicable subpart W data, will not 

be accepted after December 15 unless 

the resubmission is related to eligibility 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption, resolution of the verification 

process (including third-party auditing), 

or otherwise permitted by the 

Administrator. 

The EPA is finalizing that any WEC 

obligated party that receives negative 

net WEC emissions loses the benefit of 

those negative net WEC emissions if 

they are later invalidated. For example, 

if WEC obligated party A transferred 

negative 10 metric tons of methane to 

WEC obligated party B with the same 

parent company, but a revision to the 

WEC filing for the WEC obligated party 

A results in the 10 metric tons of 

negative emissions being eliminated, the 

final WEC emissions of the WEC 

obligated party B that received the 

emissions will revert to the number it 

was before the 10 metric tons were 

subtracted from the total. This means 

that in this circumstance, the final WEC 

emissions of receiving WEC obligated 

party B would increase by 10 metric 

tons. 

To determine how previously 

transferred negative net WEC emissions 

that are later invalidated are removed 

from netting when multiple WEC 

obligated parties receive negative tons, 

the order in which transfers were 

approved by the designated 


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representative of the WEC obligated 

party receiving the transfer in 

accordance with the finalized 

requirement of 40 CFR 99.23(c) will be 

used on a ‘‘last in first out’’ basis. This 

indicates the order and amount of 

negative net WEC emissions that are 

removed from the net WEC emissions 

after transfers of a WEC obligated party 

that receives any negative net WEC 

emissions, should any of the negative 

net WEC emissions be invalidated. 

Affected WEC obligated parties would 

be required to submit a revised WEC 

filing and pay any new charge or 

increase in charge pursuant to the 

finalized requirements of 40 CFR 99.7(e) 

and 99.8(d). In situations where 

revisions to WEC filings result in 

additional negative net WEC emissions 

becoming available for netting, the 

applicable WEC obligated party with 

newly available negative net WEC 

emissions for transfer may transfer those 

negative net WEC emissions to another 

eligible WEC obligated party. The 

receiving WEC obligated party may then 

refile. The EPA will then provide any 

applicable refunds post verification of 

the amended report. Provisions 

applicable to the change in availability 

of transferred WEC emissions as a result 

of revisions to the WEC filing for the 

WEC obligated party that provided the 

transfers are finalized at 40 CFR 

99.23(f). All of these requirements are 

designed to allow for netting at the 

parent company level while addressing 

the potential mismatch in WEC 

obligations should one owner or 

operator incorrectly calculate their WEC 

obligation and then magnify this error 

by netting with another owner or 

operator with the same parent company. 

The EPA is finalizing reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements at 40 CFR 

99.23 for WEC obligated party emissions 

netting. As finalized at 40 CFR 99.23(c), 

each transfer of negative quantities of 

net WEC emissions must be completed 

in an electronic format specified by the 

Administrator. The EPA anticipates that 

these transfers will occur in an 

electronic system similar to the existing 

e-GGRT system used by the GHGRP. 

Each transfer must be initiated by the 

designated representative of the WEC 

obligated party that is transferring the 

negative quantities of net WEC 

emissions. The transfer will be 

considered to have occurred at such 

time that the designated representative 

of the WEC obligated party that is 

receiving the transfer approves receipt 

of the transfer. The electronic system 

will record the metric tons of negative 

WEC emissions that are transferred, the 

WEC obligated parties involved in each 

transfer, and the time that the 

designated representative of the WEC 

obligated party receiving the transfer 

approved receipt. These records will 

establish the order of precedence for 

these metric tons under the finalized 

requirement of 40 CFR 99.23(f)(2) 

related to transfers that are later 

invalidated. These electronic records are 

essential to establish the requirements 

for facilities to participate in netting, as 

allowed by CAA section 136(f)(4). 

Finally, WEC obligated parties that 

transfer and receive negative net WEC 

emissions must maintain all records 

associated with the transactions, 

including but not limited to any value 

exchanged, if applicable, for emissions 

transferred to each WEC obligated party 

under the finalized requirement of 40 

CFR 99.23(g). 

5. Waste Emissions Charge Calculation 

CAA section 136(e) establishes annual 

$/metric ton charges for all methane 

emissions for which a charge is owed. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

a WEC obligated party’s total annual 

WEC obligation is calculated by 

multiplying its net WEC emissions after 

transfers, as determined by Equation B– 

8 and after any transfer of emissions 

pursuant to 40 CFR 99.23, by the annual 

$/metric ton charge. WEC obligated 

parties with net WEC emissions after 

transfers less than or equal to zero do 

not have a WEC obligation. WEC 

obligated parties with net WEC 

emissions after transfers greater than 

zero have a WEC obligation and are 

required to pay a waste emissions 

charge. WEC obligation calculations are 

to be made for calendar years 2024, 

2025, 2026, and each year thereafter as 

per 40 CFR 99.24. 

6. Gathering and Boosting and 

Processing Facilities With Zero 

Reported Throughput 

The EPA is aware of a small number 

of gathering and boosting and natural 

gas processing facilities that emit 

methane and report under subpart W, 

but do not send gas to sale. As a result, 

these facilities would report zero natural 

gas volumes for the throughput metrics 

used in the waste emissions threshold 

calculations. For the gathering and 

boosting industry segment, these may be 

facilities that receive natural gas but 

then reinject it underground or 

otherwise do not transport any natural 

gas. For the processing industry 

segment, these may be fractionation 

plants that only receive and process 

natural gas liquids (NGLs) and do not 

handle natural gas. We proposed that all 

reported methane emissions from 

facilities with no reported throughput 

would be considered to be exceeding 

the waste emissions threshold. We 

received comments disagreeing with the 

EPA’s proposed approach and 

interpretation of the statutory text, 

indicating that WEC applicable facilities 

that do not send gas to sale are not 

contemplated by the statute and that it 

is inappropriate for the EPA to impose 

a charge in the absence of an applicable 

threshold. After continued review of the 

statutory text and consideration of 

comments received on the treatment of 

these facilities, we are finalizing a 

determination that these facilities do not 

generate WEC applicable emissions, and 

therefore will not be subject to charge. 

Using Equation B–3 under 40 CFR 

99.20(c), gathering and boosting and 

processing facilities with zero natural 

gas throughput would have a waste 

emissions threshold of 0 mt; all reported 

methane emissions from these facilities 

would therefore be exceeding the 

threshold. However, CAA section 

136(f)(2), the statutory text from which 

Equation B–3 is derived, states that the 

waste emissions threshold is calculated 

using the ‘‘natural gas sent to sale from 

or though’’ a facility. These specific 

types of gathering and boosting and 

processing facilities do not send any 

natural gas to sale. Therefore, based on 

the language in CAA section 136(f)(2), it 

would not be appropriate to subject 

these facilities to charge. Although the 

EPA is not aware of facilities in industry 

segments other than gathering and 

boosting and processing that would 

report emissions to subpart W of more 

than 25,000 mt CO2e while having zero 

throughput of natural gas or oil sent 

sales, the EPA believes the same 

interpretation should apply that they 

would not be subject to charge. The EPA 

is finalizing language at 40 CFR 99.21 

that for a WEC applicable facility for 

which the waste emissions threshold is 

zero, the total facility applicable 

emissions (i.e., the methane emissions 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for a WEC 

applicable facility prior to consideration 

of any applicable exemptions) and the 

WEC applicable emissions (i.e., the 

methane emissions equal to, below, or 

exceeding the waste emissions 

threshold for a WEC applicable facility 

after consideration of any applicable 

exemptions) are both zero. 

D. Exemptions to the Waste Emissions 

Charge 

Congress created three exemptions to 

the WEC to reduce or eliminate the 

charge under certain circumstances. The 

first exempts emissions that result from 

eligible delays in environmental 

permitting. The second exempts from 


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charge those facilities that are in 

compliance with applicable CAA 

section 111 regulations, once certain 

criteria are met. The third exempts 

emissions from wells that are 

permanently plugged. The EPA received 

numerous comments indicating that the 

proposal made accessing the 

exemptions designed by Congress 

infeasible and impractical. In this final 

rule, the EPA has made a number of 

changes to the exemptions, in particular 

the regulatory compliance exemption, to 

ensure that access to, and 

implementation of, these exemptions is 

appropriate and consistent with the best 

reading of the statute. In addition, the 

EPA is clarifying in this final rule that 

a WEC obligated party may elect 

whether or not to submit a claim for 

exemption for a WEC applicable facility 

that meets the applicability 

requirements for each exemption. 

1. Exemption for Emissions From 

Eligible Delays in Environmental 

Permitting (CAA Section 136(f)(5)) 

The permitting delay exemption 

created by CAA section 136(f)(5) allows 

for production facilities to reduce their 

WEC obligation if the permitting of 

natural gas offtake infrastructure is 

delayed unreasonably. Congress 

identified unreasonable delays in 

approval of permits for offtake 

infrastructure as a possible barrier to 

methane mitigation for WEC obligated 

parties, particularly because these 

delays could prevent increased volumes 

of natural gas from being routed to a 

sales line, and therefore directed the 

EPA to determine what constitutes an 

unreasonable delay. In this action, the 

EPA is finalizing provisions that clarify 

the definition of an unreasonable delay 

for the purposes of this exemption, 

under what circumstances the 

permitting delay exemption will be 

available to WEC obligated parties, and 

what emissions (i.e., from what sources) 

are eligible for the exemption. 

CAA section 136(f)(5) establishes an 

exemption for emissions resulting from 

delay in environmental permitting by 

stating, ‘‘Charges shall not be imposed 

pursuant to paragraph (1) on emissions 

that exceed the waste emissions 

threshold specified in such paragraph if 

such emissions are caused by 

unreasonable delay, as determined by 

the Administrator, in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure necessary for offtake of 

increased volume as a result of methane 

emissions mitigation implementation.’’ 

This provision exempts from the 

charge certain emissions occurring at 

facilities in the onshore and offshore 

production segments where permitting 

has been unreasonably delayed. 

Paragraph (1) referenced in the 

exemption refers to CAA section 

136(f)(1), which establishes the waste 

emissions threshold for applicable 

facilities in the production sector, as 

discussed in section II.B. of this 

preamble. The exemption is limited to 

emissions occurring as a result of 

certain delays in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure necessary for offtake of 

increased volume as a result of methane 

emissions mitigation implementation. 

The EPA interprets ‘‘gathering or 

transmission infrastructure necessary 

for offtake’’ to include gathering and 

transmission pipelines and compressor 

stations, and ‘‘increased volume as a 

result of methane emissions mitigation 

implementation’’ to include increased 

amounts of natural gas at on- or offshore 

production facilities available for 

transport that would have otherwise 

been emitted if not for an unreasonable 

delay in the environmental permitting 

of offtake infrastructure. 

a. Emissions Eligible for the Permitting 

Delay Exemption 

To assist in defining and determining 

‘‘unreasonable delay’’ related to 

environmental permitting, the EPA is 

finalizing a set of four criteria for 

applying the unreasonable delay 

exemption established by CAA section 

136(f)(5). These criteria only apply in 

the context of determining eligible 

emission exemptions for the 

implementation of CAA 136(f)(5) and 

this final rulemaking; they are not 

intended to speak to the reasonableness 

of a permitting delay in any other 

context. The EPA understands that the 

issue of what constitutes an 

unreasonable delay is multi-faceted and 

may be quite different under different 

regulatory and factual circumstances. At 

the same time, the EPA believes it is 

important in the context of this program 

to provide a definition that is consistent 

with the statutory charge, practical for 

the EPA to administer, and 

straightforward for applicable facilities 

to follow. With those caveats in mind, 

the EPA is finalizing the following four 

criteria for implementing this 

exemption, largely as proposed: (1) the 

facility must have emissions that exceed 

the waste emissions threshold; (2) the 

entity seeking the exemption must have 

not contributed to the delay in 

permitting; (3) the exempted emissions 

must be those resulting from gas used as 

an onsite fuel source, gas used for 

another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, gas 

reinjected into a well, or gas flared, if 

that gas would have been routed to a gas 

gathering flow line or collection system 

to a sales line without the permit delay; 

and (4) a period of 36 months must have 

passed from the time a submitted permit 

application was determined to be 

technically complete by the applicable 

permitting authority. 

The EPA believes this approach aligns 

with the statutory text and meets the 

Congressional intent of this exemption, 

while also providing reporting facilities 

with a clear and predictable set of 

criteria that the EPA can apply in a 

timely manner. The EPA requested and 

received comment on numerous aspects 

of this exemption. Comments on the 

four proposed criteria for determining 

exemption eligibility are discussed in 

the following paragraphs. Several 

commenters recommended that the EPA 

retain strong and clear criteria in the 

final rule for operators seeking an 

exemption based on unreasonable 

environmental permitting delays. 

Separate from the four criteria, several 

commenters were opposed to the 

proposed approach of using defined 

criteria for assessing exemption 

eligibility and recommended that the 

EPA evaluate each eligibility claim on a 

case-by-case basis. These commenters 

stated that the circumstances of each 

individual permitting delay are unique 

such that they can only be assessed on 

a case-by-case basis. The EPA decided 

against such an approach in this final 

rule for several reasons. Reviews of the 

individual circumstances of each 

situation would run counter to 

Congressional intent because facilities 

would be unable to predict what they 

owe, take action to limit any applicable 

charge, or settle their WEC obligation in 

a timely manner, potentially leading to 

payments that were later found subject 

to this exemption. The approach the 

EPA is adopting means that payments 

are more likely to align with amounts 

owed, including applicable exemptions, 

and thus more closely track the purpose 

for which Congress included this 

exemption. A case-by-case approach 

would also create a significant time and 

resource burden for both regulated 

entities and for the EPA. We expect that 

many types of permitting situations can 

arise, with many permutations. If 

industry were required to demonstrate 

unreasonable delay on a case-by-case 

basis, the review process would have 

resulted in uncertainty for industry and 

could have led to a significant backlog, 

thus making the annual calculation of 

the WEC obligation unduly 

burdensome. In addition, case-by-case 

decision making would require repeated 

exercise of judgment, which could lead 


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to inconsistent results and protracted 

disputes, interfering with the 

Congressional purpose in including this 

exemption. In order to ensure that the 

unreasonable delay exemption can be 

administered in an efficient manner, 

and to provide industry with clear and 

predictable requirements that must be 

met to receive this exemption, the EPA 

is finalizing the proposed approach of 

utilizing four set criteria to evaluate 

eligibility for the unreasonable delay 

exemption. As described in this section, 

the EPA has finalized certain changes to 

the individual criteria, after 

consideration of comments, to increase 

the accessibility and practicality of 

implementing this exemption. 

The EPA notes that the four criteria 

used to evaluate eligibility for the WEC 

unreasonable delay exemption, 

including the timeframe, are for the 

purpose of defining the emissions 

eligible for an exemption for the 

purposes of the implementation of CAA 

136(f)(5) and this rulemaking only and 

are not applicable for defining an 

unreasonable delay outside of this 

context. The criteria in this section do 

not apply to the determination of 

unreasonable delay for purposes of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), the Administrative Procedure 

Act (APA), or any other law involved in 

permitting processes or any other 

agency actions. In particular, the 

timeline criterion should not be 

considered applicable or informative to 

the determination of unreasonable delay 

in any context other than determining 

emission exemptions for the 

implementation of CAA 136(f)(5) and 

this rulemaking. 

The first criterion, that the facility 

must have emissions that exceed the 

waste emissions threshold, is based on 

CAA 136(f)(5), which states that 

‘‘charges shall not be imposed pursuant 

to paragraph (1) on emissions that 

exceed the waste emissions threshold 

specified in such paragraph if such 

emissions are caused by unreasonable 

delay.’’ A straightforward reading of this 

language limits the exemption to 

emissions exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold. Since charges will 

not be imposed if emissions are below 

the waste emissions thresholds, an 

exemption is unnecessary in such cases 

and, as per the statutory text, not 

applicable. For facilities that exceed the 

waste emissions threshold, emissions 

eligible for the permitting delay 

exemption will be subtracted from the 

facility emissions that exceed the waste 

emissions threshold. The exempted 

emissions will not be used to reduce 

emissions totals below the threshold 

(i.e., the lowest possible WEC applicable 

emissions for a facility with the 

exemption are zero). 

The second criterion relates to 

responsiveness on the part of the 

production sector WEC applicable 

facility that is reporting emissions 

caused by a delay in gathering or 

transmission infrastructure: the entity 

potentially eligible for the exemption 

(i.e., a WEC obligated party’s WEC 

applicable facility in the onshore or 

offshore production sector) cannot have 

contributed to the unreasonable delay in 

permitting. We proposed that neither 

the WEC obligated party seeking the 

exemption, nor the entity responsible 

for seeking the permit, may have 

contributed to the delay. Several 

commenters explained that the 

production facilities seeking the 

exemption are often separate from the 

midstream entities seeking the permit, 

and that the production companies may 

have no control or influence over the 

midstream company’s interaction with 

permitting authorities. After 

consideration of comments received on 

this criterion, we recognize that there 

may be limited or no control by the 

WEC obligated party seeking the 

exemption over the responsiveness of a 

separate permittee. Therefore, to 

increase the accessibility of this WEC 

exemption, the EPA is finalizing that 

only the WEC obligated party seeking 

the exemption is relevant for the criteria 

of contribution to delay in the 

environmental permitting process. 

Contributions to the delay by the WEC 

obligated party seeking to exempt a 

portion of their emissions from one or 

more WEC applicable facilities due to 

an unreasonable delay will be 

determined based upon the timeliness 

of response to requests for additional 

information or modification of the 

permit application, as applicable. A 

WEC obligated party seeking this 

exemption may or may not be the entity 

seeking the permit, but still may be 

required to provide permit relevant 

information. Delays in response by the 

WEC obligated party seeking the 

exemption exceeding the response time 

requested or agreed to by the permitting 

agency regarding requests for additional 

information or a permit application 

revision, or responses that exceed 30 

days from the request if no specific 

response time is requested, are 

considered to contribute to the delay in 

processing the permit application. Upon 

review and consideration of comments 

regarding clarification on whether 

lawsuits contributing to delays in the 

permitting process would be included 

in this exemption, the EPA is finalizing 

that delays from litigation in the 

environmental permitting process of 

gathering or transmission infrastructure 

are generally eligible for this exemption, 

except in those cases when the entity 

requesting the exemption is a plaintiff 

in said lawsuit. Therefore, the EPA is 

finalizing that delays contributed by the 

entity seeking the exemption either 

through delayed response or 

unresponsiveness during the permitting 

process or through initiation of a 

lawsuit regarding the permitting process 

in question are ineligible for the 

exemption. Note that this determination 

of what constitutes a delay eligible for 

the exemption in environmental 

permitting is specific solely to 

implementation of CAA section 

136(f)(5) and this rulemaking for part 99 

and is not applicable to any other 

section of the CAA, or any permitting 

program administered by the EPA or 

other Federal permitting authorities, or 

by a State, Tribal or local permitting 

authority. 

The third criterion is that the 

exempted emissions must be those 

resulting from specific emissions 

sources and activities. The EPA 

proposed that only flared emissions 

would be eligible for the exemption. 

The EPA received comment 

recommending that emissions from 

other sources also be eligible for the 

exemption. Specifically, commenters 

requested adding emissions resulting 

from activities that are compliance 

options for associated gas under NSPS 

OOOOb and EG OOOOc. The EPA 

agrees that emissions from the 

implementation of these additional 

methane emissions mitigation activities 

should be eligible for exemption, and 

notes that beneficial use and reinjection 

are often preferable to flaring, as 

demonstrated by the NSPS OOOOb and 

EG OOOOc associated gas compliance 

options’ infeasibility determination 

requirement prior to routing gas to a 

control device. After consideration of 

these comments, the EPA is finalizing a 

revised list of emissions sources that are 

eligible for the exemption to more 

closely align the WEC with the 2024 

NSPS/EG rule: the use of gas as an 

onsite fuel source, gas used for another 

useful purpose that an otherwise 

purchased fuel or raw material would 

have served, gas reinjected into a well, 

and flaring of gas. The EPA is finalizing 

that emissions from these sources must 

meet two criteria to be eligible for 

exemption: (1) all activities associated 

with these emissions must be in 

compliance with all applicable 

environmental local, State, and Federal 

regulations, and (2) the emissions must 

have only occurred as the result of an 

unreasonable delay in permitting, as 


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36 42 U.S.C. 7436(f)(5) (emphasis added). 

37 Id. 

38Federal Permitting Improvement Steering 

Council, ‘‘2020 Recommended Performance 

Schedules.’’ Federal Infrastructure Permitting 

Dashboard. April 6, 2020. https://

www.permits.performance.gov/fpisc-content/ 

recommended-performance-schedules. Accessed 

August 28, 2023. 

39Federal Permitting Improvement Steering 

Council, ‘‘FAST–41 Fact Sheet.’’ Federal 

Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard. September 13, 

2022. https://www.permits.performance.gov/ 

documentation/fast-41-fact-sheet. Accessed August 

28, 2023. 

defined in this section of the preamble 

and 40 CFR 99.30. The EPA believes 

that this approach reasonably follows 

from the text of section 136(f)(5), which 

exempts emissions caused by 

unreasonable delay in the permitting of 

‘‘gathering or transmission 

infrastructure necessary for offtake of 

increased volume as a result of methane 

emissions mitigation 

implementation.’’ 36 Other emissions 

occurring at the wellsite are not exempt 

because they are not associated with the 

delay or because they do not occur in 

compliance with applicable regulations. 

Any emissions from activities that are 

not in compliance with applicable 

regulations are ineligible for the 

exemption. This approach accords with 

the text of section 136(f)(5), which states 

that the exemption is for emissions 

occurring as a result of unreasonable 

delay in permitting required for the 

build out of infrastructure ‘‘necessary 

for offtake of increased volume as a 

result of methane emissions 

mitigation’’ 37 The EPA understands that 

this provision is designed to exempt 

emissions from activities done in 

compliance with regulations, where 

sources are prepared to capture gas but 

cannot yet do so due to lack of offtake 

infrastructure. 

The fourth criterion is that an eligible 

‘‘unreasonable delay’’ would be a delay 

that exceeds 36 months from the date 

that a submitted environmental permit 

application was determined to be 

technically complete by the relevant 

permitting authority. This time period is 

not tied to the timing of the WEC; a 

facility that meets all four criteria would 

be eligible for the exemption in the first 

year of the WEC if the time period 

requirement has been met. The relevant 

permitting authority could be the 

United States Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (FERC), or other Federal, 

State or local agencies that issue 

environmental permits. The 

environmental permitting process can 

require multiple steps, and target dates 

for permit actions can vary by regulatory 

agency and depend, for example, on 

whether the relevant permit is for a new 

or existing source, or whether the action 

is a major or minor modification. This 

36-month timeframe for unreasonable 

delay is intended to provide a 

predictable process for determination of 

this exemption, given that there are so 

many different contexts in which it 

might apply, and the unreasonableness 

of each could vary widely, and is not 

specific to particular permitting actions 

or agency timelines. 

The EPA proposed a timeline 

somewhere in the range of 30 to 42 

months, with the default to be specified 

in this final rule after consideration of 

comments received. This preliminary 

range was based on the EPA’s 

understanding of timelines for oil and 

gas permitting across Federal agencies. 

In particular, the preliminary range was 

informed by the EPA’s review of data 

made available through the Federal 

Permitting Improvement Steering 

Council (FPISC) through Title 41 of the 

Fixing America’s Surface Transportation 

Act (FAST–41). The ‘‘Recommended 

Performance Schedules for 2020’’ 

released by FPISC contains data for the 

Federal review and permitting of 18 

pipeline projects under the FAST–41 

program.38 For these projects, the mean 

time from receipt by FERC of a complete 

application to the issuance of a 

certificate of public convenience and 

necessity for interstate natural gas 

pipelines was 23 months, with three of 

the 18 projects (17 percent) exceeding 

30 months. Criteria for inclusion in the 

FAST–41 program include projects that 

are considered likely to require 

investment exceeding $200,000,000 and 

that do not qualify for abbreviated 

review under applicable law; or projects 

of a size and complexity that the FPISC 

determines are likely to benefit from 

inclusion.39 On this basis, the EPA 

believes the FAST–41 dataset may be a 

conservative population (i.e., require 

more complex environmental review 

and permitting) when compared to the 

total of all gathering or transmission 

infrastructure projects. 

The proposed range of 30 to 42 

months also took into account the 2023 

Fiscal Responsibility Act, which set a 

limit under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1 year for completion of 

an Environmental Assessment and 2 

years for completion of an 

Environmental Impact Statement unless 

extended by the lead agency in 

consultation with the applicant or 

project sponsor. However, the amount of 

time necessary to complete an 

Environmental Assessment or 

Environmental Impact Statement will 

vary depending on the specific agency 

action at issue, and the proposed 

timeline was not intended to reflect a 

determination of the reasonable length 

of a time necessary to complete such 

analysis in any specific instance. For 

projects requiring approval or 

permitting from a Federal agency, 

completion of an Environmental 

Assessment or Environmental Impact 

Statement must occur prior to the 

agency taking a final agency action. 

Additional steps in the process that 

must be completed following 

completion of review under NEPA may 

add several months to the overall 

timeframe (e.g., convening of FERC to 

approve or deny a certificate of public 

convenience and necessity). 

The EPA did not receive substantive 

comments supporting a specific number 

of months from the proposed range of 30 

to 42 months. Considering our analyses, 

and in an effort to simplify and 

streamline requests for this exemption, 

we determined that an approach of 36 

months is appropriate and in alignment 

with the Congressional intent of 

specifying delays that are unreasonable, 

only for the purposes of this 

unreasonable environmental permitting 

delay exemption under the WEC. 

All four criteria must be met and 

verified by the EPA for emissions to be 

eligible for this exemption. No single 

factor, including timing, is 

determinative as to whether a delay is 

unreasonable in the context of this 

exemption. We are not assessing 

whether a delay of a period of 36 

months alone (i.e., in the absence of the 

other three criteria) should be 

considered unreasonable in the context 

of this exemption, and we are not 

assessing the reasonableness of a 

particular timeframe or collection of 

conditions outside of the context of this 

exemption specific to CAA section 136. 

An assessment of reasonableness in any 

other context depends on the 

circumstances specific to that context, 

which can vary considerably and there 

is no straightforward way to determine 

whether a delay is reasonable or 

unreasonable that applies to all 

contexts. 

b. Calculation of Emissions Resulting 

From an Unreasonable Delay 

Through the provisions at 40 CFR 

99.32, the EPA is finalizing that 

exempted emissions are those resulting 

from gas used as an onsite fuel source, 

used for another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, reinjected 

into a well, or flared, and these 

emissions were caused by the delay. 

Exempted emissions are the methane 

emissions (or a subset of the methane 

emissions from these activities) reported 


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91120 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

under subpart W. To calculate the 

exempted emissions quantity, the entity 

must determine the time period within 

the reporting year associated with the 

emissions that occurred as a result of 

the delay. The delay begins when 

emissions would have been avoided 

through the operation of the gathering or 

transmission infrastructure, not when 

construction would have begun, as in 

many cases the infrastructure would not 

be immediately in place and operational 

at the time of permitting approval. For 

example, a permit to construct might be 

needed before construction begins, and 

construction could take months or more 

before the infrastructure would be in 

place. Where the exempted emissions 

cover the entire reporting year, the 

exempted emissions are the total 

reported to part 98 for the exempted 

sources. The exempted flaring emissions 

would be the total reported to part 98 

for flare stacks, associated gas flaring, 

and the portion of offshore methane 

emissions attributable to flaring. Note 

that for reporting year 2024, where a 

continuous emissions monitoring 

system (CEMS) was used to measure 

emissions from a flare stack, the volume 

of gas sent to that flare stack and 

associated methane emissions would 

not be quantified under the final 

requirements of this part at 40 CFR 

99.32(b)(4) and 99.32(c)(8), respectively. 

This is because pursuant to 40 CFR 

98.236(n)(12), methane emissions are 

not reported for these flare stacks in 

reporting year 2024 and thus there is no 

associated quantity of emissions to 

exempt from charge. Regarding 

emissions from gas used as an onsite 

fuel source, the exempted emissions 

would be the total methane emissions 

reported to part 98 for onsite 

combustion and crankcase venting. For 

emissions from gas used for another 

useful purpose that an otherwise 

purchased fuel or raw material would 

have served, the exempted emissions 

would be the total methane emissions 

reported to part 98 for combustion, 

crankcase venting, and associated 

equipment leaks. For those emissions 

from the reinjection of excess gas into 

the well or injection into another well, 

the exempted emissions would be those 

methane emissions reported to part 98 

associated with combustion from 

compressor drivers, crankcase venting, 

reciprocating or centrifugal compressor 

venting (associated with reinjection), 

and equipment leaks (for those 

components associated with well 

injection). 

Where exempted emissions occur in 

only a fraction of a reporting year, the 

facility is to use data on applicable 

emissions over that timeframe if 

available, and if unavailable, the facility 

is to adjust applicable part 98 reported 

emissions using the fraction of the year 

that the exemption is available. Where 

applicable emissions impacted by 

permitting delay only account for a 

portion of the total emissions from 

exempted sources (i.e., associated gas 

flaring, combustion, compressor 

emissions), the facility is to adjust their 

part 98 reported emissions for these 

sources using company records and/or 

engineering calculations. We sought 

comment but received none specifically 

on the provisions regarding the use of 

reported flaring emissions to determine 

exempted emissions, the use of part 98 

data, and the approaches for quantifying 

emissions for fractions of the reporting 

year. 

c. Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Requirements for the Exemption for 

Emissions Resulting From a Permit 

Delay 

Through the provisions at 40 CFR 

99.31, the WEC obligated party seeking 

to exempt a portion of their emissions 

from one or more WEC applicable 

facilities must provide information on 

each well pad or offshore platform 

impacted by the delay. This includes 

the type of permit, permitting authority, 

the company name and name of the 

facility that submitted the permit 

application, and the date that the permit 

application was complete. The WEC 

obligated party must report the planned 

timing of the commencement of the 

offtake of gas had the permit not been 

delayed. This includes a listing of the 

methane emissions mitigation activities 

that are impacted by the delay and the 

volumes of gas associated with and 

emissions from the use of gas as an 

onsite fuel source, the use of gas for 

another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, reinjection 

of the gas into a well, and the flaring of 

gas, if that gas would have been routed 

to gathering or transmission 

infrastructure. This reporting also 

includes information used in the 

calculation of emissions from the use of 

gas as an onsite fuel source, the use of 

gas for another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, reinjection 

of the gas into a well, and the flaring of 

gas that is necessary for verification of 

emissions calculations and is not 

reported to subpart W of the GHGRP. 

This also includes a certification of 

compliance with all applicable local, 

State, and Federal regulations regarding 

said emissions. While a listing of each 

of these applicable regulations is not 

required to be reported, retention of a 

record listing of all applicable local, 

State, and Federal regulations is 

required. The WEC obligated party must 

report the time period associated with 

the emissions that occurred as a result 

of the delay within the filing year. The 

WEC obligated party must also certify 

that the production segment entity 

impacted by the delay did not 

contribute to the unreasonable delay. 

The EPA requires this information for 

the verification of exemption eligibility 

and of exempted emission quantity. 

Reported information will be used to 

conduct verification as discussed in 

section III.A.4., and reported 

information, records and other 

information as applicable will be used 

to conduct any auditing that occurs 

under section III.E.1. 

2. Regulatory Compliance Exemption 

Under CAA Section 136(f)(6) 

The regulatory compliance exemption 

created in CAA section 136(f)(6) allows 

for WEC applicable facilities subject to 

methane emissions requirements 

pursuant to CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

to claim an exemption from paying the 

charge if certain criteria are met. As 

such, Congress explicitly exempts WEC 

applicable facilities that are in 

compliance with NSPS OOOOb and EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans from 

having to pay the charge. The criteria for 

exemption from the WEC established by 

Congress provide a strong incentive for 

States to develop timely and effective 

State plans under EG OOOOc and for 

facilities to comply with the regulations 

for new and existing sources. In this 

action, the EPA is finalizing provisions 

that clarify when the regulatory 

exemption will become available, under 

what conditions it can be claimed by a 

WEC applicable facility, and under what 

conditions it may be lost. 

As described in further detail in this 

section, upon careful consideration of 

the public comments received on the 

numerous facets of the regulatory 

compliance exemption, the EPA is 

finalizing changes from proposal to 

some elements of the exemption in 

order to better align with Congressional 

objectives and the text of the statute. 

The final approach strengthens the 

incentives for early State action to 

implement EG OOOOc by taking a Stateby-State approach to the required 

Administrator determinations and 

requiring that these emission standards 

be in place before the regulatory 

compliance exemption is available. At 

the same time, these changes provide 

reasonable access to the exemption for 

applicable facilities working to achieve 

and maintain compliance with methane 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91121 

40Under the Tribal Authority Rule (TAR), eligible 

Tribes may seek approval to implement a plan 

under CAA section 111(d) in a manner similar to 

a state. See 40 CFR part 49, subpart A. Tribes may, 

but are not required to, seek approval for treatment 

in a manner similar to a state for purposes of 

developing a Tribal implementation plan (TIP) 

implementing the EG codified in 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart OOOOc. The TAR authorizes Tribes to 

develop and implement their own air quality 

programs, or portions thereof, under the CAA. 

However, it does not require Tribes to develop a 

CAA program. Tribes may implement programs that 

are most relevant to their air quality needs. If a 

Tribe does not seek and obtain the authority from 

the EPA to establish a TIP, the EPA has the 

authority to establish a Federal CAA section 111(d) 

plan for designated facilities that are located in 

areas of Indian country. A Federal plan would 

apply to all designated facilities located in the areas 

of Indian country covered by the Federal plan 

unless and until the EPA approves a TIP applicable 

to those facilities. In this notice, all uses of the 

phrase ‘‘state and Federal plans’’ are intended to 

include any Tribal plans, to the extent that any 

Tribal plans are developed to implement EG 

OOOOc. 

41CAA section 136(f)(6)(A). 

42CAA section 136(f)(6)(A). 

emissions requirements pursuant to 

CAA sections 111(b) and (d) by limiting 

the types of compliance deviations that 

would trigger a loss of the regulatory 

compliance exemption, by reducing the 

time period during which a facility that 

is not in compliance loses the 

exemption, and, for certain facilities, 

limiting the emissions that lose the 

exemption to those from the portion of 

the facility with noncompliance. In this 

section II.D.2., we summarize the final 

approach for all facets of the regulatory 

compliance exemption. Individual 

elements of the final exemption 

requirements are discussed in more 

detail in the following subsections. 

The framework established by 

Congress in the regulatory compliance 

exemption statutory text encourages 

methane reductions in the period before 

State programs are in effect, and then 

exempts from charge WEC applicable 

facilities once they are in compliance 

with the methane emissions 

requirements of the final NSPS OOOOb/ 

EG–OOOOc-implementing State and 

Federal plans.40 The statutory 

framework also encourages timely 

submission of approvable EG OOOOcimplementing State plans and timely 

compliance with the emissions 

limitations therein (as well as 

compliance with the standards of 

performance in NSPS OOOOb) in order 

to ensure that those requirements 

achieve meaningful emissions 

reductions. 

The WEC does not require, but rather 

incentivizes, methane emissions 

reductions and sustained emissions 

mitigation activity across the oil and gas 

industry. In particular, for WEC 

applicable facilities in industry 

segments that are covered by EG 

OOOOc, the WEC incentivizes 

emissions reductions earlier than may 

otherwise be required pursuant to EG 

OOOOc-implementing State and Federal 

plans. The EPA expects that, as CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities 

implement and comply with the 

methane emissions requirements of 

NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOcimplementing State and Federal plans, 

many of the WEC applicable facilities 

that contain those emissions sources 

subject to those regulations and plans 

would fall below the waste emissions 

thresholds, and thus will not be subject 

to the charge. However, the regulatory 

compliance exemption recognizes that 

certain WEC applicable facilities may 

remain above the waste emissions 

thresholds even after implementation of 

the requirements in the final NSPS 

OOOOb and approved State and Federal 

plans under EG OOOOc; the regulatory 

compliance exemption provides an 

opportunity for relief from charge to 

these WEC applicable facilities whose 

constituent CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities are in compliance with their 

respective requirements. 

Congress provided that the regulatory 

compliance exemption would only 

come into effect after a determination by 

the Administrator that ‘‘(i) methane 

emissions standards and plans pursuant 

to subsections (b) and (d) of section 111 

have been approved and are in effect in 

all States with respect to the applicable 

facilities’’ and ‘‘(ii) compliance with the 

requirements described in clause (i) will 

result in equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions as would be achieved by [the 

2021 NSPS/EG Proposal], if such rule 

had been finalized and implemented’’ 

(the ‘‘equivalency determination’’).41

The EPA concludes that the best reading 

of the statute is that Congress intended 

to provide an incentive for the EPA to 

set standards for new methane 

emissions sources at least as strong as 

those it proposed, and for States to 

move promptly in adopting and 

implementing the standards of 

performance for existing sources in their 

EG OOOOc-implementing plans that 

likewise achieve reductions equal to or 

greater than those initially proposed. 

This intention is evident through the 

Administrator determinations that must 

be made before the regulatory 

compliance exemption becomes 

available. Additionally, the exemption 

is only available to WEC applicable 

facilities that are ‘‘subject to and in 

compliance with methane emissions 

requirements pursuant to subsections 

(b) and (d) of section 111.’’ 42

Collectively, the criteria in section 

136(f)(6)(A) for invoking the exemption 

mean that if the final NSPS OOOOb 

and/or EG OOOOc-implementing State 

or Federal plans are not finalized, the 

methane emissions requirements therein 

are not implemented, or the standards 

are less stringent than those in the 2021 

NSPS/EG Proposal, the exemption 

would not be available. In other words, 

WEC applicable facilities would not be 

eligible for the regulatory compliance 

exemption until all of the requisite 

conditions are met, and until that time, 

the WEC provides an incentive to 

reduce methane emissions. 

In this final rule, the EPA is finalizing 

a determination that the prerequisite 

Administrator determinations for the 

regulatory compliance exemption in 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii) will 

be made on a State-by-State basis after 

each State or Federal plan pursuant to 

CAA section 111(d) is approved and in 

effect. Also in the final rule, WEC 

applicable facilities located in a given 

State (or States, where the facility spans 

multiple States) will become eligible for 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

after the Administrator determination 

has been made for the State(s) in which 

the facility is located and at the point in 

time when the WEC applicable facility 

is subject to and in compliance with the 

requirements in the final NSPS OOOOb 

and applicable EG OOOOcimplementing State and Federal 

plan(s)—that is, when WEC applicable 

facilities must begin complying with all 

of the methane emissions requirements 

therein. These final requirements for the 

timing of regulatory compliance 

exemption availability include two key 

changes from the proposed rule. First, 

the final rule includes a shift from the 

proposed approach of making the 

exemption available to all WEC 

applicable facilities at the same time 

after all State plans are approved, to the 

final approach of making the exemption 

available on a State-by-State basis. 

Second, the final rule includes a shift 

from the proposed approach of making 

the exemption available upon the 

effective date of the State or Federal 

plans, to the final approach of making 

the exemption available when a WEC 

applicable facility is ‘‘in compliance 

with methane emission requirements’’ 

of both the NSPS OOOOb standards and 

EG OOOOc-implementing State or 

Federal plans—that is, the point in time 

when all of the CAA section 111(b) and 

(d) facilities are legally required to 

comply with the methane emissions 

standards therein. Together, these 

changes help achieve one of the 

overarching goals of encouraging early 

emission reductions. 


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43Each subpart W facility in the onshore 

production segment or the gathering and boosting 

segments is typically comprised of multiple wellpad sites or gathering and boosting sites. A well-pad 

site is defined in the 2024 Final Subpart W Rule 

as ‘‘all equipment on or associated with a single 

well-pad’’ and a gathering and boosting site is 

defined as ‘‘a single gathering compressor station 

[. . .], centralized oil production site [. . .], 

gathering pipeline site [. . .], or other fence-line 

site within the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting industry segment’’. 44CAA section 136(f)(6)(A). 

The EPA is also finalizing other 

elements of the Administrator 

determinations under CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii), including 

establishing the relative points of 

comparison for the equivalency 

determination, in order to ensure that 

those elements align with the statutory 

requirements. Because NSPS OOOOb is 

already finalized and in effect in all 

States, the EPA is finalizing an approach 

wherein the Administrator will make 

these determinations for each individual 

State once each EG OOOOcimplementing State plan, or applicable 

Federal plan, is approved. 

In this final rule, eligible WEC 

applicable facilities can seek exemption 

from the WEC through the regulatory 

compliance exemption when facilities 

subject to methane emissions 

requirements pursuant to NSPS OOOOb 

and EG OOOOc-implementing State and 

Federal plans are ‘‘in compliance’’ with 

those requirements. The EPA is 

finalizing that a WEC applicable 

facility’s eligibility for the regulatory 

compliance exemption will be based on 

the compliance status of the CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities 

contained within that WEC applicable 

facility, as indicated in annual reports 

required to be submitted under NSPS 

OOOOb and EG OOOOc-implementing 

State and Federal plans. The EPA 

proposed that the compliance status of 

these CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities would be assessed to 

determine exemption eligibility, but the 

specific criteria used to evaluate 

eligibility are different in this final rule 

than in the WEC proposal. The EPA is 

also finalizing other changes to the 

applicability provisions for this 

exemption after consideration of 

comments received. First, the EPA is 

limiting the scope of noncompliance 

with NSPS OOOOb and plans pursuant 

to EG OOOOc that would cause a WEC 

applicable facility to no longer qualify 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption. For self-reported 

noncompliance, noncompliance with 

monitoring requirements, emission 

limits and any surrogate limits, 

operating limits (including operating 

parameter limits), and work practice 

standards—the categories of 

noncompliance most likely to result in 

emissions increases—will disqualify a 

WEC applicable facility from the 

regulatory compliance exemption. Also, 

any violations of NSPS OOOOb or an 

NSPS OOOOc plan that are adjudicated 

in an administrative or judicial action 

will disqualify the WEC appliable 

facility from the regulatory compliance 

exemption. Second, the EPA is 

finalizing that for all WEC applicable 

facilities, exemption eligibility is 

assessed on a calendar quarterly basis 

(i.e., January 1–March 31), compared to 

the proposal’s approach, which would 

have assessed eligibility on an annual 

basis. Third, for all WEC applicable 

facilities defined at the basin-level (i.e., 

facilities in the onshore production and 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments), the EPA is finalizing that loss 

of exemption availability would be 

applied at the ‘‘site’’ level rather than 

the facility level; 43 for facilities in all 

other industry segments, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that the 

exemption would be lost at the facility 

level. 

In the following sections, the EPA 

describes in more detail the final 

determinations regarding the 

availability of the exemption, and 

specifically: (1) the point in time at 

which the Administrator will make the 

determination(s) pursuant to CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A)(i)–(ii) and the 

process for how the determinations will 

be made; (2) the point in time at which 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

will become available to eligible 

applicable facilities; and (3) the process 

for resumption of the WEC pursuant to 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(B) if the criteria 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption are no longer met. The EPA 

is also finalizing elements related to the 

administration of the regulatory 

compliance exemption, including: (1) 

how to interpret CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A) to govern the interaction 

between WEC applicable facilities and 

both CAA section 111(b) affected 

facilities and CAA section 111(d) 

designated facilities (collectively 

referred to in this preamble as ‘‘CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities’’) for the 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption; (2) how compliance with the 

methane emissions requirements 

promulgated under CAA sections 111(b) 

and (d) will be defined for the purposes 

of the regulatory compliance exemption; 

and (3) reporting requirements for 

applicable facilities claiming the 

regulatory compliance exemption. 

a. Timing for the Administrator’s 

Regulatory Compliance Exemption 

Determinations 

Before an applicable facility may 

claim the regulatory compliance 

exemption, the Administrator must 

determine that: (1) ‘‘methane emissions 

standards and plans pursuant to 

subsections (b) and (d) of section 111 

have been approved and are in effect in 

all States with respect to the applicable 

facilities,’’ and (2) ‘‘compliance with the 

requirements described in clause (i) will 

result in equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions as would be achieved by the 

[2021 NSPS/EG Proposal], if such rule 

had been finalized and 

implemented.’’ 44 This framework 

indicates that Congress intended these 

prerequisites to exemption availability 

to encourage timely implementation of 

the emission reduction requirements in 

the 2024 Final NSPS/EG and to ensure 

that those requirements achieve 

meaningful emissions reductions. 

The EPA proposed that both 

Administrator determinations would be 

made for the entire nation at one point 

in time when EG OOOOc-implementing 

plans were approved and in effect in 

each and every State that contained 

WEC applicable facilities. Because the 

Administrator determinations must be 

made before the exemption becomes 

available, under the proposed approach, 

the exemption would have become 

available to all States at the same time 

at a point after the approval of the last 

State or Federal plan. In other words, 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

would have become available to all 

eligible WEC applicable facilities in the 

country at the same time, and an 

applicable facility located in a State or 

States with an approved plan(s) would 

be required to wait until all plans in the 

country were approved and the EPA had 

then made the necessary Administrator 

determinations before it could become 

eligible for the regulatory compliance 

exemption. The EPA also sought 

comment on an alternative approach 

wherein the regulatory compliance 

exemption would become available on a 

State-by-State basis based on the 

finalization of plans for individual 

States. The EPA received a significant 

number of public comments on the 

proposed approach, with many 

commenters disagreeing with the EPA’s 

proposed interpretation of the statutory 

text. Such commenters argued that the 

proposed approach disincentivized 

States from taking early action in the 

development of State plans, 

undercutting Congress’ principal goal of 


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45Comment of the American Exploration and 

Production Council, Document ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2023–0434–0276 at p. 20. 

limiting methane emissions as quickly 

as possible. They contended that 

‘‘proactive States’’ would not realize any 

benefits for their regulated communities 

by acting early, discouraging quick 

action. In addition, many commenters 

stated that the availability of the 

exemption could be held back by 

‘‘lagging States,’’ which would 

unreasonably and unfairly limit the 

availability of the exemption by making 

it subject to the action or inaction of the 

least responsive State. Commenters also 

argued that the EPA’s proposal 

misinterpreted the phrase ‘‘in all States 

with respect to the applicable facilities’’ 

in CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(1), and that 

this phrase commanded a reading of the 

statute that supported the alternative 

‘‘State-by-State’’ approach to the 

Administrator determinations. 

After consideration of public 

comments, the EPA is finalizing an 

alternative approach, on which the 

Agency solicited comment, regarding 

the timing of the Administrator 

determinations required in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i)–(ii). As described in the 

proposed rule, such determinations will 

occur on a State-by-State basis as State 

plans are approved and, where 

appropriate, Federal plans issued 

pursuant to CAA section 111(d). This 

approach means that the Administrator 

will proceed in a State-by-State manner 

to make determinations that: (i) 

‘‘methane emissions standards and 

plans pursuant to subsections (b) and 

(d) of section 111 have been approved 

and are in effect in all States with 

respect to the applicable facilities,’’ and 

(ii) ‘‘compliance with the requirements 

described in clause (i) will result in 

equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions as would be achieved by the 

[2021 NSPS/EG Proposal], if such rule 

had been finalized and implemented.’’ 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i)–(ii). Upon 

those determinations as to each State, 

the exemption will become available to 

the WEC applicable facilities located in 

that State when the final compliance 

dates have passed with respect to both 

(1) the NSPS OOOOb standards for new 

sources and (2) the standards 

established under that State’s plan (or 

Federal plan, if applicable) pursuant to 

EG OOOOc. See section II.D.2.b. of this 

preamble for further discussion of when 

an applicable facility may claim the 

exemption. 

The first Administrator determination 

is related to the timing of the 

promulgation of final methane 

emissions standards under CAA section 

111(b) and in State and Federal plans 

pursuant to an EG issued under CAA 

section 111(d). The EPA is finalizing a 

determination that this temporal 

requirement in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i) is met for all WEC 

applicable facilities in a particular State 

at the point in time when both (1) 

emission standards for new sources 

under CAA section 111(b) have been 

promulgated and are in effect and (2) a 

State’s plan for existing sources 

pursuant to an EG issued under CAA 

section 111(d) has been fully approved 

by the EPA and is in effect—or if either 

no State plan or only a partial plan has 

been approved, a Federal plan is in 

effect. 

Regarding Federal plans, the EPA is 

finalizing, as proposed, a determination 

that ‘‘plans pursuant to subsection . . . 

(d) of section 111,’’ CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i), includes the 

promulgation of a Federal plan where 

the EPA determines that a State has 

failed to submit a fully approvable State 

plan, as that is the only way a complete 

plan pursuant to CAA section 111(d) 

would take effect in those States. 

Accordingly, because the emissions 

standards for new sources under CAA 

section 111(b) have already been 

finalized by the EPA in the 2024 Final 

NSPS/EG, approval of the State (or 

Federal) plan for States with existing 

sources subject to the EG under CAA 

section 111(d) will determine the timing 

for when the determinations pursuant to 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii) can 

be made for each State. 

The EPA is finalizing this State-byState approach based on the Agency’s 

interpretation of the best reading of 

CAA section 136(f)(6). Specifically, the 

EPA concludes that the best 

interpretation of the phrase ‘‘all States 

with respect to the applicable facilities’’ 

in CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) means 

that the determination is to be made for 

each State individually, and that State 

plans must be approved and in effect for 

all States in which a WEC applicable 

facility claiming the exemption is 

located. The EPA solicited comment on 

this alternative interpretation at 

proposal. See 89 FR 5338. At proposal, 

the EPA proposed ‘‘to interpret ‘all 

States’ in CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) to 

mean that every State with an 

applicable facility (i.e., all States with 

WEC applicable facilities) must have an 

approved plan (State or Federal) before 

the determination [in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i)] can be made.’’ Id. at 

5337. In addition, the EPA proposed to 

interpret the statutory text to mean that 

the Administrator must make only one 

determination as to both prongs in CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii). Upon 

consideration of public comments 

received on this proposed statutory 

interpretation, and upon reexamining 

the text of the statute, the EPA no longer 

finds that the proposed approach is the 

best reading of the statute, and, 

concludes that the ‘‘State-by-State’’ 

approach to the Administrator 

determinations that the EPA is 

finalizing in this rulemaking is the best 

reading of the statute. 

First, commenters contend, and the 

EPA agrees, that the proposed approach 

misinterpreted, and thus failed to give 

appropriate effect to, the modifier ‘‘with 

respect to the applicable facilities’’ in 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i). As one 

commenter noted: 

The term ‘‘the applicable facilities’’ [in 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i)] refers not to all 

facilities nationwide, but to the specific 

facilities whose eligibility for the Regulatory 

Compliance Exemption is in question. Giving 

meaning to all terms of the statute results in 

the conclusion that a facility is not eligible 

for the Regulatory Compliance Exemption 

until all States in which the applicable 

facility is located have a State or Federal 

OOOOc plan in effect. As for the words ‘‘in 

all States,’’ they refer not to all States that 

have any existing sources (as the EPA 

proposes to read them), but rather to all 

States in which the WEC obligated party has 

equipment in a given facility. The EPA itself 

in the proposal repeatedly notes that there 

are facilities which extend across State lines. 

See, e.g., 89 [FR] at 5399. All that these 

words provide is that no facility is eligible for 

the Regulatory Compliance Exemption for 

existing sources until all States in which that 

facility is located have a State or Federal 

existing-source plan in effect.45

Upon reconsideration of the text, the 

EPA agrees with this commenter that 

‘‘with respect to applicable facilities’’ is 

best interpreted to account for the fact 

that some applicable facilities straddle 

State lines and that this phrase should 

not be read to mean, as proposed, that 

every State in the country with a WEC 

applicable facility must have a plan 

pursuant to CAA section 111(d) 

‘‘approved and in effect’’ before the 

Administrator can make a determination 

under CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i). This 

reading is a better interpretation of the 

statute because it gives meaning to this 

modifying phrase in the context of the 

subject identified in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)—‘‘an applicable facility’’ 

seeking the exemption from the WEC. In 

other words, when Congress wrote that 

the exemption’s availability depended, 

in part, on plans being in effect ‘‘in all 

States with respect to the applicable 

facilities,’’ it meant all the States in 

which the applicable facilities seeking 

the exemption operate. 

Second, at proposal, the EPA 

interpreted the use of the singular in 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A) directing the 


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46 Id. at p. 22. 

47An ‘‘effective date’’ is the date upon which a 

final rule and the associated amendments to the 

Code of Federal Regulations become legally 

effective after publication of the final rule in the 

Federal Register. See, e.g., 5 U.S.C. 553(d) 

(establishing presumption that a final rule’s 

effective date be 30 days after publication in the 

Federal Register, unless good cause is found for an 

earlier date); 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(3) (establishing 

requirement that a ‘‘major’’ rule take effect no 

sooner than 60 days after publication in the Federal 

Register). A ‘‘compliance date’’ is the date(s) 

included within the effective final rule upon which 

a regulated entity must comply with specified 

requirements of the regulations. See, e.g., 40 CFR 

subpart Ba, 60.21a(g) (‘‘Compliance schedule means 

a legally enforceable schedule specifying a date or 

dates by which a source or category of sources must 

comply with specific standards of performance 

contained in a plan or with any increments of 

progress to achieve such compliance.’’). In some 

cases, a regulation’s effective date and compliance 

date may be the same date. In other cases, a 

regulation may be in effect, but not yet require 

compliance with some or all of its provisions until 

a future date. Some regulations have multiple 

different compliance dates for different regulatory 

provisions. 

EPA to make ‘‘a determination’’ on the 

requirements outlined in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii) as limiting the 

EPA to one determination. At proposal, 

because the EPA believed that the 

Administrator could only make one 

determination, which, by necessity, 

could only be done once all standards 

and plans were in place, the EPA 

concluded that we were bound to make 

the determination only once EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans were in 

place in all states. However, upon 

consideration of the public comments 

challenging that interpretation and after 

reexamining the statutory text, the EPA 

now concludes that the statute does not 

require a reading that limits the 

Administrator to making only one 

determination. Rather, the best reading 

of the phrase ‘‘a determination’’ in CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A) is that it was 

intended to ensure that the 

determination required by both prongs 

(i) and (ii) had been made with respect 

to the WEC applicable facility seeking 

the exemption described in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A). In other words, because 

‘‘applicable facility’’ is framed in the 

singular in paragraph (A), it is logical 

that the prerequisite ‘‘determination’’ 

would also be framed in the singular as 

to that facility. But that does not 

indicate the Administrator is precluded 

from making more than one 

determination as necessary to effectuate 

availability of the exemption 

nationwide. We therefore do not read 

the statute to limit the Administrator to 

making one determination, but rather 

believe that the statute indicates that the 

Administrator is permitted to make 

multiple determinations. As one 

commenter explained: 

[T]he singular use of ‘‘a’’ within the phrase 

‘‘upon a determination by the Administrator’’ 

is countered by the singular word ‘‘an’’ 

within the phrase ‘‘[c]harges shall not be 

imposed pursuant to subsection (c) on an 

applicable facility that is subject to and in 

compliance with methane emissions 

requirements.’’ This phrase clearly 

contemplates that the Regulatory Compliance 

Exemption is being made for particular 

applicable facilities, and that is the correct 

frame through which the subsequent phrase 

‘‘a determination’’ should be made.46

As just described, the EPA agrees with 

this statutory interpretation. And 

further, because the first of the two 

Administrator determinations in CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) hinges on the 

approval of each State’s plan (which 

will apply to all WEC affected facilities 

within the State), the best approach to 

implementing this statutory directive is 

for the Administrator to make the 

determinations in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A(i) and (ii) on a State-by-State 

basis. 

The EPA notes that while the best 

approach to meaningfully implementing 

these statutory provisions is for the EPA 

to make a determination under CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A) upon the approval 

of each State plan, that does not 

preclude the EPA from reviewing and 

revising an Administrator determination 

if a standard or plan is later revised, in 

order to ensure that the conditions of 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A) are still met, 

consistent with the resumption of 

charge language in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(B). Moreover, the language in 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(B), which 

anticipates that ‘‘the conditions in 

clause (i) or (ii)’’ of CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A) may at some point ‘‘cease to 

apply,’’ supports the EPA’s 

interpretation in this final rule that the 

Administrator is not bound to making 

only one determination. Congress 

clearly anticipated that the EPA might 

revisit its determinations if the methane 

emissions standards pursuant to CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) change in the 

future. Given that possibility, the statute 

cannot be read to mean that the 

Administrator must be limited to 

making only one determination as to the 

conditions in CAA 136(f)(6)(A)(i) and 

(ii) and never again revisit it. 

Many facets of the proposed approach 

to the regulatory compliance exemption 

flowed from the interpretation that the 

Administrator must make only one 

determination as to all States. The EPA 

no longer finds that interpretation to be 

persuasive or consistent with the 

statutory text in light of the many 

persuasive comments offering a 

different view. Accordingly, in light of 

the fact that the statute permits the 

Administrator to make more than one 

determination, and in order to give 

meaning to the phrase ‘‘with respect to 

the applicable facilities,’’ the EPA has 

concluded that finalizing a ‘‘State-byState’’ approach to the Administrator 

determinations aligns with the best 

reading of CAA section 136(f)(6)(A). 

The second determination that must 

be made before the regulatory 

compliance exemption becomes 

available to an applicable facility is 

whether the final ‘‘methane emissions 

standards and plans’’ provide 

equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions than would have been 

achieved by the 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal, had it been finalized and 

implemented as proposed. As the EPA 

explains in section II.D.2.d. of this 

preamble, the EPA has concluded that 

this determination should take into 

account the content of the final State 

plans. Because plans pursuant to CAA 

section 111(d) will not be finalized for 

several years, the EPA cannot make a 

final equivalency determination in this 

final action. Instead, the EPA is 

finalizing an approach wherein the 

equivalency determination will be made 

for each individual State with CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) facilities after the 

CAA section 111(d) plan (i.e., State or 

Federal plan) for that State is approved. 

This timing will allow for evaluation of 

the emissions reductions achieved by 

the final NSPS OOOOb and by the final 

State or Federal plan pursuant to EG 

OOOOc. More details about the nature 

and scope of the equivalency 

determination are discussed in section 

II.D.2.d. of this preamble. 

b. Timing of Regulatory Compliance 

Exemption Availability to WEC 

Applicable Facilities 

The WEC program must also establish 

at what point in time a WEC applicable 

facility may claim the regulatory 

compliance exemption once the 

Administrator determinations have been 

made. CAA section 136(f)(6) provides 

that the charges shall not be imposed 

‘‘on an applicable facility that is subject 

to and in compliance with methane 

emissions requirements pursuant to 

subsections (b) and (d) of section 111.’’ 

The EPA proposed that the exemption 

would become available to applicable 

facilities in a State once all of the 

standards pursuant to NSPS OOOOb 

and the EG OOOOc-implementing plan 

were effective, because at that point the 

facilities would be technically ‘‘subject 

to’’ emissions standards, even if the 

compliance dates were in the future.47

This proposed approach, combined with 

the proposed approach for the timing of 


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the exemption’s prerequisite 

determinations, meant that all WEC 

applicable facilities in the country 

would have had gained access to the 

exemption at the same time—as soon as 

the determinations required by CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A)(i)–(ii) had been 

made. 

Based on continued consideration of 

the statutory text and Congress’s intent 

in promulgating the regulatory 

compliance exemption, the EPA is 

making revisions in this final rule from 

the proposed approach for when WEC 

applicable facilities may begin to claim 

the exemption. The EPA is finalizing 

that WEC applicable facilities will be 

able to claim the regulatory compliance 

exemption once the final compliance 

date for applicable CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) facilities has passed in the 

State(s) and Tribal lands in which the 

WEC applicable facility is located. The 

final compliance date is the date at 

which all CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities are required to comply with all 

of the final specified requirements 

pursuant to NSPS OOOOb or an EG 

OOOOc-implementing plan. For 

example, if an approved plan 

establishes compliance dates for some 

CAA section 111(d) designated facilities 

in 2029 and compliance dates for other 

designated facilities in 2030, all WEC 

applicable facilities in that State could 

begin to claim the exemption as of the 

2030 compliance date. In cases where 

the final compliance date applies to a 

CAA section 111(b) or (d) facility 

subject to a methane emissions standard 

that has phased-in requirements, the 

final compliance date is the date of the 

final requirement to be phased in. 

The EPA is finalizing that for WEC 

applicable facilities in industry 

segments for which a facility is defined 

at the basin level in subpart W that span 

multiple States (e.g., onshore 

production and gathering and boosting 

facilities), the exemption is not available 

until the final compliance date has 

passed for all States in which the 

facility is located. In cases where such 

a WEC applicable facility could span 

multiple States because it is located in 

a basin that covers multiple States, but 

the WEC applicable facility itself is only 

located in a single State, exemption 

availability for that facility will be based 

only on the final compliance deadline 

for the single State in which the WEC 

applicable facility is located. For 

purposes of implementation of the 

regulatory compliance exemption in this 

final rule, a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore production or gathering and 

boosting industry segment is considered 

to be located in each State or Tribal 

lands that a well-pad site or gathering 

and boosting site, as applicable, was 

reported to subpart W for the reporting 

year. These approaches for facilities in 

industry segments with facility 

definitions that span multiple States 

also apply to facilities that span both 

States and Tribal lands. For example, in 

such cases where a WEC applicable 

facility is located both in a State and on 

Tribal land, the final compliance date 

across all of the applicable State, 

Federal, and Tribal EG OOOOcimplementing plans must pass before 

the exemption is available to the WEC 

applicable facility. Once the exemption 

is available to a WEC applicable facility 

under this framework, all CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facilities contained 

within a WEC applicable facility will be 

required to demonstrate compliance in 

order to claim the exemption pursuant 

to CAA section 136(f)(6)(A). The 

requirements governing this compliance 

demonstration are discussed in more 

detail in section II.D.2.f. of this 

preamble. 

The EPA is finalizing an approach in 

which all WEC applicable facilities with 

CAA section 111(b) and (d) facilities in 

a single State will be eligible for the 

regulatory compliance date at the same 

time. Establishing a single date for 

exemption availability for each State 

ensures that the exemption can be 

properly implemented and that the EPA 

can accurately verify exemption 

eligibility, while simultaneously 

reducing industry burden. Based on the 

data collected under subpart W and data 

to be collected under NSPS OOOOb and 

EG OOOOc-implementing plans, it is 

not feasible for the EPA to verify all 

applicable CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities contained within each WEC 

applicable facility in order to determine 

a facility-specific compliance date. The 

complexity required for industry 

reporting and the EPA’s verification 

render making the compliance 

exemption available at this granular of 

a level unworkable for several reasons. 

First, based on data submitted under 

subpart W, the EPA is not able to 

determine whether a particular source 

of emissions is regulated under NSPS 

OOOOb or an EG OOOOc-implementing 

plan (or neither), and therefore the EPA 

cannot determine which compliance 

deadlines are applicable. Further, the 

applicable compliance date would also 

be subject to change for a specific WEC 

applicable facility as individual assets 

are sold and/or acquired. In any event, 

the EPA anticipates that compliance 

dates in most State plans will be close 

together in time. To the extent that there 

are compliance dates for CAA section 

111(d) facilities spanning more than 1 

year, the WEC will continue to serve as 

bridge until the final compliance date 

has passed, with those facilities already 

in compliance or which have taken 

further actions to reduce methane 

emissions having the opportunity to 

reduce or eliminate their WEC 

obligation. Importantly, irrespective of 

CAA section 111 compliance, only WEC 

applicable facilities with methane 

emissions over the waste thresholds will 

be subject to charge. Thus, WEC 

obligated parties may choose to act early 

to reduce applicable emissions 

sufficient to avoid the charge, even 

before any compliance dates have 

passed. 

The EPA is finalizing this 

‘‘compliance date’’ approach both 

because it aligns with the best reading 

of the statute, and because it aligns with 

one of Congress’s primary goals for the 

WEC—to continuously incentivize 

methane emission reductions across the 

oil and gas industry during the period 

leading up to the date at which the 

requirements in EG OOOOcimplementing plans are fully 

implemented. Although the EPA 

proposed to make the exemption 

available once all CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) standards were effective, the 

EPA also considered and sought 

comment on this alternative approach of 

making the regulatory compliance 

exemption available upon the date 

which CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities are required to comply with 

requirements in NSPS OOOOb and the 

EG OOOOc implementing plans. See 89 

FR 5339–40 (second and third discussed 

alternative approaches, considering both 

‘‘all States’’ and ‘‘State-by-State’’ 

approaches). Specifically, the EPA 

noted that it ‘‘considered an approach 

that would make the regulatory 

compliance exemption available to WEC 

applicable facilities meeting the criteria 

at a State-by-State level as the final 

compliance deadline in a State or 

Federal plan for CAA section 111(d) 

facilities was reached,’’ and sought 

comment on such an approach. Id. As 

noted at proposal, under this approach, 

‘‘the EPA would read ‘in compliance 

with methane emissions requirements’ 

to mean that all compliance dates in the 

NSPS and the State and Federal plans 

have passed.’’ Id. While the EPA stated 

at proposal that it believed that this 

‘‘approach that would make the 

regulatory compliance exemption 

available to WEC applicable facilities 

meeting the criteria at a State-by-State 

level as the final compliance deadline in 

a State or Federal plan for CAA section 

111(d) facilities was reached’’ was not 

as well aligned with the statute as the 


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48Comment of Catherine Wolfram, Ph.D., William 

F. Pounds Professor of Energy Economics; 

Professor, Applied Economics, Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology, Document ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2023–0434–0266. 

49The 2024 Final NSPS/EG rule establishes a 

final compliance deadline in 2029 for CAA section 

111(d) facilities. States may elect to require earlier 

compliance deadlines, and approved plans may 

also extend compliance deadlines beyond 2029 via 

the ‘‘remaining useful life and other factors’’ 

provision, or RULOF. 

proposed approach, the EPA now 

concludes that interpreting this phrase 

as described in the proposed alternative 

is, in fact, the better reading of the 

statute, particularly given the EPA’s 

determination in this final rule that the 

statute also anticipates a State-by-State 

approach for the Administrator 

determinations. As one commenter 

stated: 

[T]he proposed approach of exemption 

availability once the plans are approved 

instead of after the plans are fully 

implemented only delays the reduction of 

methane emissions . . . 

Therefore, granting any regulatory 

compliance exemption before the passing of 

the ‘‘upper bound’’ compliance dates of the 

CAA section 111 rules, as the EPA is 

proposing to do, is in contradiction with the 

Congressional intent of the Inflation 

Reduction Act, will result in greater methane 

emissions than the alternative, and should be 

avoided.48

The EPA agrees with this commenter 

and, for the following reasons, the EPA 

is finalizing the alternative approach. 

First, upon re-examining the text and 

in light of comments received, the EPA 

has concluded that applying the 

regulatory compliance exemption once 

State plans are implemented, rather 

than upon approval, is the best reading 

of the statutory text. Section 136(f)(6)(A) 

provides that ‘‘charges shall not be 

imposed pursuant to subsection (c) on 

an applicable facility that is subject to 

and in compliance with methane 

emissions requirements pursuant to 

subsections (b) and (d),’’ subject to the 

Administrator determinations. Notably, 

the text states that applicable facilities 

must be both ‘‘subject to and in 

compliance with’’ (emphasis added) 

methane requirements. It is a 

longstanding principle of statutory 

construction that every word or phrase 

in a statutory provision is to be given 

effect, and none should be ignored or 

assumed to be duplicative. See, e.g, 

Reiter v. Sonotone Corp., 442 U.S. 330, 

339 (1979); Bennett v. Donovan, 4 F. 

Supp. 3d 5, 10 (D.C. Cir. 2013) 

(acknowledging that the court must 

‘‘give effect, if possible, to every clause 

and word of a statute, avoiding, if it may 

[], any construction which implies that 

the legislature was ignorant of the 

meaning of the language it employed. 

Put differently, a court must not 

interpret a statute so as to render any 

words within that statute as ‘mere 

surplusage.’’) (citations omitted). 

Accordingly, the phrase ‘‘subject to’’ 

and the phrase ‘‘in compliance with’’ 

must have different legal meanings. It 

follows that this provision requires a 

WEC applicable facility to be both 

‘‘subject to’’ methane emissions 

standards and plans under CAA section 

111(b) and (d), and actively ‘‘in 

compliance with’’ the specific 

requirements therein, meaning that 

these requirements must actually have 

been implemented. In addition, the 

phrase ‘‘in compliance with methane 

emission requirements’’ indicates that 

the text is concerned with the 

contemporaneous implementation of 

standards at the CAA section 111(b) and 

(d) level. Being ‘‘in compliance’’ with a 

requirement, by necessity, means that a 

requirement mandate a regulated entity 

take a particular action or meet a 

particular standard. ‘‘Methane emission 

requirements pursuant to [section 

111(d)]’’ will so mandate only upon the 

compliance date(s) in the section 

111(d)-implementing State or Federal 

plan. This means that it is not sufficient 

that a standard be effective because it 

has been approved as part of an EG 

OOOOc-implementing State or Federal 

plan, if compliance with that standard 

is not required until some future date. 

There are no monitoring or reporting 

obligations by which one would 

measure compliance, for example, until 

that compliance date arrives. Similarly, 

some ‘‘methane emission requirements 

pursuant to [section 111(b)],’’ have 

tiered compliance dates, meaning that 

the compliance dates vary between 

emissions sources. In such case, the 

WEC applicable facility is only eligible 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption once the compliance dates 

for all CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

sources have occurred and the 

Administrator determinations have been 

made. In sum, the EPA concludes that 

the best reading of ‘‘in compliance’’ 

means that an entity is presently subject 

to actual, emissions limits or work 

practice standards that require 

contemporaneous actions on the part of 

the regulated CAA section 111(b) and 

(d) sources to comply with the 

standards. 

Second, the EPA concludes that this 

final approach is best aligned with 

Congressional intent to incentivize 

methane emissions reductions on an 

ongoing and continuous basis, both 

through the WEC and through 

compliance with CAA section 111(b) 

and EG OOOOc-implementing plans. 

This statutory scheme provides relief 

from the WEC for facilities once they are 

reducing methane emissions in 

compliance with requirements under 

CAA section 111. As noted at proposal, 

implementation of the requirements 

included in OOOOc-implementing State 

or Federal plans may not be mandated 

immediately upon the date at which the 

plan goes into effect. In other words, the 

plans may include requirements with 

compliance dates that occur at a future 

date after plan approval, and such 

requirements could be implemented 

over multiple compliance dates in a 

phased manner or include deadlines for 

various increments of progress. Under 

the proposed approach, there would 

likely have been a gap during which 

WEC applicable facilities would have 

been able to claim the regulatory 

compliance exemption, but the CAA 

section 111(d) facilities within those 

WEC applicable facilities would not 

have actually been required to reduce 

emissions pursuant to the State plan’s 

methane emission requirements. For 

example, if under the proposed 

approach the exemption had become 

available to all States in the country 

with WEC applicable facilities in 2028, 

based on the approval of all State plans, 

but those approved plans did not 

require implementation of methane 

requirements until the presumptive 

compliance deadline of 2029,49 or even 

later, a multi-year gap would have 

existed in which there would be no 

incentive for CAA section 111(d) 

existing facilities within a WEC 

applicable facility to reduce emissions 

in advance of the compliance deadline. 

This scenario would be contrary to the 

Congressional intent of the regulatory 

compliance exemption, which is to 

provide relief from the WEC to 

applicable facilities that are ‘‘subject to 

and in compliance with methane 

emissions requirements pursuant to 

subsections (b) and (d) of section 111’’— 

that is, those actually achieving the 

requirements and achieving the 

attendant emissions reductions therein. 

In addition, the concerns that the EPA 

expressed at proposal about a 

‘‘compliance date’’ approach are no 

longer concerns given that we have now 

concluded that the best reading of the 

statute is a State-by-State approach to 

the Administrator determinations, as 

explained in section II.D.2.a. of this 

preamble. Notably, because compliance 

dates for the relevant methane 

emissions standards for a particular 

WEC applicable facility may occur at 

different points in time (because there 

are varying compliance dates for 


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individual methane emissions sources 

within NSPS OOOOb and it is possible 

that the same will be true for EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans), we noted 

at proposal that such an approach may 

have the result of delaying the 

availability of the regulatory compliance 

exemption for many years and could 

make the exemption available to States 

at different times. See 89 FR 5339–40. 

This was particularly true when 

combined with the proposed approach 

to the Administrator determination 

required by CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) 

that would only make the exemption 

available once plans were approved and 

in effect for all States. In that case, a 

WEC applicable facility in a State with 

a promptly submitted and approved EG 

OOOOc-implementing plan with 

ambitious compliance deadlines would 

not have been able to access the 

exemption until not only all States had 

approved plans, but all States’ plans’ 

compliance deadlines had passed— 

which could vary amongst States. 

However, under the final rule, the fact 

that WEC applicable facilities in some 

States will be eligible for the regulatory 

compliance exemption at different 

points in time is inherent in, and 

consistent with, the statutory scheme 

and is the best interpretation of the text 

and policy goals of the WEC. 

The approach adopted in this final 

rule alleviates the concerns voiced in 

response to the proposed approach to 

the Administrator determinations, in 

which all States with WEC applicable 

facilities would need to wait for every 

other State, even potentially ‘‘lagging’’ 

or ‘‘delayed’’ States, to have NSPS 

OOOOb standards and OOOOcimplementing plans approved and in 

effect before WEC applicable facilities in 

that State would be eligible for the 

exemption. By proceeding in a State-byState manner for the Administrator 

determinations and making the 

regulatory compliance exemption 

available upon the final compliance 

date in NSPS OOOOb and the relevant 

EG OOOOc-implementing plan, the EPA 

is providing States with more control 

over when the regulatory compliance 

exemption will become available for 

applicable facilities within their 

jurisdictions, while also encouraging 

methane emissions reductions to occur 

sooner. The final approach also ensures 

that WEC applicable facilities can 

secure the regulatory compliance 

exemption once their constituent CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities are 

actually achieving reductions under 

NSPS OOOOb and the relevant EG 

OOOOc-implementing plan(s). Under 

the final approach adopted in this final 

rule, States will be incentivized to 

promptly submit approvable EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans with 

timely compliance deadlines so that 

WEC applicable facilities within their 

borders gain access to the exemption. 

Individual States will decide how best 

to structure plans in terms of 

compliance dates consistent with EG 

OOOOc, and how quickly to submit 

proposed plans to the EPA for approval. 

The final approach aligns with the 

intent of the WEC to incentivize early 

reductions of methane emissions while 

providing flexibility to States to 

determine when the regulatory 

compliance exemption becomes 

available. 

c. Emissions Year in Which Regulatory 

Compliance Exemption Takes Effect 

While the data collected under 

subpart W for the purposes of WEC 

calculation are reported on a calendaryear basis (i.e., a reporting year is a 

calendar year), the date at which all of 

the criteria for the regulatory 

compliance exemption will be met is 

not yet known and could fall at any 

point in the course of a reporting year. 

The EPA is finalizing that for WEC 

applicable facilities that contain any 

CAA section 111(d) facilities, once the 

applicable determinations required by 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i)–(ii) have 

been made, the regulatory compliance 

exemption will take effect in the 

reporting year of the final compliance 

date in the EG OOOOc-implementing 

plan(s) applicable to the to the State(s) 

in which the WEC applicable facility is 

located. For example, if the final 

compliance deadline in an approved 

State plan is in June 2029 and the 

Administrator has made the necessary 

determinations by 2029, all eligible 

WEC applicable facilities in that State 

meeting the compliance requirements 

discussed in section II.D.2.f. of this 

preamble would be exempt from the 

WEC for the entire 2029 reporting year. 

Comments on the proposed rule were 

supportive of the proposed approach to 

make the exemption take effect the same 

reporting year that the prerequisite 

requirements for the exemption are met 

(as opposed to another year). The final 

approach is aligned with the purpose of 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A) to provide the 

regulatory compliance exemption as a 

means for WEC applicable facilities to 

avoid being subject to the charge when 

their constituent CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) facilities are all subject to and 

in compliance with their applicable 

methane emissions standards. 

d. Approach for Regulatory Compliance 

Determinations 

As described in section II.D.2.a., the 

Administrator must make two 

determinations before the regulatory 

compliance exemption can be claimed 

by a WEC applicable facility: one related 

to whether standards and approved 

plans are in effect and a second related 

to whether those standards and plans 

achieve equivalent reductions to the 

EPA’s 2021 proposed NSPS and EG. 

While those determinations will 

necessarily need to be made at a later 

point, the EPA is finalizing certain 

elements related to the approach for the 

determinations required by CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A). In this rulemaking, the EPA 

is finalizing a decision that both 

determinations will be made 

simultaneously for each individual State 

once both the NSPS OOOOb standards 

and EG OOOOc-implementing plans for 

that State are approved and in effect, as 

required by section 136(f)(6)(A)(i). The 

EPA is also finalizing a decision 

regarding the points of comparison for 

making the equivalency determinations, 

which are required under section 

136(f)(6)(A)(ii). The EPA did not 

propose and is not taking final action on 

any other elements of the equivalency 

determination at this time. These 

elements, along with both 

determinations themselves, will be 

addressed in a future administrative 

action(s). 

The EPA is finalizing a decision that, 

when the criteria for both Administrator 

determinations are met in a given State, 

the determinations for that State will be 

made through a single administrative 

action. As discussed in section II.D.2.a. 

of this preamble, the equivalency 

determination for each State will be 

made taking into consideration the EG 

OOOOc-implementing State or Federal 

plan that is approved for each State. 

Because the timing for both 

determinations will be aligned, making 

both determinations for each State via a 

single, State-specific administrative 

action will simplify implementation of 

these elements of the regulatory 

compliance exemption. 

Consistent with the proposed 

approach of making the regulatory 

compliance exemption available to WEC 

applicable facilities once all States had 

CAA section 111(b) and (d) standards 

and plans approved and in effect, the 

EPA proposed that the equivalency 

determination would be conducted at a 

national level after all such NSPS 

OOOOb standards and EG OOOOcimplementing State or Federal plans for 

all States had been approved and were 

in effect. The EPA requested and 


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50The use of the word ‘‘compliance’’ is also 

instructive: in practice, sources are not required to 

comply with the EG; instead, sources must comply 

with standards later established in state or federal 

plans. 

received comment on its proposed 

approach. Some commenters supported 

the proposed approach and 

recommended additional criteria that 

the EPA consider in its equivalency 

analysis, including means of ensuring 

that State-by-State reductions are 

equivalent and that year-by-year 

reductions are equivalent. Other 

commenters alternatively recommended 

that the EPA conduct the analysis now, 

using the 2024 Final NSPS/EG as the 

point of comparison against the 2021 

NSPS/EG Proposal. Yet other 

commenters supported making both 

determinations at the same time, but 

recommended that they be made at the 

State level rather than at the national 

level. 

After consideration of comments and 

the language of the statute, the EPA has 

concluded that it is not appropriate to 

make a single equivalency 

determination at the national level 

because the EPA has determined that 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

should be made available on a State-byState basis, and therefore the 

equivalency determination should also 

be made on a State-by-State basis. While 

the EPA is not making a single 

nationwide determination, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed a decision that 

the relevant points of comparison for 

the equivalency determination are 

between (a) the 2021 NSPS/EG Proposal 

and (b) the 2024 Final NSPS OOOOb 

and approved State plans, or Federal 

plans if applicable. Specifically, the 

comparison will be made between (a) 

the emissions reductions that would 

have been achieved if the 2021 NSPS/ 

EG Proposal was finalized and 

implemented in each State as proposed, 

and (b) the emissions reductions that 

will be achieved when the final NSPS 

standards and plans are actually 

implemented in each State. 

Some commenters argued that the 

EPA could make the equivalency 

determination simply by comparing the 

2021 NSPS/EG Proposal with the 2024 

Final NSPS OOOOb standards and EG 

OOOOc presumptive standards. The 

EPA disagrees with these comments. 

The statute requires that the 

equivalency determination be based on 

an assessment of the emissions 

reductions achieved by ‘‘compliance 

with the requirements described in 

clause (i).’’ CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(ii). 

In turn, clause (i) references ‘‘methane 

emission standards and plans’’ pursuant 

to CAA section 111(b) and (d). Id. 

section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) (emphasis added). 

That is, the statutory text specifically 

requires that the EPA evaluate the 

emission reductions resulting from 

compliance with both the NSPS OOOOb 

standards and the EG OOOOcimplementing plans—not the emissions 

guidelines established by the EPA—and 

determine that they ‘‘will result in 

equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions’’ as would be achieved by 

the 2021 NSPS/EG Proposal ‘‘if such 

rule had been finalized and 

implemented.’’ 50 In addition, principles 

of fairness and consistency also counsel 

in favor of applying the equivalency 

determination on a State-by-State basis. 

Inherent in the State-by-State approach 

is an incentive for States to take early 

action in developing plans and for those 

plans to require timely emissions 

reductions. Making the equivalency 

determination on a national basis would 

negate that incentive. It would also tie 

the fate of all States together, and thus 

could unfairly penalize States that, if 

evaluated individually, would be able to 

demonstrate equivalency. The EPA is 

also finalizing as proposed that, to 

conduct the equivalency determination, 

we will compare the methane emission 

reductions resulting from compliance 

with the NSPS OOOOb standards and 

the EG OOOOc-implementing plans in 

each State against a baseline in which 

the proposed standards were finalized 

as drafted in the 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal and implemented in each 

State. For a number of reasons, the EPA 

believes this is the best reading of the 

statutory text. The statute requires the 

EPA to determine that compliance with 

these standards and plans ‘‘will result in 

equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions as would be achieved by’’ 

the 2021 NSPS/EG Proposal ‘‘if such 

rule had been finalized and 

implemented.’’ Id. at 136(f)(6)(A)(ii). As 

the EPA explained in the proposed rule, 

the most straightforward reading of this 

statutory text is that Congress set the 

baseline as the emissions that the EPA 

projected would be achieved by the 

2021 NSPS/EG Proposal. Notably, 

Congress did not repeat the same 

language in setting the baseline as it did 

in setting out the point of comparison 

for the baseline. In particular, while 

Congress specified that the comparator 

is the methane emissions reductions 

that ‘‘will’’ be achieved by the ‘‘methane 

standards and plans,’’ Congress 

specified that the baseline is the 2021 

NSPS/EG Proposal ‘‘if such rule were 

finalized and implemented,’’ without 

any specific mention of plans. 

Moreover, in enacting CAA section 

136, Congress clearly indicated that the 

proposed rule was to serve as the 

benchmark for the methane emissions 

reductions it wanted achieved before 

the regulatory exemption would be 

available. No other reading makes sense. 

The statutory text uses for the baseline 

of the equivalency determination the 

emissions reductions that ‘‘would be 

achieved’’ by the 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal ‘‘if such rule were finalized 

and implemented.’’ The EPA concludes 

that the best reading of the statute is that 

Congress wanted to guarantee the level 

of emissions reductions (i.e., 

‘‘equivalent or greater’’ than expected 

from the 2021 NSPS/EG Proposal) 

projected in the 2021 NSPS/EG Proposal 

before WEC applicable facilities could 

claim the exemption. At the time CAA 

section 136 was enacted, Congress 

expected the EPA to finalize and 

implement the proposal. Had simply 

finalizing and implementing the 

Proposal in whichever manner the EPA 

chose been sufficient to satisfy the 

equivalence requirement, then there 

would not have been any need for an 

equivalence requirement at all. All 

Congress would have needed to say was 

that a pre-condition to the regulatory 

compliance exemption was finalizing 

the 2021 NSPS/EG Proposal. But 

instead, Congress created an 

equivalency determination requirement, 

and in order to give that statutory 

requirement meaning, the EPA must 

assume that Congress was specifying the 

quantity of emissions reductions it 

wanted achieved before the regulatory 

compliance exemption took effect. And 

Congress chose the benchmark that was 

available to it at the time it enacted the 

WEC program—the 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal. 

At proposal, the EPA acknowledged 

that it is possible that had the EPA 

finalized and implemented the 2021 

NSPS/EG Proposal without change, 

some States would have set different 

methane standards of performance in 

their plans than in the presumptive 

standards proposed in the 2021 EG 

OOOOc proposal based on a provision 

in CAA section 111(d)(1), which permits 

States to ‘‘take into consideration, 

among other factors, the remaining 

useful life of the existing source to 

which such standard applies.’’ (The 

EPA refers to this provision as the 

‘‘remaining useful life and other factors’’ 

provision, or RULOF.) The EPA 

regulations at 40 CFR part 60 subpart Ba 

establish a framework through which 

states may, with an adequate 

demonstration, establish standards less 

stringent than the degree of emission 

limitation otherwise required by an EG. 

In such circumstances, the emissions 


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51 In the Supplemental Oil & Gas Proposed Rule, 

issued shortly after CAA section 136 was enacted, 

the EPA noted that ‘‘it is not aware of any CAA 

section 111(d) EGs under which an EPA-approved 

state plan has previously considered RULOF to 

apply a standard of performance that deviates from 

the presumptive level of stringency.’’ 87 FR 74818 

(December 6, 2022); accord 87 FR 79197, [Proposed 

Rule: Adoption and Submittal of State Plans for 

Designated Facilities: Implementing Regulations 

under Clean Air Act Section 111(d)] (Dec. 23, 2022). 

The Subpart Ba Final Rule also reiterated the EPA’s 

‘‘long-held interpretation of the RULOF provision 

as a limited variance,’’ but noted that commenters 

on the proposed Oil and Gas EG ‘‘suggested that 

there may be more of a role for RULOF than in past 

EGs.’’ Id. See 88 FR 80512 (Nov. 17, 2023). 

52See 88 FR 80531 (Nov. 17, 2023). 

53 In the Proposed Rule for NSPS OOOOb and EG 

OOOOc, the EPA discussed the role that the RULOF 

provision might play in state plans implemented 

under the Final EG, including the observation at the 

time of proposal that ‘‘the sheer number and variety 

of designated facilities in the oil and natural gas 

industry could make a source-specific (or even a 

class-specific) evaluation of [RULOF]’’ less likely to 

occur. See 86 FR 63251 (November 15, 2021). The 

EPA also discussed the ways in which states may 

set more stringent standards of performance than 

those in the Final EG. Id. at 63251–52. 

reductions achieved by those State 

plans would have been less than if the 

State plans had adopted and 

implemented the presumptive standards 

in the final emissions guidelines, had 

they been finalized. 

But the EPA believes that the best 

reading of the statute is that Congress 

did not anticipate that States’ use of this 

provision would have significantly 

affected the emissions reductions 

achieved by the 2021 NSPS/EG Proposal 

if it had been finalized and 

implemented. Historically, the RULOF 

provision has not been frequently 

invoked by States that have submitted 

CAA section 111(d)-implementing State 

plans.51 In addition, States have the 

option of enacting more stringent 

standards for certain sources under their 

State plans than would result from 

direct implementation of the emissions 

guidelines.52 The 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal, explicitly referenced by 

Congress in CAA section 136, 

recognized these historical facts and 

further explained why the EPA did not 

anticipate at that time that States would 

use the RULOF factors to a significant 

extent.53 These historical facts and 

context, along with the Congress’s clear 

objective to set a benchmark for the 

emissions reductions it wanted 

achieved, lead the EPA to conclude that 

the best reading of the statute is that 

Congress expected the EPA’s baseline 

for the equivalency determination to be 

the 2021 NSPS methane standards and 

the presumptive standards the EPA set 

out in the 2021 EG proposal, and did 

not expect the EPA to forecast how 

States might have chosen to use the 

RULOF provision had the EPA finalized 

and implemented the 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal. The impracticality of 

conducting such a forecast further 

supports the EPA’s interpretation. 

Because State plans were never 

developed pursuant to the 2021 NSPS/ 

EG Proposal, there is no practical means 

of projecting when States might have 

chosen to apply less-stringent standards 

in their State plans pursuant to the 

RULOF provision and what methane 

emissions reductions those standards 

might have achieved relative to the 

presumptive standards. 

While the EPA is required to evaluate 

both the final NSPS OOOOb and EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans for each 

States’ equivalency determination, the 

Agency’s preliminary analysis indicates 

that the final NSPS OOOOb standards 

and final EG OOOOc presumptive 

standards are likely more stringent than 

their respective standards and 

presumptive standards that were 

proposed in 2021. The EPA therefore 

expects that any States that adopt the 

EG OOOOc presumptive standards in 

their EG OOOOc-implementing State 

plans will likely achieve equivalent or 

greater emissions reductions than would 

have been achieved by the 2021 NSPS/ 

EG Proposal, had that proposal been 

finalized and implemented. To provide 

additional certainty to States as they 

develop EG OOOOc-implementing 

plans, the EPA will conduct a technical 

analysis comparing the emissions 

reductions achieved by the 2021 NSPS/ 

EG Proposal and the 2024 Final NSPS/ 

EG. The EPA expects that the results of 

this analysis will demonstrate that the 

2024 Final NSPS/EG achieves 

equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions compared to the reductions 

that would have been achieved by the 

2021 NSPS/EG Proposal. The results of 

this analysis will inform the 

equivalency determination that must be 

conducted for each State based on each 

State’s approved plan; the EPA expects 

that it will also simplify the 

determination process and provide a 

general reference point for States. For 

example, if the EPA’s analysis confirms 

that the 2024 Final NSPS/EG would 

result in equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions compared to the 2021 NSPS/ 

EG Proposal, the EPA anticipates that 

where an approved EG OOOOcimplementing State plan directly relies 

on the presumptive standards in the 

final EG OOOOc model rule or an 

equivalent alternative, those State plans, 

in combination with the final NSPS, 

will also achieve equivalent or greater 

emissions reductions compared to those 

that would have occurred had the 2021 

NSPS/EG Proposal been finalized and 

implemented. Importantly, however, 

each finalized EG OOOOcimplementing plan must still be 

evaluated based on the reductions 

achieved by the plan itself. 

e. Application of the Regulatory 

Compliance Exemption to WEC 

Applicable Facilities 

A key consideration for the design of 

the regulatory compliance exemption is 

how to align the performance of CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities, which 

are the sources subject to regulation 

under NSPS OOOOb regulations and EG 

OOOOc-implementing State plans, with 

the WEC applicable facilities to which 

the exemption applies. For purposes of 

the WEC, and as discussed in section 

II.A., Congress was very clear that the 

term ‘‘applicable facility’’ refers to a 

subpart W facility within one or more of 

the nine industry segments listed in 

section 136(d). Specifically, section 

136(c) states that ‘‘the Administrator 

shall impose and collect a charge on 

methane emissions that exceed an 

applicable waste emissions threshold 

under subsection (f) from an owner or 

operator of an applicable facility that 

reports more than 25,000 metric tons of 

carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse 

gases emitted per year pursuant to 

subpart W.’’ ‘‘Applicable facility’’ is 

then defined for purposes of the entirety 

of section 136 at section 136(d), which 

states that ‘‘for purposes of this section, 

the term ‘‘applicable facility’’ means a 

facility within the following industry 

segments, as defined in subpart W;’’ the 

statute then lists nine industry 

segments. The term ‘‘applicable facility’’ 

also appears at section 136(f)(6), which 

states that ‘‘charges shall not be 

imposed pursuant to subsection (c) on 

an applicable facility that is subject to 

and in compliance with methane 

emissions requirements pursuant to 

subsections (b) and (d) of section 7411 

of this title . . .’’ Pursuant to section 

136(d), which defined ‘‘applicable 

facility’’ ‘‘for purposes of this section’’, 

meaning the entirety of section 136, it 

is clear that section 136(f)(6)(A) directs 

the EPA to analyze the compliance of 

subpart W facilities which are subject to 

WEC—that is, subpart W facilities 

within one of nine industry segments 

which emit over 25,000 tons of CO2e per 

year—as a whole with standards 

promulgated under sections 111(b) and 

(d). Notably, as explained in section 

II.A., an ‘‘applicable facility’’ as defined 

at section 136(d) could include any 

subpart W facility within the nine 

industry segments listed in section 

136(d), even one emitting 25,000 CO2e 

or less per year. However, the waste 

emissions charge, and thus the 


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54 40 CFR 98.6 

55 ‘‘Affected facility’’ is defined for purposes of an 

NSPS at 40 CFR 60.2 to mean ‘‘with reference to 

a stationary source, any apparatus to which a 

standard is applicable.’’ 

56 ‘‘Designated facility’’ is defined for purposes of 

an EG at 40 CFR 60.21a to mean ‘‘any existing 

facility . . . which emits a designated pollutant and 

which would be subject to a standard of 

performance for that pollutant if the existing facility 

were an affected facility.’’ 

regulatory compliance exemption from 

charge under section 136(f)(6)(A), 

applies only to those subpart W 

facilities within the nine industry 

segments which emit more than 25,000 

CO2e. In this rulemaking we refer to 

these subpart W facilities as ‘‘WEC 

applicable facilities’’. Thus, for 

purposes of discussion regarding the 

regulatory compliance exemption, the 

EPA uses the term ‘‘WEC applicable 

facilities’’ when discussing the 

‘‘applicable facilities’’ to which section 

136(f)(6)(A) refers. As an example of 

how subpart W facilities are defined, 

and were defined at the time Congress 

promulgated section 136 in 2022, a 

facility in the onshore natural gas 

processing segment under the GHGRP 

subpart W program means ‘‘any 

physical property, plant, building, 

structure, source, or stationary 

equipment located on one or more 

contiguous or adjacent properties in 

actual physical contact or separated 

solely by a public roadway or other 

public right-of-way and under common 

ownership or common control, that 

emits or may emit any greenhouse 

gas’’ 54 and meets the definition of 

onshore natural gas processing under 

subpart W. For reporting year 2024, 

facilities in the onshore natural gas 

processing segment under subpart W are 

required to report emissions from all of 

the following sources at the facility: 

reciprocating compressor venting, 

centrifugal compressor venting, 

blowdown vent stacks, dehydrator 

vents, acid gas removal vents, flare stack 

emissions, equipment leaks from valves, 

connectors, open ended lines, pressure 

relief valves, and meters. As another 

example, a GHGRP subpart W facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production segment includes all of the 

wells and associated equipment within 

a geological production basin, which 

can cover a geographic area spanning 

hundreds of miles. Meanwhile, the 

terms ‘‘affected facility’’ 55 and 

‘‘designated facility’’ 56 are used by the 

EPA in the CAA section 111 2024 Final 

NSPS/EG regulations to refer to an 

individual emissions source or a group 

of emissions sources at a site (e.g., a 

storage tank battery or a collection of 

pneumatic controllers) to which a 

standard applies. Thus, a single WEC 

applicable facility may contain 

hundreds or thousands of CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facilities. 

Importantly, Congress was well aware 

of the different ways in which a 

‘‘facility’’ was defined under subpart W 

and in the context of the CAA section 

111 program when it created the WEC 

program and the regulatory compliance 

exemption under section 136(f)(6), 

which purposely refers to the 

compliance of WEC applicable 

facilities—that is, subpart W facilities 

which are subject to WEC. The 

regulations defining ‘‘facilities’’ for the 

purposes of all nine relevant industry 

segments under subpart W have not 

been revised since 2015. The regulations 

defining ‘‘affected facility,’’ for purposes 

of CAA section 111(b), have remain 

unchanged since first promulgated in 

the 1970s. 40 CFR 60.2; 44 FR 55173, 

Sept. 25, 1979. Similarly, the 

regulations defining ‘‘designated 

facility,’’ for purposes of section 111(d) 

regulation, by reference to the definition 

of affected facility as ‘‘any existing 

facility . . . which would be subject to 

a standard of performance . . . if the 

existing facility were an affected 

facility’’ have also remained unchanged 

for decades. 40 CFR 60.21, 60.21a; 40 FR 

53346, Nov. 17, 1975. Congress made its 

intentions clear in the plain text of 

section 136(f)(6) that for purposes of the 

regulatory compliance exemption, the 

EPA should consider the compliance 

status of WEC applicable facilities as a 

whole with standards promulgated 

under CAA section 111(b) and (d). Thus, 

due to the fact that when analyzing 

compliance in the CAA section 111 

context, the EPA analyzes the 

performance of CAA section 111 

affected and designated facilities, the 

different meanings of the term ‘‘facility’’ 

under these two different EPA programs 

is an important consideration in the 

context of the regulatory compliance 

exemption. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed to 

implement the regulatory compliance 

exemption such that a WEC applicable 

facility that contains any CAA section 

111(b) or (d) facilities would have 

access to the exemption once all other 

criteria are met (i.e., the Administrator 

determinations and compliance 

elements in 40 CFR 99.41). This means 

that all methane emissions from 

emissions sources in a WEC applicable 

facility—even those that are not 

regulated by section 111(b) or (d)—are 

eligible for the exemption. This ‘‘all in’’ 

approach is aligned with, and is the best 

interpretation of, the statutory text, 

which clearly states that the exemption 

is applied at the ‘‘applicable facility’’ 

level, not at the individual emissions 

source or CAA section 111(b) or (d) 

facility levels. Table 3 shows the 

subpart W industry segments applicable 

to the WEC that may contain CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) facilities. WEC 

applicable facilities in the offshore 

production, LNG storage, LNG import 

and export, and transmission pipeline 

industry segments do not contain CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) facilities under the 

Crude Oil & Natural Gas source category 

and are not eligible for the regulatory 

compliance exemption. The EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that if any future 

NSPS/EG rules are finalized such that 

additional industry segments contain 

CAA section 111(b) or (d) facilities, the 

WEC applicable facilities in those 

segments would be eligible for the 

regulatory compliance exemption. 

TABLE 3—SUBPART W INDUSTRY SEGMENT AND CAA SECTION 111(b) AND (d) FACILITY OVERLAP

Subpart W industry segment subject to WEC 

May contain CAA 

Section 111(b) and/or 

(d) facilities? 

Onshore petroleum and natural gas production ..................................................................................................................... Yes. 

Offshore petroleum and natural gas production ..................................................................................................................... No. 

Onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering and boosting ................................................................................................. Yes. 

Onshore natural gas processing ............................................................................................................................................. Yes. 

Onshore natural gas transmission compression ..................................................................................................................... Yes. 

Onshore natural gas transmission pipeline ............................................................................................................................. No. 

Underground natural gas storage ........................................................................................................................................... Yes. 

LNG import and export equipment .......................................................................................................................................... No. 


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TABLE 3—SUBPART W INDUSTRY SEGMENT AND CAA SECTION 111(b) AND (d) FACILITY OVERLAP—Continued 

Subpart W industry segment subject to WEC 

May contain CAA 

Section 111(b) and/or 

(d) facilities? 

LNG storage ............................................................................................................................................................................ No. 

Some commenters were supportive of 

the proposed approach for the 

regulatory compliance exemption 

becoming available at the WEC 

applicable facility level. The EPA 

considered other potential 

interpretations of the statutory text of 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

while developing the proposed 

approach. In particular, the EPA 

considered an approach that would only 

exempt the emissions from individual 

CAA section 111(b) and (d) facilities, 

rather than the emissions of the entire 

WEC applicable facility. For example, if 

certain pneumatic devices are regulated 

under 2024 Final NSPS/EG pursuant to 

CAA sections 111(b) and (d), all 

reported pneumatic device methane 

emissions from a WEC applicable 

facility, as reported under subpart W, 

would be subtracted from that facility’s 

reported emissions. Under this 

considered alternative approach, only 

emission sources at subpart W facilities 

that are not also CAA section 111(b) and 

(d) facilities (e.g., methane slip from 

engines) would be considered when 

determining whether a WEC applicable 

facility was above or below the waste 

emissions threshold. While this 

approach would exempt emissions 

associated with individual CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facilities that are in 

compliance with the standards, as 

anticipated by the language in CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A), the EPA does not 

believe that this approach would be 

consistent with the other text in that 

statutory provision, which clearly states 

that the exemption applies to the 

‘‘applicable facility,’’ which CAA 

section 136(d) defines as an entire 

subpart W facility. In contrast to the 

final ‘‘all in’’ approach, this considered 

alternative would have been a ‘‘some 

in’’ approach wherein only a subset of 

the emissions sources within a WEC 

applicable facility were exempted. 

Further, it would not be practical to 

implement the regulatory compliance 

exemption in this manner because the 

individual emissions source types in 

subpart W do not always align with the 

individual CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities. Exempting methane emissions 

from specific equipment or processes 

subject to reporting under subpart W 

that are also regulated as a CAA section 

111(b) or (d) affected or designated 

facility may exclude a broader or 

narrower scope of equipment or 

components and associated emissions 

than those subject to the 2024 Final 

NSPS/EG. For example, although 

storage vessels are subject to both NSPS 

OOOOb and subpart W, the NSPS 

OOOOb provisions apply to equipment 

that exceed specific potential to emit 

emissions thresholds while subpart W 

requires reporting and quantification of 

emissions from all storage vessels at a 

subpart W facility, regardless of 

equipment’s potential emissions. 

Methane emissions from CAA section 

111(b) or (d) facilities therefore cannot 

be directly subtracted from reported 

subpart W data. 

f. Determining Applicable Facility 

Eligibility for the Regulatory 

Compliance Exemption 

It is expected that for many WEC 

applicable facilities, compliance with 

NSPS OOOOb standards and EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans will reduce 

methane emissions and therefore reduce 

and potentially eliminate any charge, 

even in the absence of an exemption. 

The EPA concludes that the best reading 

of the statutory language of the 

regulatory compliance exemption is that 

it provides relief from the charge for 

WEC applicable facilities that remain 

above the waste emissions threshold 

when their constituent CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facilities (i.e., emissions 

sources) are in full compliance with 

their applicable methane emissions 

requirements. The exemption thus 

provides a further incentive for 

compliance with the applicable 

methane emission requirements under 

CAA section 111. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

would only be available to WEC 

applicable facilities that exceed the 

waste emissions threshold. CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A) states that ‘‘charges shall 

not be imposed pursuant to subsection 

(c) on an applicable facility’’ that meets 

the requirements of the regulatory 

compliance exemption. Subsection (c) 

in turn states that a charge shall be 

collected ‘‘on methane emissions that 

exceed an applicable waste emissions 

threshold.’’ Based on a plain reading of 

the statutory text, the EPA is finalizing 

as proposed that the exemption would 

not apply to WEC applicable facilities 

below the waste emissions threshold. 

Further, providing the exemption to 

WEC applicable facilities below the 

waste emissions threshold serves no 

purpose as these facilities do not have 

WEC applicable emissions, are not 

subject to the charge, and therefore do 

not benefit from the exemption. 

Excluding facilities below the waste 

emissions threshold from the exemption 

also reduces the reporting burden for 

those facilities, which are not required 

to report information related to CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) compliance 

status. 

Compliance with CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) methane emission requirements. 

As discussed in this section, CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A) does not specify the 

definition of ‘‘compliance’’ for the 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption. In light of the comments on 

this topic highlighting the practical 

implications of the definition of 

compliance, the EPA is finalizing 

provisions revising the proposed 

approach regarding what actions would 

constitute ‘‘compliance with methane 

emissions requirements pursuant to 

[CAA section 111(b) and (d)],’’ within 

CAA section 136(f)(A), for the purposes 

of implementing the regulatory 

compliance exemption. The final 

approach reflects the best reading of the 

statutory text. It is intended to provide 

a clear threshold for establishing 

compliance status and eligibility for the 

exemption in accordance with practice 

for compliance tracking under CAA 

section 111, while minimizing the 

burden on industry and facilitating ease 

of implementation. The EPA is also 

finalizing related reporting requirements 

for WEC applicable facilities that are 

necessary to implement the regulatory 

compliance exemption (see section 

II.D.2.h. of this preamble). 

For the purpose of determining WEC 

applicable facility eligibility for the 

regulatory compliance exemption, the 

EPA is finalizing that the compliance 

status of CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities contained within a WEC 

applicable facility will be assessed 

based on compliance with the 

applicable methane emissions 

requirements for the Oil & Natural Gas 

Source Category in NSPS OOOOb and 

in EG OOOOc-implementing State and 


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57See 89 FR 16869; 2024 Oil & Gas Final Rule; 

section IX.C. How will the final EG OOOOc impact 

sources already subject to NSPS KKK, NSPS OOOO, 

or NSPS OOOOa?; see also 40 CFR 60.5365a (‘‘An 

affected facility must continue to comply with the 

requirements of this subpart until it begins 

complying with a more stringent requirement, that 

applies to the same affected facility, in an approved, 

and effective, state or Federal plan that implements 

subpart OOOOc of this part, or modifies or 

reconstructs after December 6, 2022, and thus 

becomes subject to subpart OOOOb of this part.’’) 

(emphasis added). 

Federal plans. The EPA proposed that 

NSPS OOOOa compliance status would 

also be assessed while determining 

eligibility for the exemption. Several 

commenters disagreed with the 

proposed inclusion of NSPS OOOOa 

and recommended that exemption 

eligibility should only be based on 

compliance with NSPS OOOOb and EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans. After 

consideration of comment, as well as 

the language and intent of the statutory 

text, the EPA concludes that the best 

interpretation of the regulatory 

compliance exemption statutory 

language is that Congress was focused 

on methane emissions reductions 

achieved through NSPS OOOOb and EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans for the 

purpose of determining eligibility for 

the exemption—not prior standards 

already in place. While the text at CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A) and 136(f)(6)(A)(i) 

refers to ‘‘methane emissions standards 

and plans pursuant to subsections (b) 

and (d) of section 111,’’ and while NSPS 

OOOOa includes standards promulgated 

pursuant to CAA section 111(b), the text 

at CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(ii) makes 

clear that the equivalency determination 

is to be based solely on the standards in 

NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOcimplementing plans. The EPA notes that 

most facilities regulated under NSPS 

OOOOa are expected to ultimately be 

regulated under NSPS OOOOb or EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans (e.g., as 

NSPS OOOOa sources are modified or 

reconstructed or when the sources are 

regulated as existing sources once EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans are 

approved and in effect).57 The EPA is 

therefore finalizing that only 

compliance with these methane 

emissions requirements, and not those 

in NSPS OOOOa, will be assessed. 

The EPA proposed that any WEC 

applicable facility that contains CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) facilities would be 

eligible for the regulatory compliance 

exemption if each of the CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facilities that constitute 

the WEC applicable facility had no 

deviations or violations of the methane 

emissions requirements promulgated 

pursuant to the applicable NSPS or EGimplementing plans. The EPA proposed 

that any noncompliance at any CAA 

111(b) or (d) facilities contained within 

a WEC applicable facility would result 

in that entire WEC applicable facility 

being ineligible for the regulatory 

compliance exemption for the entire 

reporting year. The EPA received 

numerous comments objecting on two 

grounds: (1) that the definition of 

noncompliance was unnecessarily strict 

by including deviations that were not 

necessarily related to excess emissions; 

and (2) that non-compliance at one CAA 

section 111 affected or designated 

facility should not prevent use of the 

exemption by the entire WEC applicable 

facility. Many commenters stated that 

the proposed approach was so stringent 

that the regulatory compliance 

exemption would be essentially 

unavailable. Commenters focused 

mainly on the types of noncompliance 

that could make the compliance 

exemption unavailable, especially a 

comparatively minor reporting or 

notification deviation that is not likely 

to cause excess emissions. Many 

commenters noted that despite industry 

best efforts, noncompliance events do 

occur, especially for these reporting and 

notification requirements, and given 

that WEC applicable facilities may 

contain hundreds or thousands of CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) facilities, 

particularly in the onshore production 

and gathering and boosting segments 

where facilities are defined at the basinlevel, some form of noncompliance is 

likely to occur within a WEC applicable 

facility at some point. Commenters 

stated that, under the proposed 

approach, these facilities could not 

claim the regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year, even if 

the deviation is quickly corrected or is 

a ‘‘minor’’ form of noncompliance. 

Commenters also noted that 

noncompliance with NSPS OOOOb and 

EG OOOOc-implementing plans may be 

limited to individual emissions sources 

within a WEC applicable facility, and 

the duration of those noncompliance 

events may vary. Commenters 

recommended that the EPA narrow the 

definition of noncompliance for the 

purposes of exemption eligibility, 

narrow the scope of equipment and 

associated emissions that could not 

claim the exemption in the event of 

noncompliance, and limit the loss of the 

exemption to the time duration of the 

noncompliance. 

The EPA agrees with commenters that 

the proposed approach may have 

unduly limited access to the regulatory 

compliance exemption, which would be 

counter to Congressional intent. 

Congress included the exemption to 

provide relief from the charge if certain 

criteria were met, and the final rule 

should meet the Congressional purpose 

to incentivize emissions reductions and 

compliance with the law without 

undercutting the intent to allow 

exemptions when compliance is 

achieved. Accordingly, after 

consideration of comments received, the 

EPA is finalizing changes to the 

meaning of ‘‘compliance’’ in section 

136(f)(6)(A) in several respects, as 

further explained, so that it reflects the 

best interpretation within the context of 

the statute as a whole and is aligned 

with the goals and purpose of the WEC. 

The EPA is finalizing revisions to the 

proposed definition of ‘‘compliance’’ for 

the purpose of determining eligibility 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption. As discussed in the 

proposal, Congress requires that 

facilities must be ‘‘in compliance with 

requirements’’ pursuant to 111(b) and 

(d), but Congress did not provide any 

specific definition for what it means to 

comply. Given Congress didn’t provide 

a definition of ‘‘compliance’’ in the 

statutory text, we have examined the 

context in which the term is used and 

the objectives of the regulatory 

compliance exemption in the context of 

CAA section 136. As discussed 

throughout this section, the clear intent 

of Congress in creating the regulatory 

compliance exemption provision was to 

ensure continuous incentives to reduce 

methane emissions, and to relieve from 

the WEC those facilities that are 

successfully making methane emission 

reductions pursuant to applicable CAA 

section 111 standards. In other words, 

Congress did not intend to require the 

charge to apply where a WEC applicable 

facility was already reducing its 

emissions as intended by the 2024 Final 

NSPS/EG. Thus, it is most consistent 

within this statutory context to focus 

assessments of compliance on those 

deviations that indicate that a CAA 

section 111 facility is not reducing 

emissions as required by NSPS OOOOb 

and the applicable EG OOOOcimplementing State or Federal plan. 

However, where there is noncompliance 

with provisions of these programs that 

are not tied in some way to methane 

emission reductions, but rather some 

other requirement of NSPS OOOOb or 

the applicable EG OOOOcimplementing State or Federal Plan, it 

would not be consistent with the 

statutory context to subject the WEC 

applicable facility that is already 

responding as intended to the CAA 

section 111 requirements to reduce 

emissions, to also be subject to the 

charge. Accordingly, in this final rule, 


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58 Deviations are defined for NSPS OOOOb and 

EG OOOOc at 40 CFR 60.5430b and 40 CFR 

60.5430c, respectively. 

59WEC applicable facilities in the onshore 

production and gathering and boosting industry 

segments will be treated differently, as discussed in 

this section of the preamble. Note that the other 

defined WEC applicable facilities in CAA section 

136(d)—the offshore production, transmission 

pipeline, LNG import and export, and LNG storage 

industry segments—are not eligible for the 

regulatory compliance exemption because they do 

not contain CAA section 111(b) or (d) facilities. 

the EPA’s framework for assessing 

compliance conforms with the 

objectives of the regulatory compliance 

exemption and focuses on compliance 

activities that directly affect methane 

emissions, in accordance with the 

WEC’s objective of incentivizing 

reduced methane emissions. It also 

makes the exemption realistically 

available to WEC applicable facilities 

and implementable for the EPA. 

The EPA is finalizing two categories 

of NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc 

requirements that will determine 

eligibility for the regulatory compliance 

exemption. Noncompliance with respect 

to either category will result in 

ineligibility for the regulatory 

compliance exemption. First, any selfreported deviation 58 from monitoring 

requirements, emissions limits or 

standards (or surrogate standards), 

operational limits (including operating 

parameter limits), or work practice 

standards is considered noncompliance 

for the purposes of the regulatory 

compliance exemption. This category is 

straightforward to implement in that 

exemption eligibility is determined 

based on information that companies 

are already collecting and reporting. By 

focusing regulatory compliance 

exemption eligibility on compliance 

with emissions limits, operational 

limits, work practice standards, and the 

monitoring necessary to demonstrate 

compliance with those standards, 

exemption eligibility is based on 

compliance with requirements that are 

directly linked to a facility’s emission 

reduction requirements. This approach 

also aligns with Congressional intent for 

the regulatory compliance exemption to 

apply only to WEC applicable facilities 

where methane emissions are otherwise 

being controlled under CAA section 

111(b) and (d). In instances where 

methane emissions are not 

appropriately controlled consistent with 

these standards, it is clear that Congress 

meant that the facility could not claim 

the exemption. 

Additionally, the EPA is finalizing 

that any determination of a violation in 

an administrative or judicial action of 

any applicable NSPS OOOOb or EG 

OOOOc requirement, including 

reporting or recordkeeping, results in a 

WEC applicable facility being ineligible 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption. This approach is necessary 

to account for any instances of 

noncompliance that are not included in 

annual NSPS OOOOb or EG OOOOcimplementing plan reports but are 

adjudicated in an administrative or 

judicial proceeding. The EPA is 

finalizing that any adjudication of 

reporting and recordkeeping violations 

results in exemption ineligibility 

because failing to comply with these 

requirements can be directly linked to 

noncompliance with emissions-related 

requirements. For example, a company 

could improperly fail to report or keep 

records of certain required information 

because that information would indicate 

violations of, for example, emission 

limits or work practice standards. 

Similarly, records maintained by 

companies are often key to verifying 

compliance with emissions limits or 

work practice standards. Failure to 

maintain these records not only 

prevents the EPA or other authorities 

from verifying compliance, but can also 

mask noncompliance and limit the 

ability to prove that noncompliance 

occurred. To account for these and other 

NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc 

violations that are not reported or 

improperly unreported in annual NSPS 

OOOOb and EG OOOOc reports, the 

EPA is finalizing that any adjudicated 

violation of NSPS OOOOb and EG 

OOOOc is also considered 

noncompliance for the purposes of 

exemption eligibility. 

The EPA is finalizing that selfreported deviations from notification 

requirements are not considered a form 

of noncompliance that causes an 

applicable facility to lose exemption 

eligibility. For example, NSPS OOOOb 

includes notification requirements 

associated with well completions, well 

closures, and alternative fugitive 

emissions monitoring programs. These 

notification requirements are not 

necessarily directly linked to emissions 

reduction requirements for CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facilities. The EPA is 

therefore finalizing that self-reported 

noncompliance with notification 

requirements in NSPS OOOOb or EG 

OOOOc-implementing plans does not 

result in ineligibility for the regulatory 

compliance exemption. This treatment 

of self-reported notification 

requirements is specific to 

implementation of the regulatory 

compliance exemption under CAA 

section 136, and does not affect any 

treatment of noncompliance under 

NSPS OOOOb or EG OOOOcimplementing plans. 

A WEC applicable facility’s eligibility 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption based on the absence of 

deviations from the specified 

requirements in its annual reports does 

not constitute a determination of 

compliance for NSPS OOOOb or EG 

OOOOc-implementation plan. A WEC 

applicable facility’s eligibility for the 

regulatory compliance exemption in no 

way precludes the EPA from later 

finding and enforcing violations of 

NSPS OOOOb or EG OOOOc-State 

plans, whether reported or unreported. 

If a WEC applicable facility claims the 

regulatory compliance exemption based 

on the absence of noncompliance in its 

annual report, but NSPS OOOOb or EG 

OOOOc-implementation plan violations 

are later discovered or adjudicated, the 

WEC applicable facility’s WEC obligated 

party must recalculate its WEC 

obligation accounting for the methane 

emissions that are disqualified from the 

regulatory compliance exemption due to 

the adjudicated violations, resubmit its 

WEC filing, and pay any resulting 

charge. 

Portion of the WEC Applicable Facility 

Affected by Noncompliance 

In this final rule, for WEC applicable 

facilities in the natural gas processing, 

transmission compression, and 

underground storage industry segments, 

the EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

any NSPS OOOOb or EG OOOOc 

noncompliance within the WEC 

applicable facility results in the entire 

WEC applicable facility losing the 

regulatory compliance exemption.59 The 

EPA proposed that any noncompliance 

at CAA section 111(b) or (d) facilities 

contained within a WEC applicable 

facility would cause the entire WEC 

applicable facility to lose the 

exemption. Some commenters 

contended that the proposed approach 

would unfairly restrict availability of 

the exemption, and that loss of the 

exemption should only apply to the 

emissions from the noncompliant CAA 

111(b) or (d) facility contained within 

the WEC applicable facility. The EPA 

does not agree with these comments. 

Congress was clear throughout CAA 

section 136 that the term ‘‘applicable 

facility’’ for purposes of that entire 

section, including CAA section 

136(f)(6), refers to a WEC applicable 

facility—that is, a subpart W facility 

within one of the nine listed industry 

segments which emits over 25,000 tons 

of CO2e per year. Accordingly, a plain 

reading of CAA 136(f)(6)(A) indicates 

that the exemption is to be applied to 

an entire WEC applicable facility, not 

just portions of it: ‘‘Charges shall not be 


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91134 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

imposed pursuant to subsection (c) on 

an applicable facility that is subject to 

and in compliance with methane 

emissions requirements pursuant to 

subsections (b) and (d) of section 111.’’ 

(Emphasis added). 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

WEC applicable facilities are eligible for 

the exemption if they contain any CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) facilities. While the 

EPA expects that most WEC applicable 

facilities in industry segments regulated 

under NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc 

contain CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities, such WEC applicable facilities 

generally also contain equipment and 

emission sources that are not regulated 

under NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc. 

Emissions from both types of emissions 

sources within a WEC applicable 

facility—those facilities regulated under 

NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc and 

those sources that are not regulated— 

will be eligible for the regulatory 

compliance exemption by virtue of the 

fact that the exemption is applied to the 

entire WEC applicable facility. Some 

commenters recommended that once the 

exemption is first applied to the WEC 

applicable facility, only the emissions 

from noncompliant CAA sections 111(b) 

and (d) facilities should lose the 

exemption. In other words, these 

commenters argued that once the 

exemption is applied to the entire WEC 

facility, it should be lost at the CAA 

section 111 facility level. The EPA 

disagrees with this comment. First, such 

an approach would be contrary to the 

plain text of the statute, which requires 

the EPA to apply the exemption to the 

entire WEC applicable facility at once, 

because CAA section 136(f)(6)(A) states 

that ‘‘charges shall not be imposed on 

an applicable facility that is subject to 

and in compliance with’’ the CAA 

section 111 standards. According to 

ordinary meaning, established 

principles of statutory construction, and 

the general requirements under CAA 

section 136(c) that the EPA ‘‘shall 

impose and collect a charge on methane 

emissions that exceed an applicable 

waste emissions threshold . . . from an 

owner or operator of an applicable 

facility that reports more than 25,000 

metric tons’’ of CO2e under subpart W, 

the inverse must also be true: charges 

shall be imposed on a WEC applicable 

facility that is not subject to and in 

compliance with CAA section 111 

standards. That is, the regulatory 

compliance exemption must be applied 

to, and withdrawn from, a WEC 

applicable facility as a whole. 

Second, if the EPA were to take the 

approach suggested by the commenters, 

once the facility as a whole is first 

granted the exemption, emissions from 

those sources that are not subject to 

NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc (and thus 

not otherwise required to reduce 

emissions) would continue to benefit 

from the exemption forever, even while 

the CAA section 111 facilities are out of 

compliance. For example, under this 

approach advanced by some 

commenters, every CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) facility in a WEC applicable 

facility could be out of compliance, but 

methane emissions from every subpart 

W emission source that is not regulated 

under NSPS OOOOb or EG OOOOc 

would continue to receive the 

exemption. In this scenario, the 

unregulated sources would be exempted 

from the WEC and therefore subject to 

no incentive to reduce methane 

emissions even while the CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facilities that permitted 

the WEC affected facility to apply the 

exemption are also not reducing 

methane emissions. It would be 

inconsistent to make the exemption 

available to these unregulated emissions 

sources by virtue of the fact that they are 

located within a WEC applicable facility 

that also contains CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) facilities, and then continue to 

allow them to access the exemption 

when the CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities within the WEC applicable 

facility are in noncompliance. In other 

words, this would result in an ‘‘all in’’ 

approach for exemption eligibility, but a 

‘‘some out’’ approach for loss of the 

exemption in the event of 

noncompliance. Such an approach 

would: not be consistent with the 

statute; arbitrary from a practical 

implementation standpoint; and counter 

to the intent of the WEC to incentivize 

methane emission reductions across the 

industry. Further, this approach is not 

practically implementable because there 

is no specific alignment between the 

definitions and scope of CAA section 

111(b) and (d) applicable and 

designated facilities and the subpart W 

emissions sources at a WEC applicable 

facility, and therefore methane 

emissions from CAA section 111(b) or 

(d) facilities cannot be directly 

subtracted from reported subpart W data 

in order to assess the WEC against only 

those noncompliant facilities. Requiring 

collection and reporting of such data 

would significantly increase program 

complexity, as well as the burden on 

both industry and the EPA. The EPA 

therefore concludes that its proposed 

‘‘all in, all out’’ approach for the portion 

of the WEC applicable facility that loses 

access to the regulatory compliance 

exemption is the best interpretation of 

the statute and is the most consistent 

with the WEC’s goals of incentivizing 

methane emissions reductions, subject 

to the following exceptional 

circumstances, as described. 

Onshore Production and Gathering 

and Boosting WEC Applicable Facilities: 

Portion of Facility Affected by 

Noncompliance. Notwithstanding the 

foregoing discussion and the EPA’s 

general approach for application of the 

regulatory compliance exemption, based 

on compelling comments from 

commenters and upon reconsideration 

of the Congressional intent of the WEC 

within the context of this exemption, 

the EPA is finalizing a unique approach 

for the portion of the WEC applicable 

facility affected by noncompliance 

specific to the onshore production and 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments. Some commenters noted that 

facilities in these industry segments 

would be uniquely affected by the 

proposed approach (and, the finalized 

approach for the natural gas processing, 

transmissions compression, and 

underground storage industry segments) 

of the entire WEC applicable facility 

losing the exemption as the result of any 

section 111(b) or (d) noncompliance. 

WEC applicable facilities in the onshore 

production and gathering and boosting 

industry segments are defined at the 

geologic basin level and may consist of 

hundreds of well pads or dozens of 

compressor stations spread across a 

wide geographic area (e.g., the Permian 

Basin is over 80,000 square miles or 

about the size of the State of Utah). By 

comparison, WEC applicable facilities 

in other industry segments that are 

eligible for the regulatory compliance 

exemption, such as gas processing 

plants or transmission compressor 

stations, are typically no larger than 

several city blocks and consist of colocated emission sources. As one 

commenter noted, because of the basinwide scale of the WEC applicable 

facilities in the onshore production and 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments, they may contain hundreds or 

thousands of CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

affected and designated facilities. This 

makes these industry segments unique 

in how the approach for this exemption 

would affect them; other WEC 

applicable facility industry segments 

such as the natural gas processing, 

transmissions compression, and 

underground storage industry segments 

typically have between ten and one 

hundred CAA 111(b) or (d) facilities. 

This is notable because, under the 

proposed and final approach that the 

EPA is taking for the natural gas 

processing, transmissions compression, 

and underground storage industry 

segments, a single noncompliant CAA 


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60Manning, John, ‘‘The Absurdity Doctrine’’, 116 

Harv. L. Rev. 2388, 2389 (Jun. 2003) (citing Clinton 

v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417, 429 (1998); Pub. 

Citizen v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 491 U.S. 440, 454– 

55 (1989); Jackson v. Lykes Bros. S.S. Co., 386 U.S. 

731, 735 (1967); United States v. Brown, 333 U.S. 

18, 27 (1948); Armstrong Paint & Varnish Works v. 

Nu-Enamel Corp., 305 U.S. 315, 333 (1938); Sorrells 

v. United States, 287 U.S. 435, 447–49 (1932); 

United States v. Katz, 271 U.S. 354, 362 (1926); 

Hawaii v. Mankichi, 190 U.S. 197, 2 13–14 (1903); 

Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 

U.S. 457, 465, 472). 

61See id. at 2388. 

62See Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 573 

U.S. 302, 321–22 (2014) (holding that the term ‘‘air 

pollutant’’, which—pursuant to a plain text reading 

and the EPA’s endangerment finding for greenhouse 

gases encompasses greenhouse gases in most 

sections of the Clean Air Act—nevertheless 

excludes greenhouse gases in the context of the PSD 

program and Title V permitting, because to read the 

phrase ‘‘air pollutant’’ to include greenhouse gases 

in those sections would produce absurd results; 

specifically, such a reading would trigger millions 

of new previously unregulated sources into the 

program, ballooning the number of Title V regulated 

sources alone from 15,000 to 6.1 million, and 

increasing costs by factors of a thousand). 

63See id. (‘‘[the] EPA itself has repeatedly 

acknowledged that applying the PSD and Title V 

permitting requirements to greenhouse gases would 

be inconsistent with—in fact, would overthrow— 

the Act’s structure and design . . . [because] ‘the 

great majority of additional sources brought into the 

PSD and title V programs would be small sources 

that Congress did not expect would need to undergo 

permitting’ [and] the EPA stated that these results 

would be so ‘contrary to congressional intent,’ and 

would so ‘severely undermine what Congress 

sought to accomplish,’ that they necessitated as 

much as a 1,000-fold increase in the permitting 

thresholds set forth in the statute.’’). See also 

Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 

U.S. 457 (1982) (holding that notwithstanding a 

federal statute declaring it ‘‘unlawful for any 

person, company, partnership, or corporation, in 

any manner whatsoever, to prepay the 

transportation, or in any way assist or encourage the 

importation or migration of any alien or aliens, any 

foreigner or foreigners, into the United States . . . 

under contract or agreement . . . to perform labor 

or service of any kind in the United States . . .’’, 

an Episcopal Church in New York City had not 

violated the law in contracting the services of an 

English pastor. Id. at 458. The Court stated that 

although ‘‘it must be conceded that the act of the 

[church was] within the letter of this section’’, 

applying the law to the church in this case would 

lead to ‘‘absurd results’’ which Congress surely had 

not intended. Id. at 459. Ultimately, the Court read 

an implicit exemption into the law applying to 

religious labor. Id. at 465–66. 

section 111(b) or (d) facility at a single 

well pad in the onshore production 

industry segments or at a single 

gathering compressor station in the 

gathering and boosting industry segment 

at these WEC applicable facilities 

(which might contain hundreds of well 

pads or dozens of gathering compressor 

stations) would result in the entire 

basin-wide WEC applicable facility 

becoming ineligible for the exemption. 

As stated by commenters, given the 

widespread geographic span and 

potentially very large number of CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities 

associated with basin-level WEC 

applicable facilities, the regulatory 

compliance exemption could turn out to 

be largely unavailable for WEC 

applicable facilities of this type. 

In promulgating the requirements 

under CAA section 136, Congress was 

aware of the existing definitions of 

‘‘facility’’ under subpart W for the 

various applicable industry segments, 

including the basin-wide definitions 

that apply to onshore production and 

gathering and boosting facilities. And 

pursuant to the plain text of CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A), the exemption is 

intended to be applied and revoked 

facility wide. Nevertheless, the EPA 

understands that Congress’s general 

intention in establishing the regulatory 

compliance exemption was to provide 

an incentive for regulatory 

compliance—and in order for such an 

incentive to exist, it must be reasonably 

possible for owners and operators to 

achieve such compliance to ensure that 

the exemption is realistically available 

as intended. However, in the unique 

case of basin-wide facilities, should the 

EPA withdraw the exemption on a 

facility-wide basis in response to any 

one instance of noncompliance at a 

CAA section 111 facility, the EPA agrees 

with commenters that it the exemption 

would not be as accessible to basin-wide 

facilities as intended by Congress under 

this provision. 

Some occasional instances of 

noncompliance are to be expected over 

the span of a WEC applicable facility. 

After considering comments, however, 

the EPA appreciates that in the case of 

basin-wide facilities, because these 

facilities are so vast—often containing 

thousands of CAA section 111 

facilities—and because there are 

numerous ways in which any one of 

these CAA section 111 facilities can be 

in noncompliance at any one time, 

universal compliance for every single 

CAA section 111 facility would be very 

challenging for basin-wide facilities. 

The result could be that a violation at 

one location could result in loss of the 

exemption for hundreds, or potentially 

thousands of other locations that are 

fully compliant. The EPA has concluded 

that such result does not comport with 

the Congressional intent of the WEC or 

with the overall purpose of the 

regulatory compliance exemption. 

Indeed, the EPA believes that such 

scenario would constitute an absurd 

result, and one not foreseen by 

Congress, which did not have the 

benefit of industry comment regarding 

the difficulty of universal compliance 

across thousands of CAA section 111 

facilities, when it drafted its provision 

applying the regulatory compliance 

exemption to the WEC applicable 

facility as a whole, for all WEC 

applicable facilities to which the 

exemption would apply. 

Historically, in cases where 

‘‘unambiguous statutory commands’’ 

would nevertheless lead to ‘‘absurd 

results’’, the Supreme Court has seen fit 

to ‘‘adjust[ ]’’ these commands 60—a 

theory of judicial review recognized in 

legal scholarship as the ‘‘absurdity 

doctrine.’’ 61 Where a certain 

interpretation would be reasonable in 

most cases but compel absurd results in 

a particular case, the Court may read an 

implicit exemption into the text to allow 

support for the plain text reading as a 

general matter but to avoid the specific 

absurd results.62 In particular, the Court 

may read an implicit exemption into the 

text where failing to do so would be 

inconsistent with Congressional intent 

for the purpose of the provision at 

issue.63 Accordingly, for the reasons 

explained in further detail, after 

consideration of comments, and in the 

interest of avoiding absurd results, the 

EPA is finalizing a specific approach for 

WEC applicable facilities in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

and onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments such that for WEC applicable 

facilities in these industry segments 

only, the loss of the exemption occurs 

at the site-level rather than the facilitylevel. The EPA notes that this 

distinction for basin-level onshore 

production and gathering and boosting 

industry segments does not change the 

definition of ‘‘applicable facility’’ under 

part 99 or the definitions of ‘‘facility’’ 

for these or other industry segments 

under 40 CFR part 98, because, as we 

discussed, Congress was well aware of 

the part 98 definitions when it defined 

applicable facility for purposes of 

calculating the charge by reference to 

the long-existing subpart W 

definitions—and Congress was clear in 

defining ‘‘applicable facility’’ for 

purposes of CAA section 136. There is 

nothing absurd about, for example, 

applying the 25,000 CO2e WEC 

applicability threshold at the basin-wide 

facility level for these industry 

segments; thus, we don’t find these 

consequences to be universal across the 

CAA section 136 framework. 

Structuring this final rule such that 

onshore production and gathering and 

boosting facilities will lose the 

regulatory compliance exemption at the 

site level is exclusively for the purpose 

of making the regulatory compliance 

exemption accessible to all of the 

relevant WEC applicable facilities that 


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64 ‘‘Well-pad site means all equipment on or 

associated with a single well-pad. Specifically, the 

well-pad site includes all equipment on a single 

well-pad plus all equipment associated with that 

single well-pad.’’ 40 CFR 98.238. 

65 ‘‘Gathering and boosting site means a single 

gathering compressor station as defined in this 

section, centralized oil production site as defined 

in this section, gathering pipeline site as defined in 

this section, or other fenceline site within the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting industry segment.’’ Id. 

Congress intended to receive the 

exemption. 

For onshore production facilities, the 

site is the ‘‘well-pad site,’’ as defined by 

40 CFR 98.238.64 For gathering and 

boosting facilities, the site is the 

‘‘gathering and boosting site’’, as 

defined by 40 CFR 98.238.65 In the final 

rule, the loss of the regulatory 

compliance exemption at the site level 

for the onshore production and 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments is applied in the same manner 

as at the facility-level for natural gas 

processing, transmission compression, 

and underground storage industry 

segments, meaning that all methane 

emissions at the site with NSPS OOOOb 

or State/Federal plan noncompliance 

are ineligible for the exemption. This 

aligns with the general ‘‘all in, all out’’ 

approach for the exemption loss for 

natural gas processing, transmission 

compression, and underground storage 

industry segments, whereby emissions 

from all emission sources (i.e., 

emissions from sources regulated under 

NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc as well 

as sources not regulated under NSPS 

OOOOb and EG OOOOc) lose the 

exemption in the event of 

noncompliance. The EPA notes that this 

approach is straightforward to 

implement as site-level emissions 

reporting is required under the 2024 

Subpart W Final Rule and can be 

directly used to calculate any emissions 

that lose the exemption. Section II.D.2.g. 

of this preamble describes the emissions 

calculations applicable to loss of the 

regulatory compliance exemption. 

Period of time for assessing the 

exemption in the event of 

noncompliance. In the final rule, the 

EPA is finalizing revisions to the 

proposal approach with respect to the 

period of time for which the exemption 

is applied in the event of any section 

111(b) or (d) noncompliance. The EPA 

proposed that any noncompliance 

would result in loss of the exemption 

for the entire year. Several commenters 

noted that the duration of a NSPS 

OOOOb or EG OOOOc-implementing 

plan noncompliance event can vary, and 

that some noncompliance events may be 

very brief. Commenters stated that the 

proposed approach of assessing the 

exemption for the entire year was 

unreasonable. We agree with these 

commenters that withholding the 

exemption for an entire year in the 

instance of noncompliance goes beyond 

the Congressional purpose of making 

the exemption reasonably available to 

WEC applicable facilities that are in 

compliance with 111(b) and (d). Some 

commenters noted that under the 

proposed approach, where 

noncompliance occurred for a single 

111(b) or (d) facility within a WEC 

applicable facility for an hour, that 

entire WEC applicable facility would 

lose the exemption for the entire 

calendar year. The best reading of the 

statute requires that the exemption be 

realistically available to WEC applicable 

facilities that are achieving compliance 

in accordance with the requirements in 

111(b) and (d)—losing the exemption for 

an entire year would, in many instances 

be out of proportion to the extent of 

noncompliance and unduly constrain 

use of the exemption. 

The EPA also received comments 

recommending that the length of time 

for which the exemption be lost in the 

event of noncompliance correspond 

with the period of noncompliance. The 

EPA disagrees with these commenters. 

A key consideration in establishing a 

temporal element for the regulatory 

compliance exemption is the data used 

to establish the duration of 

noncompliance. The EPA is finalizing 

that data from NSPS OOOOb and state/ 

Federal plan annual reports will be used 

to calculate the duration of 

noncompliance for the purpose of 

exemption eligibility. Use of existing 

data reduces the burden on industry and 

increases consistency in regulatory 

requirements. Although deviations for 

purposes of WEC are based on the NSPS 

OOOOb and State/Federal plan reports, 

the EPA notes that because NSPS 

OOOOb and EG OOOOc do not provide 

specific direction on the calculation of 

the deviation duration, the deviation 

start and stop times included in NSPS 

OOOOb and state/Federal plan annual 

reports may be inconsistent and may not 

be reflective of the actual length of 

noncompliance. Significantly, the 

reported start times may be based on 

when a deviation was detected, not 

when the deviation began. Reported 

durations therefore can significantly 

underestimate the actual length of 

noncompliance. Considering the 

exemption at a smaller time interval, 

such as hourly or daily, assumes too 

much certainty with respect to the 

information in the annual reports, and 

could end up providing the exemption 

to WEC applicable facilities during 

periods of noncompliance for their 

constituent CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities. The EPA also concludes that 

such an approach is inconsistent with 

Congressional intent of incentivizing 

meaningful emission reductions and 

compliance with section 111(b) and (d) 

methane emissions standards and plans. 

The EPA has concluded that, where a 

WEC applicable facility has instances of 

noncompliance with section 111(b) and 

(d) methane emissions standards and 

plans, losing the exemption for an entire 

year unduly constrains use of the 

exemption contrary to Congressional 

intent. The EPA has also concluded that 

under such scenario, losing the 

exemption for the same amount of time 

as the noncompliance event is 

infeasible, impractical, and counter to 

Congressional intent. Attempting to 

define that period would go well 

beyond existing reporting and impose a 

large additional burden on both the 

regulated industry and on the EPA. 

Accordingly, after consideration of 

comments received, the EPA is 

finalizing an approach in the final rule 

that eligibility for the regulatory 

compliance exemption will be evaluated 

on a quarterly basis. Any NSPS OOOOb 

or State/Federal plan noncompliance 

results in the entire WEC applicable 

facility (or site within the WEC 

applicable facility for the onshore 

production and gathering and boosting 

industry segments only) losing the 

exemption for the entire quarter(s) in 

which the noncompliance occurs. 

Quarters are delineated based on the 

calendar year (e.g., January through 

March). Quarterly compliance status is 

based on the start and stop dates of 

applicable deviations as reported in 

annual NSPS OOOOb and State/Federal 

plan annual reports. Where a 

noncompliance event spans multiple 

quarters, the exemption will be lost for 

those multiple quarters in which 

noncompliance occurs. 

The EPA believes that WEC 

applicable facilities losing the 

exemption on a quarterly basis in the 

event of noncompliance is an 

appropriate approach that is consistent 

with the language and goals of the WEC, 

enables use of existing reporting, and 

avoids significant additional reporting 

and administrative burden. While the 

statute addresses when the charge 

should begin (for emissions reported for 

calendar year 2024) and when it should 

resume if the conditions in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii) cease to apply 

(the first calendar year in which those 

conditions are no longer met), it does 

not specify what length of time an 

applicable facility should lose eligibility 

for the regulatory compliance 


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exemption in the face of noncompliance 

(pursuant to CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)). 

Given that Congress did not specify how 

long a WEC applicable facility would 

lose the exemption for in the event of 

noncompliance, the EPA concludes that 

proceeding on a quarterly basis is a 

reasonable approach for the practical 

considerations. The final approach 

increases flexibility so that access to the 

regulatory compliance exemption is not 

overly restrictive (i.e., one deviation 

would not lead to loss of the exemption 

for an entire year, as proposed), while 

maintaining the integrity of the 

exemption such that it is unavailable to 

WEC applicable facilities during times 

of NSPS OOOOb or State/Federal plan 

noncompliance (as some commenters 

urged). The final approach also aligns 

with the intent of the WEC—to provide 

reasonable access to an exemption from 

the charge for WEC applicable facilities 

that are in compliance with their 

methane emission requirements without 

allowing the exemption for periods of 

noncompliance, while also 

incentivizing methane emission 

reductions. 

Exemption Applicability under new or 

revised oil and gas NSPS or EG. The 

EPA is finalizing as proposed that, 

should additional or revised NSPS/EG 

regulations for the oil and natural gas 

industry source category be finalized in 

the future, the EPA will reassess 

compliance with the methane emissions 

requirements in those regulations for 

determining continued availability of 

the regulatory compliance exemption. 

As discussed in section II.D.2.i. of this 

preamble, the regulatory compliance 

exemption could become unavailable if 

future NSPS/EG revisions would, upon 

implementation, result in fewer 

emissions reductions than would have 

been achieved by the 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal, had that proposal been 

finalized and implemented. Similarly, 

the exemption could be reinstated upon 

adoption and implementation of NSPS/ 

EG revisions that restore emissions 

reduction equivalency with, or 

improvement upon, the 2021 NSPS/EG 

Proposal. 

It is also possible that the EPA may 

revise the 2024 Final NSPS/EG in the 

future to add requirements for 

equipment in industry segments that are 

not currently regulated. This creates the 

potential that the regulatory compliance 

exemption may become available to 

additional WEC applicable facilities, 

upon the appropriate Administrator 

determination. In such cases where a 

new or expanded regulation issued 

pursuant to CAA section 111(b) or (d) 

would apply to a methane emission 

source at a WEC applicable facility that 

is in a segment of the oil and natural gas 

industry not currently covered by the 

2024 Final NSPS/EG, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that such 

regulation will not have any effect on 

those WEC applicable facilities with 

existing access to the regulatory 

compliance exemption. However, in 

such case, the Administrator would still 

need to make appropriate 

determinations for the additional 

industry segments pursuant to CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) consistent with 

the framework finalized in this 

rulemaking. Such WEC applicable 

facilities would then be eligible to claim 

the exemption so long as they are they 

are subject to and in compliance with 

the applicable methane emissions 

requirements. 

g. Calculation of Emissions for Partial 

Eligibility for the Regulatory 

Compliance Exemption 

The EPA is finalizing calculation 

methodologies for the regulatory 

compliance exemption at 40 CFR 99.43. 

These calculation methodologies are 

necessary to account for the revisions 

from the proposed rule that the EPA is 

finalizing, including the assessment of 

the emissions qualifying for exemption 

at the site level for WEC applicable 

facilities in the onshore production and 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments and assessment of compliance 

on a quarterly basis for purposes of the 

exemption for all WEC applicable 

facilities. Under the proposed rule, 

exemption eligibility was assessed for 

the entire year and for the entire WEC 

applicable facility, therefore calculation 

methodologies accounting for partial 

year exemption as well as site level 

assessment were not required. 

Because the final approach for the 

regulatory compliance exemption 

allows for partial exemption eligibility, 

the EPA is by necessity revising the 

calculation methodology from proposal 

to match the approach in the final rule. 

In the final rule, for facilities in the 

onshore production and gathering and 

boosting industry segments, methane 

emissions as reported under subpart W 

that would not qualify for the 

exemption are those from the individual 

site(s) where NSPS OOOOb or State/ 

Federal plan noncompliance occurs. 

These site-level emissions (i.e., the sum 

of emissions from all quarters in the 

year in which the noncompliance 

occurs) are compared to the entire WEC 

applicable facility’s facility applicable 

emissions (i.e., methane emissions at 

the WEC applicable facility above the 

waste emissions threshold prior to 

consideration of any applicable 

exemptions). If the sum of total methane 

emissions from the site(s) with 

noncompliance is less than the facility 

applicable emissions, the sum of 

methane emissions from the site(s) with 

noncompliance is the total amount of 

emissions that would not qualify for the 

regulatory compliance exemption. If the 

sum of methane emissions from the 

site(s) with noncompliance are greater 

than the WEC applicable facility’s 

facility applicable emissions, the entire 

WEC applicable facility would not 

qualify to exempt any emissions under 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

for the reporting year. In this way, 

facility applicable emissions serve as a 

ceiling for the total amount of emissions 

that would not qualify for the regulatory 

compliance exemption because in the 

absence of the regulatory compliance 

exemption, this is the highest possible 

amount of methane that would 

potentially be subject to charge. For 

WEC applicable facilities in all other 

industry segments, we are finalizing as 

proposed that the entire WEC applicable 

facility would not qualify for the 

regulatory compliance exemption and 

thus its facility applicable emissions are 

the highest number of metric tons of 

methane potentially subject to charge. 

As described in section II.D.2.f of. this 

preamble, the EPA is finalizing that 

eligibility for the regulatory compliance 

exemption will be evaluated on a 

calendar quarter basis. Emissions from 

all emissions sources contained within 

a WEC applicable facility (or site, for 

onshore production and gathering and 

boosting facilities) are not eligible for 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

during any calendar quarter in which 

there is noncompliance among any CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) facilities contained 

within the WEC applicable facility (or 

site, for onshore production and 

gathering and boosting facilities), as 

described in section II.D.2.f. of this 

preamble and detailed at 40 CFR 

99.41(d) and 99.42(d). Quarterly 

emissions will be calculated by taking 

annual facility or site subpart W 

methane emissions, subtracting any 

emissions from other large release 

events, and dividing by four. If 

emissions from other large release 

events occur in a quarter with 

noncompliance, these emissions are 

added to the quarter’s emissions that are 

ineligible for the exemption. If 

emissions from other large release 

events, as reported under 40 CFR 

98.236(y), span across multiple quarters, 

emissions from these events are 

allocated to individual quarters by 

multiplying total methane emissions 

from each event by the ratio of event 

duration, in days, to total days in the 


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quarter. The removal of emissions from 

other large release events prior to 

calculating average quarterly emissions 

ensures that these emissions are not 

allocated to quarters when they are 

known not to have occurred, and 

ensures they are accounted for in 

quarters in which there is NSPS OOOOb 

or State/Federal plan noncompliance. 

The calculation of quarterly methane 

emissions as annual emissions divided 

by four (after removing emissions from 

other large release events) simplifies 

implementation and reduces burden for 

both industry and the EPA. An 

approach that attempted to estimate 

methane emissions that are directly 

emitted in each quarter would have 

significantly increased the reporting 

requirements for industry, would not be 

anticipated to meaningly differ from the 

final approach for all emissions sources, 

and would have generated emissions 

data that would be close to impossible 

to verify without further increasing 

reporting requirements. 

For WEC applicable facilities with 

partial-year eligibility for the regulatory 

compliance exemption, the quantity of 

emissions that qualify for the regulatory 

compliance exemption is calculated as 

the facility applicable emissions minus 

the sum of quarterly facility or site-level 

methane emissions, as appropriate, for 

all quarters with NSPS OOOOb or State/ 

Federal plan noncompliance. If this 

calculation results in a value equal to or 

less than zero, the facility does not have 

emissions that qualify for a claim under 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

(i.e., facility applicable emissions serve 

as a ceiling, and if there are no other 

eligible exempted emissions, WEC 

applicable emissions are equal to 

facility applicable emissions). If the 

calculation results in a positive value, 

then the facility applicable emissions 

are reduced by this amount when 

determining the WEC applicable 

emissions for the facility pursuant to the 

final requirements of 40 CFR 99.21(d). 

The positive value represents the 

amount of methane emissions eligible 

for the exemption. The calculation 

procedures for WEC applicable facilities 

with partial-year eligibility for the 

regulatory compliance exemption have 

been finalized at 40 CFR 99.43(b), 

including equations D–1A, for onshore 

production and onshore gathering and 

boosting facilities, and D–1B for 

facilities in all other industry segments. 

The quantity of emissions that would 

qualify for exemption under both the 

regulatory compliance exemption and 

any other exemption are then subtracted 

from this value, as described later in 

this section. 

As a result of the finalized approach 

for assessment of partial regulatory 

compliance exemption under this final 

rule, it would be possible for a WEC 

applicable facility in the onshore 

production segment to have exempted 

emissions due to eligible permitting 

delays and plugged wells at a facility 

that also has qualified emissions eligible 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption. In order to avoid doublecounting emissions eligible for 

exemption (i.e., subtracting the same 

methane emissions twice when 

calculating WEC applicable emissions), 

we are finalizing requirements at 40 

CFR 99.43(c) to determine the quantity 

of emissions that would qualify for 

exemption under both the regulatory 

compliance exemption and any other 

exemption. Emissions under this 

scenario are quantified by multiplying 

the total quantity of emissions claimed 

for plugged wells by the ratio of the 

number of calendar quarters for which 

the facility qualified for regulatory 

compliance exemption divided by four 

added to the total quantity of emissions 

claimed for unreasonable permitting 

delay multiplied by the ratio of the 

number of days (considering calendar 

quarters) the facility qualified for the 

regulatory compliance exemption 

divided by the total number of days 

eligible for unreasonable permitting 

delay. For example, a facility qualified 

to claim for exemption 100 mt of CH4

due to eligible unreasonable permitting 

delay for 365 days, qualified for 

exemption of 4 mt of CH4 emissions 

from plugged wells, and qualified for 

regulatory compliance exemption for 

three calendar quarters (273 days) 

(January 1–March 31; April 1–June 30; 

and July 1–September 30), this 

calculation would result in a value of 

77.79 mt of CH4. This value is 

subtracted when determining the 

emissions attributed to qualifying for 

the regulatory compliance exemption. In 

this way, these emissions are 

appropriately attributed to the eligible 

permitting delay and/or plugged well 

exemptions rather than being doublecounted as part of the regulatory 

compliance exempted emissions. For 

facilities in the onshore production 

industry segment, this assessment is 

computed on a site-by-site basis and 

then totaled. The calculations for 

determination of the emissions that 

would qualify for exemption under both 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

and another exemption are finalized at 

Equation D–2A, applicable for facilities 

in the onshore production industry 

segment, and Equation D–2B, applicable 

for facilities in all other industry 

segments. 

h. Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Requirements for the Regulatory 

Compliance Exemption 

We are finalizing reporting 

requirements at 40 CFR 99.7(b)(2)(iv) 

relevant to the regulatory compliance 

exemption. Those requirements provide 

that once the Administrator has made 

the requisite determinations in CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A)(i)–(ii) for a given 

State (or group of States, for facilities 

that span multiple States) and the final 

compliance date for CAA section 111 

facilities in that State(s) has passed, 

each WEC filing submitted by a WEC 

obligated party for each WEC applicable 

facility in the State(s) that exceeds the 

waste emissions threshold that contains 

any CAA section 111(b) and (d) facilities 

and which are claiming the exemption 

must include certain information 

relevant to the regulatory compliance 

exemption. This final approach is 

conceptually similar to the proposed 

approach of initiating reporting 

requirements for the exemption only 

when the exemption becomes available, 

but it is changed in that it is now 

aligned with the timing of regulatory 

compliance exemption availability as 

finalized in this rulemaking. CAA 

section 136(f)(6)(A) mandates that the 

EPA shall not impose a charge upon 

WEC applicable facilities that qualify for 

the regulatory compliance exemption. 

Under the final approach for 

implementing the regulatory 

compliance exemption, WEC applicable 

facilities that are below the waste 

emissions threshold are ineligible for 

the exemption. The EPA therefore is 

finalizing as proposed that WEC 

obligated parties are not required to 

report information related to the 

compliance status of CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) facilities contained within WEC 

applicable facilities for WEC applicable 

facilities that are below the waste 

emissions threshold. The EPA is also 

finalizing that WEC applicable facilities 

that are not eligible for the regulatory 

compliance exemption, or that 

otherwise choose not to use the 

regulatory compliance exemption, are 

not subject to the reporting requirement 

at 40 CFR 99.7(b)(2)(iv). 

The EPA is also finalizing, as 

proposed, reporting requirements for 

facilities that qualify for and elect to 

claim the regulatory compliance 

exemption at 40 CFR 99.42. We are 

finalizing that the WEC filing submitted 

by the WEC obligated party for each 

WEC applicable facility must include a 

certification of the NSPS and State and 

Federal plan compliance status for each 


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CAA section 111(b) and (d) facility 

located within a WEC applicable facility 

during the reporting year. This 

certification of compliance status must 

indicate if any CAA section 111(b) or (d) 

facilities contained within the WEC 

applicable facility had any 

noncompliance, as defined in this final 

rule, from methane requirements for 

monitoring, emissions limits or 

standards (surrogate parameters), 

operating limits (including operational 

parameter limits), or work practice 

standards in the reporting year, and 

must indicate in which quarter of the 

year those deviations occurred. WEC 

applicable facilities that meet regulatory 

compliance exemption eligibility 

requirements for the entire year or a 

portion of the year are required to report 

the ICIS–AIR ID (or if unavailable, the 

facility registry service (FRS) ID and 

EPA Registry ID from CEDRI) reporting 

identifiers for each CAA section 111(b) 

and (d) facility located within the WEC 

applicable facility. These identifiers 

provide links to reports, emissions, and 

compliance data for each CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facility located within the 

WEC applicable facility, which is 

information necessary for the EPA to 

confirm the accuracy of the reported 

compliance status. 

The EPA proposed that WEC 

applicable facilities that are not eligible 

for the exemption would be required to 

submit one report associated with the 

CAA section 111(b) and (d) facilities 

located within the WEC applicable 

facility that documents any instance of 

noncompliance for the reporting year. 

The EPA received comments stating that 

exemption-related reporting 

requirements should not apply to WEC 

applicable facilities that are not eligible 

for the exemption. The EPA agrees, and 

the final rule does not include reporting 

requirements for the regulatory 

compliance exemption for WEC 

applicable facilities that are not eligible 

for the regulatory compliance 

exemption or otherwise choose not to 

use the exemption. As supporting 

documentation for the certification of 

compliance status of WEC applicable 

facilities that are fully or partially 

eligible for the exemption, we are 

finalizing, as proposed, to require the 

submittal of report(s) associated with 

the CAA section 111(b) and (d) facilities 

located within the WEC applicable 

facility. The EPA recognizes that the 

compliance certification period for CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities may not 

align with the reporting year for which 

the filing is being completed and that at 

the time of the WEC filing due on 

August 31 of each year, report(s) 

covering the complete preceding 

reporting year for WEC filing may not be 

available. To accommodate these cases 

where the NSPS OOOOb and State/ 

Federal plan compliance status for the 

complete reporting year is not known at 

the time of the WEC filing, the EPA is 

finalizing that the WEC obligated party 

must provide compliance reports for the 

portion of the year for which they are 

available (including the period of time 

covered); for the remainder of the year, 

the WEC obligated party must provide a 

certification of compliance status for 

each CAA section 111(b) and (d) facility 

at the WEC applicable facility that is not 

available at the time of the WEC filing. 

It also is possible that the complete 

calendar year of WEC filing is covered 

by two annual reports, each covering a 

portion of the calendar year. In this 

case, the WEC applicable facility must 

submit both annual reports. The EPA 

further recognizes that a WEC 

applicable facility may contain CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities that first 

became subject to requirements under 

CAA sections 111(b) and (d) during the 

reporting year associated with the filing 

and for which the first year of 

compliance is not completed. For these 

CAA section 111(b) and (d) facilities, we 

are finalizing as proposed to require that 

the filing identify the type of facility, 

the date that it became subject, and a 

certification of the compliance status for 

the portion of the year in which it was 

subject to requirements under CAA 

sections 111(b) and (d). In cases where 

the initial filing does not include a 

report covering the entire reporting year, 

we are finalizing as proposed to require 

that the WEC obligated party provide a 

revised filing once such a report 

becomes available. The EPA is finalizing 

that this revised filing under the final 

WEC rule would be required to be made 

within 30 calendar days of the date that 

the compliance report covering the 

remainder of the year would be due 

under the applicable requirements of 

NSPS OOOOb or a State/Federal plan. 

The deadlines for filing revisions to 

WEC filings as discussed in section 

III.A.4. do not apply for the submittal of 

compliance reports. 

We are finalizing language at 40 CFR 

99.41(e) clarifying that for purposes of 

40 CFR part 99, ‘‘affected facility(ies)’’ 

or ‘‘designated facility(ies)’’ that are 

located at the WEC applicable facility 

means the affected facility(ies) or 

designated facility(ies) that was (were) 

part of the WEC applicable facility as of 

December 31 of the reporting year, as 

well as any facility(ies) that was (were) 

decommissioned during the reporting 

year without being transferred to 

another WEC applicable facility. This 

language serves to clarify that the basis 

for determining the CAA section 111 

facilities for which submission of 

compliance reports is required and 

qualification for exemption of emissions 

is determined under the regulatory 

compliance exemption is aligned with 

the basis for reporting emissions under 

subpart W of the GHGRP. We are also 

finalizing an additional reporting 

requirement at 40 CFR 99.42(b)(7) 

necessary for verification and 

implementation of this basis of 

compliance report submittal under the 

regulatory compliance exemption. The 

EPA recognizes that the requirement to 

submit compliance reports covering the 

full calendar year for all CAA section 

111 facilities located at a WEC 

applicable facility may result in 

submission of reports that include 

equipment that was not located at that 

WEC applicable facility during the year. 

For example, in the circumstance of a 

CAA section 111 facility that is 

purchased from another owner or 

operator during the reporting year, the 

compliance report prepared for that 

particular section 111 facility (i.e., piece 

of equipment) may also include 

equipment that was not transferred. The 

reporting requirement of 40 CFR 

99.42(b)(6) requires an indication of 

whether any compliance reports 

submitted pursuant to 40 CFR 99.42(b) 

include one or more CAA section 111 

facilities that are not located at the WEC 

applicable facility, and for any such 

CAA section 111 facilities, an indication 

of whether the CAA section 111 facility 

was part of the WEC applicable facility 

for part of the reporting year and 

transferred to another facility prior to 

December 31 of the reporting year or if 

the affected or designated facility was 

not part of the WEC applicable at any 

time during the reporting year. 

We are finalizing additional reporting 

requirements related to the regulatory 

compliance exemption beyond those 

that were proposed at 40 CFR 99.42(d), 

99.42(e), and 99.42(f). These 

requirements are necessary to support 

implementation of the final approaches 

for assessment of noncompliance at the 

site level for the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production and onshore 

petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting industry segments, as well as 

quarterly assessment of whether a 

facility (or site) meets the criteria for 

exemption of emissions under the 

regulatory compliance exemption as 

discussed in section II.D.2.f. of this 

preamble. The final requirements at 40 

CFR 99.42(d) require that for each 

submitted compliance report that 


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indicates a deviation or violation, the 

compliance reporting identifiers 

associated with the affected or 

designated facilities for which there was 

a deviation or violation are reported. 

Additionally, an indication for each 

calendar quarter is required as to 

whether the compliance report indicates 

that the criteria for exemption of 

emissions were met during that calendar 

quarter. The final requirements at 40 

CFR 99.42(e) establish additional 

reporting for other large release events 

that occurred within or overlapped with 

a quarter in which the facility (or site) 

did not qualify for regulatory 

compliance exemption. These 

additional elements consist of the 

unique release event identification 

number as reported to subpart W for the 

release event and the duration of the 

event, in days, that occurred during 

calendar quarters in which the facility 

(or site) did not qualify for regulatory 

compliance exemption. These reported 

data elements are necessary for 

implementation of the calculation of 

emissions exempted under the 

regulatory compliance exemption that 

are associated with other large release 

events, as discussed in section II.D.2.g. 

of this preamble. The final requirements 

at 40 CFR 99.42(h) consist of the 

reporting of the quantity of methane 

emissions at the WEC applicable facility 

qualifying for regulatory compliance 

exemption, the total quantity of 

methane emissions that qualified for 

exemption under both the regulatory 

compliance exemption and another 

exemption, whether the facility (or site) 

did not meet the criteria for exemption 

of all emissions under the regulatory 

compliance exemption, and if so an 

indication for each calendar quarter of 

whether the facility (or site) met the 

criteria for exemption of emissions 

during that calendar quarter. In cases 

where multiple compliance reports are 

submitted for a facility, individual wellpad site (for the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production industry 

segment) or individual gathering and 

boosting site (for the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segment), the calendar quarters 

reported under this requirement must 

reflect the periods of time in which the 

conditions for the exemption of 

emissions were met for the facility, 

well-pad site, or gathering and boosting 

site, as applicable, in its entirety. For 

example, if two reports were submitted 

that together represent all of the affected 

and designated facilities at a well-pad 

site, and one report indicates deviation 

during only the first calendar quarter 

(i.e., January to March) while the other 

report indicates deviation during only 

the second calendar quarter (i.e., April 

to June), the information reported would 

be that for the first (i.e., January to 

March) and second (i.e., April to June) 

calendar quarters the conditions for the 

exemption of emissions were not met, 

and for the third (i.e., July to September) 

and fourth (i.e., October to December) 

calendar quarters the conditions were 

met. 

The EPA requires this information for 

the verification of regulatory 

compliance exemption eligibility. 

Reported information will be used to 

conduct verification as discussed in 

section III.A.4. as well as any auditing 

that occurs as discussed in section 

III.E.1. 

The EPA is aware that these reporting 

requirements may result in cases where 

a WEC obligated party makes a goodfaith representation that each CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facility at the 

WEC applicable facility is in 

compliance but later independently 

discovers an instance(s) of 

noncompliance. The EPA is finalizing as 

proposed that such independent 

discoveries would be considered to be 

substantive errors within the WEC 

filing. The EPA is finalizing at 40 CFR 

99.7(e)(1) that a revised WEC filing must 

be submitted within 30 days of the 

discovery that a previously submitted 

WEC filing contains a substantive error. 

Provided that timely submittal of a 

revised filing is made, if a revised 

regulatory compliance exemption filing 

results in the imposition of WEC 

obligation on a WEC applicable facility 

that previously qualified for exemption, 

the EPA is finalizing that the WEC 

obligated party would not be subject to 

any penalties. 

However, later discoveries of 

deviations or violations by the EPA or 

another regulatory authority, or 

discoveries as a result of investigation 

by the EPA or another regulatory 

authority (including information 

requests), are not treated the same way 

as filing errors. Where a WEC obligated 

party represents that each CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facility at the WEC 

applicable facility is in compliance, but 

the EPA or another regulatory authority 

subsequently discovers the existence of 

noncompliance, or the CAA section 

111(b) and (d) facility identifies the 

noncompliance as a result of an EPA 

investigation (including information 

requests), the WEC obligated party is 

required to submit a revised WEC filing 

with corrected information, but may be 

subject to enforcement and required to 

pay any outstanding WEC fees and 

penalties. False statements may be 

subject to criminal enforcement. 

i. Resumption of WEC Under CAA 

Section 136(f)(6)(B) 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(B) provides that 

if, at any point after the Administrator 

has made the determinations required 

by CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii), 

the conditions for any such 

determination cease to apply, the WEC 

applicable facility will ‘‘again be subject 

to’’ charge. Because the EPA is 

finalizing that the determinations 

required by CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) 

and (ii) will occur on a State-by-State 

basis, we are finalizing that all WEC 

applicable facilities in a State would 

lose access to the exemption if either of 

the conditions in CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii) ceased to apply 

for that State. For example, if a State 

plan were challenged in litigation and 

vacated by a court after the initial 

Administrator determinations for that 

State, a plan would no longer be 

‘‘approved and [] in effect’’ in that State, 

and the regulatory compliance 

exemption would no longer be available 

to WEC applicable facilities in that 

State. Similarly, if after the initial 

equivalency determination methane 

emissions requirements promulgated 

under CAA section 111(b) or (d) (either 

the NSPS or the State/Federal plans) 

were modified such that they no longer 

resulted in equivalent or greater 

aggregate emissions reductions than the 

2021 NSPS/EG Proposal in a particular 

State, the exemption would no longer be 

available in that State. For WEC 

applicable facilities that span multiple 

States or Tribal lands, the exemption 

would no longer be available if either of 

the conditions required by CAA section 

136(f)(6)(A)(i) and (ii) ceased to apply in 

any of the States or Tribal lands in 

which a WEC applicable facility has 

operations. If a WEC applicable facility 

is in an industry segment where 

facilities may span multiple States or 

Tribal lands and the criteria in either 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A)(i) or (ii) cease 

to be met in one of those States or Tribal 

lands, but the facility can demonstrate 

it is not located in the State where the 

conditions cease to exist based upon the 

reporting requirement finalized at 40 

CFR 99.7(b)(2)(iv)(A), the exemption 

remains available to the facility. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

any determination that the criteria in 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A) are no longer 

met after the initial determination will 

be made through a future administrative 

action. Consistent with the statutory text 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(B), the EPA is 

finalizing that the exemption will not be 

available for the full calendar year in 

which the required criteria were no 

longer met. The EPA is finalizing, as 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91141 

66On December 15, 2023, the EPA and the DOE 

announced the award of $350 million in formula 

grant funding to 14 states to help measure and 

reduce methane emissions, supporting industry 

efforts to cut methane emissions from lowproducing, marginal conventional wells on nonFederal lands and environmental restoration of well 

sites. Press release: https://www.epa.gov/ 

newsreleases/biden-harris-administrationannounces-350-million-14-states-reduce-methaneemissions. 

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—Mitigating 

Emissions from Marginal Conventional Wells, 

Funding Opportunity Number DE–FOA–003109. 

proposed, that if access to the regulatory 

compliance exemption were lost after it 

was initially made available because 

one of the two required conditions in 

CAA section 136(f)(6)(A) were no longer 

met, it will become available again 

following a subsequent determination 

that both conditions are once again 

achieved. Under such circumstances, 

the exemption will be available again 

for the reporting year in which the 

conditions are found to be met. The EPA 

is finalizing, as proposed, that if the 

conditions ceased to apply and were 

then met again in the same reporting 

year, the exemption will be available for 

the entire reporting year. The EPA has 

finalized revised language at 40 CFR 

99.40(d) and (e) to clarify the timing of 

availability of the exemption in this 

circumstance. 

3. Plugged Well Exemption Under CAA 

Section 136(f)(7) 

Congress created an incentive for 

plugging and permanently shutting 

wells by including an exemption from 

the WEC in CAA section 136(f)(7): 

‘‘[c]harges shall not be imposed with 

respect to the emissions rate from any 

well that has been permanently shut-in 

and plugged in the previous year in 

accordance with all applicable closure 

requirements, as determined by the 

Administrator.’’ Separately, in CAA 

section 136(a)(3)(D) and 136(b), 

Congress provided funding that can 

assist owners and operators who elect to 

permanently shut-in and plug wells on 

non-Federal land.66

In this rulemaking, we are finalizing 

that this exemption is applicable to 

wells in the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production, offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production, 

and underground natural gas storage 

industry segments. We proposed that 

this exemption would apply to the 

production industry segments only and 

not to wells in the underground storage 

industry segment. After continued 

assessment of the statutory text and 

consideration of comments received, the 

EPA is finalizing the inclusion of wells 

in the underground storage industry 

segment in the plugged well exemption. 

CAA section 136(f)(7) does not restrict 

eligibility to wells in the production 

industry segments. In fact, the statutory 

text states that the exemption is 

applicable to the emissions rate ‘‘from 

any well’’ that has been plugged. To best 

align with the statutory text, the EPA is 

finalizing that plugged wells in the 

underground storage industry segment 

are also eligible for the plugged well 

exemption. Exempted emissions sources 

for plugged wells in the underground 

storage segment includes equipment 

leaks attributed to the wellhead. For the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production and the offshore petroleum 

and natural gas production sectors, we 

are expanding the plugged well 

exemption to include other emissions 

sources reported on the well level that 

were not included in the proposal. To 

be more consistent with CAA section 

136(f)(7), the final plugged well 

exemption includes all subpart W 

emissions sources attributable to an 

individual well, so the exemption better 

accounts for emissions associated with 

an individual well. As discussed further 

in section II.D.3.b. of this preamble, for 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production we are expanding the 

exemption to include well testing, 

associated natural gas venting and 

flaring, and drilling mud degassing. 

These emissions sources are added in 

addition to the wellhead equipment 

leaks, liquids unloading, and workovers 

with or without hydraulic fracturing for 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production sector that were included in 

the proposal. For offshore petroleum 

and natural gas production, drilling 

mud degassing is included in the 

exemption, in addition to the 

component-level equipment leaks that 

were proposed. 

We are finalizing as proposed that 

exempted emissions would be those 

from wells permanently shut-in and 

plugged in the previous year (i.e., if a 

well is permanently shut-in and plugged 

in 2026, the exempted emissions would 

be deducted from the reporting year 

2026 emissions totals that are filed 

under WEC in 2027). Taken all together, 

the changes being finalized in this 

rulemaking will help improve access to 

the plugged well exemption while also 

more closely aligning this exemption 

with the 2024 NSPS/EG Final rule. 

a. Determining if the Exemption for 

Permanently Shut-In and Plugged Wells 

Applies to a WEC Applicable Facility 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed two 

criteria for determining if the exemption 

for permanently shut-in and plugged 

wells applies to a WEC applicable 

facility. 

Consistent with the other exemptions, 

the first criterion is that the facility must 

have emissions that exceed the waste 

emissions threshold. CAA section 

136(f)(7) notes that ‘‘charges shall not be 

imposed’’ on emissions from 

permanently shut-in and plugged wells. 

Charges would not be imposed on 

emissions below the threshold and 

therefore an exemption is unnecessary 

in cases where facility emissions are 

below the threshold. The EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that emissions 

from facilities that are below the waste 

emissions threshold would not be 

exempted. The EPA is finalizing as 

proposed that for facilities that exceed 

the waste emissions threshold, 

emissions eligible for the plugged well 

exemption could be subtracted up to the 

point where facility emissions equal the 

waste emissions threshold (i.e., the 

lowest possible WEC applicable 

emissions for a facility with the plugged 

well exemption would be zero). 

Second, wells must meet the 

following definition of permanently 

shut-in and plugged in accordance with 

all applicable closure requirements. The 

EPA is finalizing as proposed that for 

the purposes of this exemption, a 

permanently shut-in and plugged well is 

one that has been permanently sealed to 

prevent any potential future leakage of 

oil, gas, or formation water into shallow 

sources of potable water, onto the 

surface, or into the atmosphere. For the 

purposes of this exemption, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that a well would 

be considered permanently shut-in and 

plugged, in accordance with all 

applicable closure requirements, if the 

owner or operator has met all applicable 

Federal, State, and local requirements 

for closure in the jurisdiction where the 

well is located. Although Federal, State, 

and local requirements for well closure 

may vary (e.g., only some States require 

post-plugging reports, some States 

require initial checks by State 

environmental agency at time of 

plugging), wells are permanently shut-in 

and plugged in a similar manner. For 

the purposes of this exemption, we are 

finalizing as proposed that the date on 

which a well would be considered 

permanently shut-in and plugged is the 

date on which a metal plate or cap has 

been welded or cemented onto the 

casing end. 

In addition to requirements specifying 

how to plug a well, relevant Federal, 

State, and local requirements often also 

specify requirements such as for 

notifications, reporting, and site 

remediation. For purposes of 40 CFR 

part 99, we are finalizing as proposed 

that the applicable closure requirements 

would include only the requirements 


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specific to well plugging. We are 

finalizing as proposed that requirements 

for notifications, reporting, and site 

remediation are not included as part of 

the exemption eligibility criteria for 

following ‘‘all applicable closure 

requirements’’ in CAA section 136(f)(7) 

because the closure of the well is the 

key activity impacting methane 

emissions, which is the focus of the 

WEC, and these other aspects of closure, 

while important, are less relevant to 

methane emissions levels. We also note 

that had we included these additional 

requirements in our interpretation of 

‘‘all applicable closure requirements,’’ 

the reporting requirements would 

increase for permanently shut-in and 

plugged wells and this may lead to 

recalculations of WEC years after the 

exemption was initially applied. 

b. Calculations of Exempted Emissions 

From Permanently Shut-In and Plugged 

Wells 

Calculations of Exempted Emissions 

from Permanently Shut-in and Plugged 

Wells at Onshore Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Production Facilities. The 

EPA is finalizing as proposed that only 

wellhead emissions are eligible for the 

plugged well exemption with some 

modifications from the proposal 

regarding what is included as eligible 

emissions for the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production industry 

segment. In the proposal, the EPA 

included wellhead equipment leaks, 

liquids unloading, and workovers both 

with and without hydraulic fracturing, 

in the reporting year in which the well 

was plugged as methane emissions 

eligible for the exemption in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment. We are 

expanding the plugged well exemption 

for the onshore petroleum and natural 

gas production industry segment to 

include other emissions sources 

reported on the wellhead level (i.e., well 

testing, associated natural gas venting 

and flaring, and drilling mud degassing) 

in addition to the emissions sources 

proposed. 

The EPA received comments 

supporting expansion of the exemption 

to include emissions from additional 

sources, such as emissions from nonwellhead equipment that are co-located 

on the well pad. The statutory text does 

not describe or reference emissions from 

other emissions sources that may be colocated with a plugged well, and the 

EPA determined that the statutory text 

is best read to exclude these emissions. 

Moreover, as we noted in the proposal, 

methane emissions from other 

equipment onsite (e.g., separator, 

compressor, flare) may result from comingled natural gas throughput from 

multiple wells and not just the wells 

that are plugged. 

For the purposes of quantifying the 

methane emissions from eligible 

emissions sources associated with each 

permanently shut-in and plugged well, 

we are finalizing as proposed to use the 

methane emissions and throughput data 

reported to subpart W of part 98. The 

final amendments in the 2024 Subpart 

W Final Rule impact the data available 

to best estimate the exempted emissions 

from the permanently shut-in and 

plugged well. Therefore, as described in 

more detail in this section, for 

applicable emission sources and 

industry segments, different approaches 

are finalized for certain time periods. 

For reporting year 2024, the current 

subpart W rule requires that onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

facilities report methane emissions from 

liquids unloading and workovers by 

sub-basin for each WEC applicable 

facility, as well as methane emissions 

from well testing, associated natural gas 

venting and flaring, and equipment 

leaks at the facility-level. Drilling mud 

degassing is not an emission source 

category collected under the current 

subpart W rule for reporting year 2024. 

Subpart W of part 98 also currently 

requires offshore petroleum and natural 

gas production facilities and onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

facilities to report facility-level 

throughput of gas and oil handled or 

sent to sale, respectively. Revisions 

included in the 2024 Subpart W Final 

Rule require onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production facilities to 

report additional elements that facilitate 

quantification of methane emissions 

from individual shut-in and plugged 

wells. Specifically, effective January 1, 

2025, and applicable beginning with 

reporting for 2024, the 2024 Subpart W 

Final Rule requires onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production facilities to 

report well-level throughput volumes 

for gas and oil sent to sale from wells 

that are permanently shut-in and 

plugged. Additionally, beginning in 

reporting year 2025, the 2024 Subpart W 

Final Rule increases the granularity of 

methane emissions reporting for eligible 

equipment categories, except equipment 

leaks, to the well-level and methane 

emissions reporting for equipment leaks 

to the well-pad site level. Due to the 

differences in available reporting data 

for 2024 and future years, the final 

approach for quantifying methane 

emissions in part 99 for individual wells 

located at onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production facilities that are 

permanently shut-in and plugged in 

2024 is different than the approach for 

quantifying methane emissions from 

wells located at onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production facilities that are 

permanently shut-in and plugged in 

2025 and future years. 

For reporting year 2024, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed through 40 CFR 

99.52 that WEC applicable facilities in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

industry segment would quantify 

methane emissions from permanently 

shut-in and plugged wells by allocating 

the subpart W of part 98 reported 

facility-level methane emissions from 

eligible emissions sources using subpart 

W of part 98 reported production 

volumes of gas and oil sent to sale. We 

are finalizing as proposed that WEC 

applicable facilities in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas industry 

segment would sum the total subpart W 

of part 98 reported methane emissions 

from methane emissions from eligible 

emissions sources, and multiply the 

sum of the methane emissions by the 

ratio of subpart W of part 98 reported 

production at the permanently shut-in 

and plugged well to the subpart W of 

part 98 reported facility-level total 

production. 

For facilities with only gas production 

with exempt plugged well emissions, 

we are finalizing as proposed that the 

reported gas produced from the plugged 

wells be divided by the total gas 

production at the facility to develop the 

ratio. For facilities with only oil 

production with exempt plugged well 

emissions, we are finalizing as proposed 

that the reported oil produced from the 

plugged wells be divided by the total oil 

production at the facility to develop the 

ratio. For facilities with both gas and oil 

production with exempt plugged well 

emissions, we proposed and are 

finalizing that gas production that is 

reported to subpart W of part 98 by the 

WEC applicable facility in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas industry 

segment would be converted to barrels 

of oil equivalent, such that throughput 

volumes will be on the same basis for 

facilities that report production of gas 

and oil. The EPA is finalizing as 

proposed to use a default value of 6,000 

scf/barrel. 

For reporting year 2025 and future 

years, we are finalizing as proposed that 

WEC applicable facilities in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas industry 

segment must estimate well-level 

emissions in accordance with part 98 

methods for the permanently shut-in 

and plugged well. As described in this 

section, for 2025 and future years, 

subpart W of part 98 requires reporting 

of methane emissions from liquids 

unloading, workovers, well testing, 

associated natural gas venting and 


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flaring, and drilling mud degassing to be 

at the well-level for facilities in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

industry segment; therefore, we are 

finalizing as proposed that facilities in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

industry segment would utilize the 

methane emissions as reported to 

subpart W part 98 in their part 99 

exemption calculation for these 

emissions sources. Also, as described in 

this section, for 2025 and future years, 

subpart W of part 98 requires reporting 

of methane emissions from wellhead 

equipment leaks at the well-pad site 

level for facilities in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas industry 

segment. In order to obtain a well-level 

estimate for the part 99 exemption 

calculation, we are finalizing as 

proposed to require facilities in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

industry segment to utilize the subpart 

W of part 98 input data and emission 

estimation methods for wellhead 

equipment leaks, including the use of 

direct measurement surveys as specified 

in the 2024 Subpart W Final Rule, to 

calculate the methane emissions at the 

well level for the permanently shut-in 

and plugged well. For example, if 

equipment leak methane emissions 

included emissions from a permanently 

shut-in and plugged well or wells were 

estimated using the leaker emission 

factor method in 40 CFR 98.233(q) at the 

well-pad site, the WEC applicable 

facility would use the count of leakers 

by component type (e.g., valve, 

connector) recorded for the permanently 

shut-in and plugged well, the time the 

components were leaking and 

operational at the well during the year, 

and the appropriate emissions factors 

from subpart W of part 98 to estimate 

the methane emissions from the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well. 

Similarly, if the equipment leak 

methane emissions at the well-pad site 

that includes the permanently shut-in 

and plugged well were estimated using 

the population count method in 40 CFR 

98.233(r), the WEC applicable facility 

would use the operating time of the well 

during the year and the appropriate 

emissions factors from subpart W of part 

98 to estimate the emissions from the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well. 

Calculations of Exempted Emissions 

from Permanently Shut-in and Plugged 

Wells at Offshore Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Production Facilities. For 

offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production facilities, the current subpart 

W of part 98 reporting requirements are 

based on the facility’s submission to the 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

(BOEM), which includes methane 

emissions for component-level 

equipment leaks and drilling mud 

degassing. The methane emissions 

required to be reported by offshore 

facilities are unchanged by the 2024 

Subpart W Final Rule as it pertains to 

this exemption in that these facilities 

will continue to report the data from 

their BOEM report. Subpart W of part 98 

also currently requires offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

facilities to report facility-level 

throughput of gas and oil handled in the 

reporting year. Final revisions included 

in the 2024 Subpart W Final Rule for 

offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production facilities add requirements 

for the reporting of well-level 

throughput volumes for gas and oil sent 

to sale from wells that are permanently 

shut-in and plugged beginning in 

reporting year 2024. The 2024 Subpart 

W Final Rule also revised the terms in 

the current reporting elements for 

facility-level throughputs to refer to gas 

sent to sale, rather than handled, for 

consistency with the CAA language and 

with the onshore production industry 

segment. As noted in the preamble for 

the 2024 Subpart W Final Rule, these 

verbiage changes for facility-level 

throughput are not expected to impact 

the quantity of production volumes 

reported and were made for consistency 

and clarity. For the purposes of 

estimating the exempted emissions for 

permanently shut-in and plugged wells 

at offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production facilities, we are finalizing 

that facilities allocate the component 

level equipment leaks (i.e., those from 

valves, connectors) at the wellhead, as 

proposed, and drilling mud degassing 

by the ratio of production from the well 

that has been permanently shut-in and 

plugged to the total facility-level 

production. Analogous to the approach 

for onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production facilities for reporting year 

2024, in cases where a facility produced 

both oil and gas, we are finalizing as 

proposed that gas sent to sale be 

converted to barrels of oil equivalent 

and have provided an option to use 

6,000 scf/barrel for the conversion. 

Calculations of Exempted Emissions 

from Permanently Shut-in and Plugged 

Wells at Underground Natural Gas 

Storage Facilities. For underground 

natural gas storage facilities, the EPA is 

finalizing that equipment leaks at the 

wellhead level are eligible for the 

plugged well exemption. The exemption 

only includes wellhead equipment leaks 

because other emissions sources, such 

as liquids unloading or workovers as 

seen in the exemption for onshore 

production wells, do not occur at nonproduction wells. 

To quantify the methane emissions 

associated with each permanently shutin and plugged well, we are finalizing 

the use of methane emissions reported 

to subpart W of part 98. Subpart W of 

part 98 requires underground natural 

gas storage facilities to report methane 

emissions from equipment leaks 

associated with all wells at the facility, 

but emissions are not attributable to a 

particular wellhead. In order to obtain a 

well-level estimate of equipment leaks, 

we are finalizing that facilities in the 

underground natural gas storage 

industry segment must utilize the 

subpart W of part 98 input data and 

emission estimation methods for 

wellhead equipment leaks, including 

the use of direct measurement surveys 

as specified in the 2024 Subpart W Final 

Rule, to calculate the methane 

emissions at the well level for the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well. 

Calculations of Exempted Emissions 

for Multiple Permanently Shut-in and 

Plugged Wells. For all reporting years 

and applicable industry segments, if the 

WEC applicable facility has more than 

one permanently shut-in and plugged 

well, we are finalizing as proposed that 

the part 99 emissions calculations 

would be performed for each well and 

summed to determine the net annual 

quantity of methane emissions at the 

WEC applicable facility eligible for the 

exemption. 

c. Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Requirements for the Exemption for 

Permanently Shut-In and Plugged Wells 

Through the provisions proposed at 

40 CFR 99.51, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed that the WEC obligated party 

receiving the exemption would provide 

for each well at a WEC applicable 

facility, the well ID number; the date the 

well was permanently shut-in and 

plugged; the statutory citation for each 

State, local, and Federal regulation 

stipulating requirements that were 

applicable to the closure of the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well; 

the emissions attributable to the well, 

and for each WEC applicable facility, 

and the total emissions attributable to 

all permanently shut-in and plugged 

wells at the facility. In the final rule, we 

are adding a reporting requirement of a 

certification by the designated 

representative for the WEC obligated 

party that all identified wells were 

closed in accordance with State, local, 

and Federal requirements. We are also 

finalizing additional reporting 

requirements to provide information 

related to the emissions calculations 

including an indication of the method 


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67August 31, 2025, falls on a Sunday, and Labor 

Day is the following day on September 1, 2025. 

Therefore, pursuant to final 40 CFR 99.5, the 

deadline for the initial WEC filing is September 2, 

2025. 

68The EPA publishes GHGRP data every October, 

covering both the most recently completed 

reporting year as well as changes impacting the 5 

prior years. Changes made post-August would be 

reflected in the annual publication cycle the 

following calendar year. 

used to calculate wellhead equipment 

leaks, inputs to the methods to calculate 

wellhead equipment leaks, and the 

quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to the well from wellhead 

equipment leaks. Specifically for 

onshore production and underground 

storage wells, data inputs for wellhead 

equipment leaks were added to provide 

sufficient data to facilitate verification 

of the exempted emissions quantity. The 

data associated with underground 

natural gas storage facilities is reported 

to subpart W at the facility level; 

therefore, well level data will need to be 

reported to 40 CFR part 99 to ensure 

verification of the emissions can be 

performed. We are also finalizing 

additional reporting requirements 

related to associated gas flaring and 

completions and workovers without 

hydraulic fracturing. These 

requirements consist of reporting the 

volume of gas sent to a flare from the 

plugged well for which exemption is 

being sought as well as the calculated 

quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to the well from associated 

gas flaring and from completions and 

workovers without hydraulic fracturing 

and with flaring. We are finalizing as 

proposed that the information included 

in the report would be subject to the 

general recordkeeping requirements for 

part 99, meaning these records must be 

retained for 5 years following the WEC 

filing year of the exemption such that 

they can be made available to the EPA 

for inspection and review. 

The EPA requires this information for 

the verification of exemption eligibility 

and of exempted emission quantity. 

Reported information will be used to 

conduct verification as discussed in 

section III.A.4., and reported 

information, records, and other 

information as applicable will be used 

to conduct any auditing that occurs 

under section III.E.1. 

III. General Requirements of the Final 

Rule 

A. WEC Filing Requirements 

1. Required WEC Filers 

The WEC obligated party is required 

to submit a WEC filing annually by 

August 31 that will include data 

collected from each WEC applicable 

facility for which it (the WEC obligated 

party, as defined in 40 CFR 99.2) is 

responsible as of December 31 of each 

reporting year. The WEC filing must 

include payment of any WEC obligation. 

The WEC filing provides the data 

necessary for the EPA to assess and 

verify the WEC obligation including 

certain part 98 emissions information 

and information on netting, as 

applicable, as well as supporting 

documentation for any WEC applicable 

facility exemptions. 

2. Filing Deadlines 

As required under the CAA sections 

136(c) and (e), the assessment of the first 

WEC will be based on data collected 

under subpart W of the GHGRP for year 

2024, beginning on January 1, 2024. The 

EPA proposed that the WEC filing 

would be due by March 31 of each year 

following each reporting year, and that 

any final revisions to the filing would be 

due by November 1 of each year 

following each reporting year. The 

proposed approach aligned the WEC 

filing and subpart W reporting 

deadlines. Many commenters were 

opposed to these proposed deadlines 

and recommended that the WEC filing 

occur later in the year. After 

consideration of comments received, the 

EPA is revising the WEC filing 

deadlines from the proposal in this final 

rule. The EPA is finalizing in 40 CFR 

99.5 that the first WEC filing, for year 

2024 emissions, is due September 2, 

2025,67 and would be required to be 

submitted annually by August 31 

thereafter, as applicable. The EPA is 

finalizing a requirement that revisions 

to the August 31 WEC filing, with the 

exception of resubmissions to provide 

CAA section 111(b) or (d) compliance 

reports or revisions to previously 

reported compliance reports for the 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption, will be allowed through 

December 15 of the filing year. It is 

expected that with the final WEC filing 

date of August 31, there will be fewer 

resubmissions of WEC filings due to 

revised subpart W data compared to the 

proposed WEC filing deadline of March 

31. The EPA is finalizing later WEC 

filing deadlines than proposed to 

simplify WEC implementation. The 

majority of the data used for WEC 

calculations are the facility-level 

methane emissions and hydrocarbon 

throughput volumes reported under 

subpart W. This information must be 

reported by March 31 of each year for 

the previous reporting (i.e., calendar) 

year. After submission, these data go 

through the EPA verification process to 

identify potential errors and engage 

with facilities to correct them. This 

process generally concludes at the end 

of July or early August. In mid-August 

of each year, the EPA ‘‘freezes’’ the 

subpart W data set for publication in 

October. Facilities may continue to 

resubmit subpart W data after this point, 

but it is not included in that year’s 

October data release.68 As a result of the 

verification process and a desire by 

companies to ensure any corrected data 

is included in that year’s public release 

of data, most, but not all, potential 

errors identified during the verification 

process are typically resolved by midAugust. Many commenters noted that 

requiring the WEC filing at the same 

time as subpart W reporting would lead 

to a cycle of WEC payments and refunds 

as the WEC filing was adjusted based on 

corrections and resubmissions resulting 

from the subpart W verification process, 

and that this cycle would be 

burdensome for both the EPA and 

industry. The EPA agrees and is 

therefore finalizing a WEC filing date of 

August 31. This date is after the 

majority of the yearly subpart W 

verification cycle is substantially 

complete and gives facilities sufficient 

time to make any corrections to their 

March 31 subpart W report and ensure 

accurate WEC calculations. 

The EPA is also finalizing a final WEC 

resubmission date that is later in the 

calendar year than proposed. The final 

deadline of December 15 will provide 

time for the EPA to verify the initial 

WEC filings and time for WEC obligated 

parties to respond to any identified 

potential errors and resubmit WEC 

filings. The later WEC filing deadlines 

will also simplify reporting associated 

with the regulatory compliance 

exemption when it becomes available. 

Annual reporting deadlines for CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) facilities may fall 

at different times in the year. Many 

more WEC applicable facilities will 

know the compliance status of their 

constituent CAA section 111(b) and (d) 

facilities for the respective reporting 

year by August 31 compared to March 

31. The EPA expects only a small 

number of annual reports for CAA 

section 111(b) and (d) would not be 

available by December 15. The final 

WEC filing dates will therefore reduce 

the need for WEC resubmissions to 

account for changes in CAA 111(b) and 

(d) compliance status for the purposes 

of determining eligibility for the 

regulatory compliance exemption. 

3. Submission of the WEC Filing 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

each WEC filing must be submitted 

electronically in accordance with the 


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69 40 CFR 98.3(h)(3): A substantive error is an 

error that impacts the quantity of GHG emissions 

reported or otherwise prevents the reported data 

from being validated or verified. 

requirements of 40 CFR 99.6 and in a 

format specified by the Administrator. 

As noted previously in this section of 

the preamble, the EPA is finalizing that 

each WEC obligated party will submit a 

WEC filing annually. The WEC filing 

content provides the data necessary to 

complete the WEC calculations as 

described in section II.C. of the 

preamble. The EPA is finalizing WEC 

filing requirements to cover general 

company information including 

physical address, email, telephone 

number, list of associated WEC 

applicable facilities and their 

identifying information (e.g., part 98, 

subpart W facility ID), as well as the net 

WEC emissions calculated in 

accordance with 40 CFR 99.22, the net 

WEC emissions after transfers resulting 

from the netting procedures pursuant to 

40 CFR 99.23, and the WEC obligation 

as calculated pursuant to 40 CFR 99.24. 

The EPA is also finalizing that each 

WEC obligated party’s WEC filing 

include certain information at the WEC 

applicable facility level. Specifically, 

the EPA is finalizing that for each WEC 

applicable facility that comprises the 

WEC obligated party, the filing 

requirements cover facility-level 

information including the facility’s ID, 

the facility’s industry segment(s), the 

facility’s total subpart W GHG emissions 

in CO2e, the facility’s total subpart W 

methane emissions, and applicable 

natural gas or oil throughput as reported 

under subpart W, the facility’s waste 

emissions threshold calculated in 

accordance with 40 CFR 99.20, and the 

facility’s WEC applicable emissions 

calculated in accordance with 40 CFR 

99.21. 

The EPA received comments on the 

proposed reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, including the contents of 

the WEC filing. Commenters 

recommended that the EPA add 

elements to the WEC filing related to the 

inputs to the WEC equations. After 

consideration of comments received, the 

EPA is adding WEC applicable facility 

filing requirements for total facility 

subpart W CO2e, total subpart W 

methane, and total subpart W natural 

gas or oil throughput for the metric 

applicable to the facility’s industry 

segment. These elements have been 

added to the final rule at 40 CFR 

99.7(b)(2)(viii) through (xi). These 

additional data elements will support 

data verification and improve 

transparency by providing all of the 

primary WEC calculation data inputs in 

the WEC filing. The EPA notes that 

including these data elements, which 

are already reported under subpart W, 

will not increase the burden for industry 

as they will be automatically pulled 

from a WEC applicable facility’s subpart 

W report into the electronic WEC filing 

system. 

The EPA is also finalizing filing 

requirements for each WEC obligated 

party related to the three WEC 

exemptions, which are discussed in 

sections II.D.1. through 3. of this 

preamble. The EPA is finalizing as 

proposed that the exemptions are only 

available to WEC applicable facilities 

that exceed the waste emissions 

threshold. The EPA is therefore 

finalizing as proposed, with one 

clarifying revision, that these filing 

requirements would only apply to WEC 

applicable facilities that exceed the 

waste emissions threshold and are 

otherwise eligible for the exemption(s). 

The EPA is finalizing clarifying 

language at 40 CFR 99.7(b)(2)(iii) 

through (v) to allow a WEC obligated 

party to elect whether or not to submit 

a claim for exemption for a WEC 

applicable facility that meets the 

applicability requirements for each 

exemption. Coordinating revisions are 

being finalized at 40 CFR 99.31(a), and 

99.42(a), along with a new paragraph 40 

CFR 99.51(a). Comments received on the 

proposed filing requirements for each 

exemption are discussed individually 

for each exemption in sections II.D.1. 

through 3. of this preamble. 

We are finalizing filing requirements 

related to stationary combustion source 

other large release events at 40 CFR 

99.7(b)(2)(xiii). These reporting 

requirements are additions to those 

proposed and are necessary to address 

for purposes of 40 CFR part 99 the 

specified double-counting of emissions 

related to stationary combustion source 

other large release events as discussed 

in section II.C.2. of this preamble. For 

any combustion-related other large 

release events that were reported 

pursuant to subpart W, the WEC 

obligated party must report the unique 

release event identification number, and 

determine and report the quantities of 

CO2, CH4, and CO2e emissions, in metric 

tons, that were reported under 40 CFR 

98.236(z) for the duration of the other 

large release event as it was reported 

under 40 CFR 98.236(y)(4). These values 

represent the double-count of emissions 

present in the subpart W report for the 

WEC applicable facility. The 

determination of these quantities must 

be made using the applicable methods 

in subpart W and using measurement 

data, if available, or a combination of 

process knowledge, engineering 

estimates, and best available data when 

measurement data are not available. 

4. Verification and WEC Filing 

Revisions 

The foundation of the WEC obligated 

party’s WEC filing will be the methane 

emissions and throughput reported by 

the WEC obligated party’s WEC 

applicable facilities in their subpart W 

reports. As specified in 40 CFR 98.3(f) 

and (h) of this chapter, part 98 currently 

includes a verification process and 

resubmission process for resolving 

substantive error(s) 69 in reporting. 

These errors are either found through 

self-discovery by the facility or are 

found by the EPA during the 

verification process. In part 98, errors 

must be resolved within 45 days from 

discovery or notification of the error by 

the EPA. The EPA may grant a 30-day 

extension request if the request is 

timely, such that a total of 75 days may 

be provided for complete issue 

resolution. Additional extensions may 

be approved by the Administrator in 

specified limited circumstances. 

Resolution is either made by report 

revision and resubmission or by 

providing an adequate demonstration 

that the previously submitted report 

does not contain the identified 

substantive error or that the identified 

error is not a substantive error. Upon 

satisfying these requirements, the EPA 

determines that the error is resolved. If 

the requirements in 40 CFR 98.3 of this 

chapter are not satisfied, the EPA 

considers the part 98 report unverified. 

Several commenters suggested strong 

verification protocols for WEC so that 

the charge obligations accurately reflect 

reported emissions. After consideration 

of comments received, the EPA is 

making one revision to the verification 

protocols to help ensure the charge 

obligations accurately represent 

emissions. Specifically, the EPA is 

finalizing that WEC filings will not be 

verified if they incorporate netted 

negative emissions generated from an 

unverified subpart W report. On all 

other aspects of the WEC verification 

protocols, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed that the verification status of 

the WEC applicable facility with respect 

to the reporting in subpart W part 98 

would be considered by the EPA when 

determining the verification status of 

the part 99 filing because the subpart W 

data would be the cornerstone of the 

WEC. In effect, a WEC filing may not 

achieve verified status until all errors 

associated with subpart W reports that 

impact the total WEC are corrected. For 

example, if the subpart W part 98 report 


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of one WEC applicable facility contains 

errors related to reported emissions or 

throughput that affect the total WEC, the 

EPA could, by extension consider the 

WEC filing of the WEC obligated party 

that includes that WEC applicable 

facility to be unverified. 

Separately, there are elements of the 

part 99 filing that are not directly tied 

to the subpart W report, such as the 

calculation of the WEC including 

netting and any exemption information. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed to use 

a similar verification procedure under 

part 99 to that which exists under part 

98. In implementing the verification of 

information submitted under part 99, 

the EPA will use a two-step process. 

First, the EPA will conduct an initial 

centralized review of the data that 

would help assure the completeness and 

accuracy of data. Second, the EPA will 

notify WEC obligated parties of 

potential errors, discrepancies, or make 

inquiries as needed concerning the WEC 

filing. Specifically, regarding the WEC 

filing, the EPA anticipates that there 

could be errors or clarifications with 

respect to the supporting documentation 

and quantification of emissions 

associated with exemptions from the 

WEC, which may require the EPA to 

review, evaluate, and confirm their 

validity and accuracy. The part 99 

verification review will identify issues 

resulting from the calculation of WEC 

based on verified subpart W GHGRP 

reports and verified WEC filings to the 

extent possible. A thorough discussion 

of the separate process for unverified 

reports and approach for reassessment 

of WEC obligation due to resubmissions 

is discussed in section III.B. of this 

preamble. 

The EPA is finalizing provisions that 

would require a WEC obligated party to 

respond to the EPA within 30 days of 

either being contacted in writing by the 

EPA notifying them of the presence of 

a substantive error in their WEC filing 

or by self-discovering that a previously 

submitted WEC filing contains one or 

more substantive errors (except as 

described later in this section) as 

opposed to 45 days as proposed. Initial 

submission, resubmission, and 

correspondence between parties will 

happen through an electronic system 

similar to the existing e-GGRT system 

used by the GHGRP, which will allow 

for back and forth between operators 

and the EPA prior to resubmissions. For 

the purposes of part 99, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed to consider a 

substantive error to be an error that 

impacts the Administrator’s ability to 

accurately calculate the WEC obligated 

party’s obligation, which may include, 

but would not be limited to, the list of 

WEC applicable facilities associated 

with a WEC obligated party and 

corresponding data reported in each 

listed WEC applicable facility part 98 

report(s), emissions associated with 

exemptions, and supporting information 

for each exemption to demonstrate its 

validity. The EPA is finalizing that a 

revised WEC filing must correct all 

substantive errors. If the WEC obligated 

party does not agree with the EPA’s 

finding that the WEC filing contains 

substantive errors, the WEC obligated 

party must provide information 

demonstrating that the previously 

submitted report does not contain the 

identified substantive error or that the 

identified error is not a substantive 

error. 

If a WEC applicable facility revises 

and resubmits their part 98 report, 

which results in impacts on the WEC 

calculations, the WEC obligated party is 

also required to submit a revised WEC 

filing. In the event that a subpart W 

report revision results in a change in the 

applicability of part 99 to the facility, 

the WEC obligated party must submit a 

revised WEC filing adding or removing 

any facilities, as appropriate. With the 

exception of resubmissions to provide 

CAA section 111(b) or (d) compliance 

reports or revisions to previously 

reported compliance reports for the 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption, part 99 resubmissions must 

be filed by December 15 of the year 

following the reporting year. 

Resubmissions related to CAA section 

111(b) or (d) compliance reports for the 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption must be made as discussed 

in section II.D.2.h. of this preamble. Any 

part 98 resubmissions after this date that 

impact WEC calculations will not be 

required to be resubmitted in a revised 

WEC filing; facilities may continue to 

resubmit data under subpart W, as 

permitted. Under subpart W, facilities 

may resubmit data for historic reporting 

years via e-GGRT for the most recent 

five reporting years (e.g., facilities may 

submit updates electronically to 2018– 

2023 data during calendar year 2024). 

Data resubmission for historic reporting 

years in the context of the WEC program 

is very complicated due to the potential 

changes in facility ownership over time 

and the implications this has on netting 

of emissions from facilities under 

common ownership or control. For 

example, a company or a facility owned 

by a company in one year may be 

owned in whole or in part by one or 

multiple different companies the next 

year. With such changes occurring 

annually to multiple facilities across 

multiple owners and operators with 

more than one facility under common 

ownership or control, there is no 

practical means of incorporating 

resubmitted data for historic reporting 

years in the WEC program. This could 

result in a very large administrative 

burden of reviewing recalculations and 

associated invoicing or refunds. The 

EPA therefore is finalizing a deadline of 

December 15 for each year, after which 

time no WEC resubmission filings 

initiated by the facility can be 

resubmitted. For example, 

resubmissions of subpart W data 

initially reported by March 31, 2025, or 

data from the WEC filing submitted 

September 2, 2025, that are used to 

assess WEC for the 2024 reporting year, 

must be submitted by December 15, 

2025. This approach does not allow 

resubmissions for historic reporting 

years for WEC filings, even if the 

corresponding subpart W data is 

resubmitted for historic reporting years 

for purposes of subpart W. Subpart W 

facilities continue to be subject to part 

98 requirements for resubmitting data 

for previous reporting years, but any 

data resubmitted under part 98 after 

December 15 of the calendar year 

following the respective reporting year 

will not be considered for the purposes 

of WEC under part 99. These 

approaches for WEC filing requirements 

and data verification are intended to 

incentivize complete and accurate WEC 

filings under part 99 by August 31 of 

each year, as well as complete and 

accurate reporting under part 98. The 

EPA is finalizing that it retains the right 

to re-evaluate WEC obligations in WEC 

filings after December 15 (e.g., as part of 

the EPA audit of facility data, an 

enforcement investigation, or other 

relevant information). Similarly, the 

December 15 deadline would not apply 

to adjustments to WEC obligations 

resulting from the process to resolve 

unverified data, finalized at 40 CFR 

99.8, should that resolution occur after 

December 15. Finally, in the event that 

annual CAA 111(b) or (d) compliance 

reports covering the entire previous 

WEC filing year are not available by 

December 15 due to the reporting 

schedule for those CAA 111(b) or (d) 

facilities, WEC obligated parties must 

revise their WEC filings after December 

15 for the sole purpose of updating 

eligibility status for the regulatory 

compliance exemption. 

B. Remittance and Assessment of WEC 

We are finalizing as proposed that 

each WEC obligation payment must be 

submitted electronically in accordance 

with the requirements of 40 CFR 99.6 

and in a format specified by the 

Administrator as part of the submission 


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70For reporting year 2024, the due date falls on 

a Sunday, August 31, 2025. Monday, September 1, 

2025, is a Federal holiday, therefore, Tuesday, 

September 2, 2025, is the filing date after which 

WEC filings are considered past due. 

71This rate of interest is known as the Current 

Value of Funds Rate, or CVFR, and is published 

prior to November 30th of each year by Treasury. 

The CVFR is based on the weekly average of the 

Effective Federal Funds Rate, less 25 basis points, 

for the 12-month period ending September 30th of 

each year, rounded to the nearest whole percent. 

This rate may be revised on a quarterly basis if the 

annual average, on a moving basis, changes by 2 

percentage points or more. 

72Note that 31 U.S.C. 1322(b)(2) creates a 

permanent indefinite appropriation for the Treasury 

to make refunds out of miscellaneous receipts for 

‘‘collections erroneously deposited that are not 

properly chargeable to another appropriation.’’ In 

the event a reassessment is made for any of the 

reasons outlined above, this appropriation would 

apply. 

of the WEC filing (i.e., by August 31 

each year covering the preceding 

reporting year). 

Several commenters opposed any 

daily penalty for WEC obligated parties 

who fail to submit their annual filing by 

the deadline. Nevertheless, the EPA 

disagrees with the commenters since the 

absence of penalties would provide the 

perverse incentive for facilities to delay 

payment of the WEC. Therefore, the 

EPA is finalizing as proposed financial 

sanctions under 40 CFR 99.10 of subpart 

A. For WEC obligated parties that fail to 

submit their annual WEC filing by the 

deadline discussed in section III.A.2. of 

this preamble, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed a daily penalty no greater than 

the rate associated with 42 U.S.C. 

7413(d)(1) specified in Table 1 of 40 

CFR 19.4, as amended. We are finalizing 

as proposed that this penalty will be 

invoiced by the EPA after the late filing 

is made. The EPA Finance Centers will 

assess interest, handling, and penalty 

charges in 30-day increments on any 

invoiced penalties. We are finalizing as 

proposed that the assessment of this 

penalty begins on the date that the WEC 

filing is considered past due (i.e., 

September 1st) 70 and continue until 

such time that the WEC filing is 

submitted and certified by the WEC 

obligated party. 

Under 31 U.S.C. 3717, there are 

interest, penalties, and costs that may be 

imposed on outstanding or delinquent 

debts arising under a claim owed by a 

person to the U.S. Government. 

Specifically, under 31 U.S.C. 3717(a)(1), 

agencies shall charge a minimum 

annual rate of interest on an outstanding 

debt on a United States Government 

claim owed by a person.71 Under the 

EPA’s implementing Policy Number 

2540–9–P2, accounts are considered 

delinquent when the EPA does not 

receive payment by the due date 

specified on a bill or invoice. The EPA 

is finalizing as proposed to cite this 

Federal claims interest charge authority 

on any invoiced amounts past due. In 

the proposed rule, we included an 

equation (Equation A–1) detailing how 

interest would be assessed. To be 

consistent with other EPA regulations 

where interest is assessed, we have 

decided Equation A–1 is unnecessary 

and have removed it from the final rule. 

Under 31 U.S.C. 3717(e)(1), agencies 

must collect an additional penalty 

charge of not more than six percent per 

year for failure to pay any part of an 

invoiced debt more than 90 days past 

due, as well as additional charge to 

cover the cost of processing delinquent 

claims. The EPA will assess interest, 

handling, and penalty charges in 30-day 

increments for late payments and will 

assess the six percent penalty with the 

third demand letter, invoice, or notice. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed to 

include this additional six percent nonpayment penalty charge for invoiced 

WEC debts that are more than 90 days 

past due. 

1. Process for Reassessing WEC for WEC 

Filings Resubmitted After the Initial 

Waste Emission Charge Has Been 

Assessed 

As discussed in section III.A.4. of this 

preamble, WEC obligated parties may 

need to resubmit their WEC filings and 

WEC applicable facilities may need to 

resubmit their GHGRP reports. These 

resubmittals have the potential to result 

in recalculation of the WEC obligation 

for the WEC obligated party. As 

discussed in section III.A.4. of this 

preamble, the EPA is finalizing that data 

resubmissions (initiated by facilities) for 

the previous reporting year would be 

required to be submitted by December 

15 in order to be considered for WEC 

recalculations, with the exception of 

resubmissions related to CAA section 

111(b) or (d) compliance reports for the 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption. If the recalculated WEC 

obligation is less than the original WEC 

obligation owed by the WEC obligated 

party, the EPA will authorize a refund 

to the WEC obligated party equal to the 

difference in WEC obligation. If the 

recalculated WEC obligation is greater 

than the original WEC obligation owed 

by the WEC obligated party, the WEC 

obligated party must resubmit their 

WEC filing and pay the additional 

charge. Finally, as noted above, 

notwithstanding the generally 

applicable deadline, the EPA is 

finalizing that it retains the right to 

reevaluate WEC obligations in WEC 

filings after December 15 (e.g., as part of 

the EPA audit of facility data, an 

enforcement investigation, or other 

relevant information), and authorize 

refunds if and when appropriate.72

2. Process for Assessing WEC for 

Unverified Part 99 Filings 

As discussed in section III.A.4. of this 

preamble, the EPA’s verification review 

process for WEC will ideally end with 

the resolution of identified potential 

errors through either correction and 

resubmission of facilities’ reports or 

justification provided through 

correspondence with reporters that no 

substantive error exists. When WEC 

applicable facilities or WEC obligated 

parties do not provide appropriate 

information to resolve the errors in their 

part 99 data after 30 days of either being 

contacted in writing by the EPA 

notifying them of the presence of a 

substantive error or by self-discovering 

that a WEC filing contains one or more 

substantive errors, the EPA considers 

their WEC filing to be unverified. 

If a WEC filing is unverified but the 

EPA is able to correct the error(s) based 

on reported data to part 98 and part 99, 

we are finalizing as proposed that the 

EPA may recalculate the WEC obligation 

using available information and provide 

an invoice or refund to the WEC 

obligated party within 60 days of 

notifying the WEC obligated party that 

its WEC filing is unverified. If the WEC 

obligated party resubmits a WEC filing 

within that timeframe, the EPA will 

either accept the resubmission, or take 

the resubmission into account when 

calculating the WEC. The EPA received 

comments indicating that the proposed 

rule did not include sufficient detail on 

the standard for requiring a third-party 

audit. The EPA is therefore clarifying 

that, in cases where the EPA is unable 

to calculate the WEC with available 

information due to unresolved errors in 

either an included part 98 report(s) or 

the part 99 report, the WEC obligated 

party may be required to undergo a 

third-party audit. The WEC obligated 

party must make the information 

detailed in 40 CFR 99.8(c)(1)(v) 

available to the auditor for review. 

Comments also recommended that the 

EPA target auditing based on various 

factors that may be indicative of 

problems with WEC filings. The EPA is 

clarifying that the third-party auditor 

will primarily focus their review on 

resolving identified errors associated 

with part 98 and/or part 99 data 

elements required for calculation of the 

WEC that remain unverified, but the 

review should also include resolution of 

any additional errors identified during 

the course of their review. As defined in 


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40 CFR 99.8(c), these data elements may 

include records of total GHG emissions 

reported, facility methane emissions, 

facility hydrocarbon throughput, 

applied exemptions, and netting. The 

WEC obligated party will direct the 

third-party auditor to submit this 

information to the EPA and the WEC 

obligated party within 90 days of the 

EPA notifying the WEC obligated party 

that an audit is required. The EPA is 

adding this 90-day requirement to 

ensure timely resolution of unverified 

WEC data and to provide additional 

clarity to WEC obligated parties. After 

verifying data received by the thirdparty auditor, the EPA will notify the 

WEC obligated party. The WEC 

obligated party will have 30 days from 

this date of notification to resubmit their 

WEC filing, if necessary. Third-party 

audits may be required to be arranged 

by and conducted at the expense of the 

WEC obligated party. 

The EPA also received comments 

stating that the proposed rule did not 

include sufficient detail regarding the 

certification criteria for auditors. In 

response to these comments, the EPA is 

providing additional detail in this final 

rule on the criteria for auditors. To be 

considered a third-party auditor, the 

EPA is requiring that the auditor have 

professional work experience in the 

petroleum engineering field or related to 

oil and gas production, gathering, 

processing, transmission, or storage. 

Additionally, the auditor must be a 

qualified professional engineer. The 

third-party auditor must be independent 

of the WEC obligated party (e.g., not 

operated or employed by the WEC 

obligated party). The requirements for 

third-party auditors are defined at 40 

CFR 99.8(c). 

A WEC obligated party is required to 

pay an invoice received from the EPA 

for any updated WEC obligation or CAA 

penalty by the specified due date, or 

within 30 days of the date of the invoice 

or bill if a due date is not provided. 

C. Authorizing the Designated 

Representative 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed 

provisions for each affected WEC 

obligated party to identify a designated 

representative. Each WEC obligated 

party must have one designated 

representative who is an individual 

selected by an agreement binding on the 

WEC obligated party. This designated 

representative acts as a legal 

representative between the WEC 

obligated party and the Agency. The 

EPA is finalizing as proposed that the 

designated representative must submit a 

complete certificate of representation at 

least 60 days prior to the submission of 

the first WEC filing made by the WEC 

obligated party. Additionally, each WEC 

filing must contain a signed certification 

by a designated representative of the 

WEC obligated party. On behalf of the 

owner or operator, the designated 

representative certifies under penalty of 

law that the WEC filing has been 

prepared in accordance with the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 99 and that 

the information contained in the WEC 

filing is true and accurate, based on a 

reasonable inquiry of individuals 

responsible for obtaining the 

information. The EPA received a 

comment indicating that an employee 

serving as a designated representative 

could leave their position at a company 

before the end of the 60-day time 

period. However, the EPA notes that in 

these circumstances, the certificate of 

representation may be changed as 

subsequently explained in this section. 

The EPA also is finalizing as proposed 

that the designated representative could 

appoint an alternate to act on their 

behalf, but the designated representative 

maintains legal responsibility for the 

submission of complete, true, and 

accurate emissions data and 

supplemental data. A part 99 designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative may delegate one or more 

‘‘agents.’’ The part 99 agent (e.g., a part 

98 subpart W designated representative 

could be delegated as an agent to 

provide facility-specific information) 

can enter data for a part 99 WEC filing, 

but an agent is not allowed to submit, 

certify, or sign a WEC filing. Pursuant to 

40 CFR 99.4(f), only one alternate 

designated representative, who shall be 

an individual selected by an agreement 

binding on the owner and operator, and 

may act on behalf of the WEC obligated 

party designated representative (e.g., 

submit, certify or sign a WEC filing) may 

be selected; however, either the 

designated representative or the 

alternate may be changed at any time 

following the requirements in 40 CFR 

99.4(g). 

The EPA is finalizing that within 90 

days after any change in the WEC 

obligated party, the designated 

representative or any alternate 

designated representative of the new 

WEC obligated party must submit a 

certificate of representation that is 

complete under this section to reflect 

the change. These requirements ensure 

that the certificate of representation is 

updated to reflect changes to WEC 

obligated parties, and ensure alignment 

between the WEC obligated party and 

the certificate of representation’s listed 

designated representative. In addition, 

as proposed, the EPA is finalizing the 

binding nature of the certificate of 

representation. Pursuant to 40 CFR 

99.4(k) once a complete certificate of 

representation for a WEC obligated party 

has been received, the Administrator 

will rely on the certificate of 

representation unless and until a later 

signed, complete certificate of 

representation for the WEC obligated 

party is received by the Administrator. 

The EPA is finalizing requirements for 

the contents of the certificate of 

representation at 40 CFR 99.4(i). These 

elements of the certificate of 

representation include certification 

statements for the designated 

representative and any alternative 

designated representative as well as 

information needed to implement the 

WEC. The final certificate of 

representation contents include 

elements that were not included in the 

proposed rule. These additional 

requirements are necessary due to 

changes from the proposal to allow 

netting at the parent company level. 

Including this information in the 

certificate of representation, and 

requiring the certificate to be updated 

annually, will allow the EPA to review 

data related to the relationships between 

WEC applicable facilities, WEC 

obligated parties, and parent companies 

prior to the WEC filing deadline. This 

will allow the EPA to engage with WEC 

obligated parties to correct any potential 

errors or conflicts in these data (e.g., 

netting relationships) prior to the WEC 

filing deadline and therefore ensure 

efficient implementation of the rule. 

D. General Recordkeeping Requirements 

We are finalizing as proposed that 

WEC applicable facilities and WEC 

obligated parties must retain all 

required records for at least 5 years from 

the date of submission of the WEC 

report for the reporting year in which 

the record was generated. We are 

finalizing as proposed that the records 

shall be kept in an electronic or hardcopy format (as appropriate) and 

recorded in a form that is suitable for 

expeditious inspection and auditing. 

Under the final provisions, upon request 

by the Administrator, the records 

required under this section must be 

made available to the EPA or a thirdparty auditor if one is required. We are 

finalizing as proposed that records may 

be retained off site if the records are 

readily available for expeditious 

inspection and review. For records that 

are electronically generated or 

maintained, we are finalizing as 

proposed that the equipment or software 

necessary to read the records shall be 

made available, or, if requested by the 

EPA, electronic records shall be 

converted to paper documents. The 


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records that must be retained include, 

records prescribed in each applicable 

subpart of part 99, information required 

to be retained under part 98, including 

subparts A and W, any other 

information needed to complete the 

WEC filing, and all information required 

to be submitted as part of the WEC 

filing, including any supporting 

documentation. The EPA received 

comment indicating that the five-year 

retention requirement in the proposed 

rule did not clarify that companies who 

purchase WEC applicable facilities are 

not responsible for filings and errors 

made by previous owners. The EPA has 

revised from proposal 40 CFR 99.7(d) to 

more explicitly state that the WEC 

obligated party is the entity to which the 

recordkeeping requirement applies. 

Similar language was present at 

proposal given the use of the term 

‘‘you’’ (defined as a WEC obligated party 

subject to part 99) in 40 CFR 99.7(d) as 

proposed. We are finalizing additional 

clarifying language that the general 

recordkeeping provision at 40 CFR 

99.7(d) applies to all records prescribed 

in each subpart of part 99. 

E. General Provisions, Including 

Auditing and Compliance and 

Enforcement 

1. Auditing Provisions 

Several commenters stated that small 

producers who are below the WEC 

reporting threshold and do not pay WEC 

obligation should be exempt from audits 

and enforcement actions related to the 

WEC. Since the EPA may want to 

conduct an audit to verify that the 

facility is accurately quantifying 

emissions and appropriately claiming to 

be exempt from the WEC obligation, we 

are finalizing as proposed that the EPA, 

or a party acting on behalf of the EPA, 

may conduct on-site audits of facilities, 

as indicated in 40 CFR 99.7(c), 

including of those facilities under the 

25,000 mt CO2e threshold. Under the 

general recordkeeping provision at 40 

CFR 99.7(d), the records generated 

under this part must be available to the 

EPA, a party acting on behalf of the 

EPA, or a third-party auditor during an 

on-site audit and the records must be 

recorded in a form that is suitable for 

expeditious inspection and review upon 

request. The on-site audits may be 

conducted by private auditors 

contracted by the EPA or by Federal, 

State, or local personnel, as appropriate. 

The EPA proposed that audits 

conducted under 40 CFR 99.7(c) may be 

required to be arranged by and 

conducted at the expense of the WEC 

obligated party. In this final rule, the 

EPA is clarifying that WEC obligated 

parties would not be responsible for 

arranging and paying for audits 

conducted under 40 CFR 99.7(c). As 

described in section III.B.2. of this 

preamble, WEC obligated parties may be 

required to arrange and pay for thirdparty audits conducted to resolve 

unverified data necessary for calculation 

of the WEC. 

2. Compliance and Enforcement 

The EPA received comments 

supporting robust enforcement and 

verification protocols for WEC 

implementation. We are finalizing as 

proposed that any violation of any 

requirement of this part shall be a 

violation of the Clean Air Act, including 

section 114 (42 U.S.C. 7414) and section 

136 (42 U.S.C. 7436). A violation would 

include but is not limited to failure to 

submit, or resubmit as required, a WEC 

filing, failure to collect data needed to 

calculate the WEC obligation (including 

any data relevant to determining the 

applicability of any exemptions and 

how the netting was conducted), failure 

to select a WEC obligated party, failure 

to retain records needed to verify the 

amount of WEC obligation, providing 

false or incorrect information in a WEC 

filing, and failure to remit WEC 

payment. Per 40 CFR 99.4(b), it is a 

violation to fail to authorize a 

designated representative for a WEC 

obligated party. In the case of a WEC 

applicable facility with more than one 

owner and/or operator, failure to select 

a WEC obligated party would constitute 

a violation on the part of each owner 

and each operator, as per 40 CFR 99.4. 

Each day of a violation constitutes a 

separate violation. 

F. Other Final Minor Revisions or 

Clarifications 

See Table 4 of this preamble for the 

miscellaneous minor technical 

corrections not previously described in 

this preamble that we are finalizing 

throughout part 99. These revisions 

from the proposed rule primarily 

include revisions to better reflect the 

EPA’s intent of the proposed rule or 

editorial changes. Additionally, 

conforming edits to cross-references and 

paragraph designations in the final rule 

were made reflective of additional 

paragraphs that were finalized but not 

proposed as well as paragraphs that 

were proposed but are not being 

finalized, as discussed in detail in 

sections II and III of this preamble. 

TABLE 4—FINAL TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO PART 99 

Section (40 CFR) Description of amendment 

Revisions from Proposed Language that are Finalized 

99.7(b)(2)(iii), 99.7(b)(2)(v), 99.30(a), 99.50(b) ........................................ Revised use of the phrase ‘‘as defined in 40 CFR 99.50’’ to ‘‘as those 

industry segment terms are defined in 40 CFR 98.230 of this chapter’’ to tie industry segments to the definitions provided in subpart W 

and simply language from proposal. 

99.7(d), 99.7(e), 99.8(c) ........................................................................... Revised instances of ‘‘EPA’’ to ‘‘the EPA’’ for consistency. 

99.7(e)(2)(ii), 99.7(f)(2) ............................................................................. Revised instances of ‘‘report’’ to ‘‘filing’’ for consistency in terminology 

when referencing required submittals pursuant to part 99. 

99.8(b) ...................................................................................................... Revised instances of ‘‘WEC’’ to ‘‘WEC obligation’’ for consistency in 

terminology. 

99.40(b)(1) ................................................................................................ Added ‘‘or Tribal lands’’ for accuracy of applicability. 

99.40(c) ..................................................................................................... Added ‘‘the emissions from’’ to clarify the waste emissions charge is 

relevant to emissions. 

99.41(a) .................................................................................................... Deleted ‘‘or (d)’’. This was a typographical error noted by commenters. 

99.42 ......................................................................................................... Added headings to clarify contents of each paragraph. 

99.42(g) .................................................................................................... Revised instances of ‘‘waste emissions charge’’ to ‘‘WEC obligation’’ 

for consistency. 


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IV. Final Confidentiality 

Determinations for Certain Data 

Reporting Elements 

A. Overview and Background 

In this action, the EPA is finalizing 

requirements for WEC obligated parties 

to report the general information 

described in section III.A.3. of this 

preamble and the information specific 

to any applicable exemptions as 

described in sections II.D.1. through 3. 

of this preamble. This information is 

necessary for the EPA to verify the 

contents of the WEC filing, including 

confirming that all of the required WEC 

applicable facilities were included, each 

WEC applicable facility (or each site for 

WEC applicable facilities in the onshore 

production and gathering and boosting 

industry segments) is eligible for any 

exemptions that were applied, and the 

WEC applicable emissions and the 

amount of the WEC obligation were 

calculated correctly. As explained in the 

remainder of this section, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that for the data 

elements that are not inputs to emission 

equations, nearly all of the data reported 

will be either emission data or 

otherwise ineligible for confidential 

treatment. As a result of these 

determinations, information in these 

categories is not subject to the case-bycase or class determination processes 

under 40 CFR part 2 that the EPA 

typically uses to evaluate whether such 

information qualifies for confidential 

treatment. Where we codify a 

determination that information is 

emission data or otherwise not entitled 

to confidential treatment, it will be 

subject to disclosure to the public 

without further notice. Any 

determination that applies for submitted 

information continues to apply even if 

that information is carried into other 

documents that the EPA prepares for 

internal review or publication. The EPA 

also notes that the Agency is not making 

confidentiality determinations in this 

rulemaking for information included in 

supporting documentation required for 

eligible exemptions or additional 

information provided in software 

comments fields, which will remain 

subject to the case-by-case or class 

determination process under 40 CFR 

part 2, as established in this rulemaking 

under 40 CFR 2.301(j)(4). 

The EPA did not propose that any of 

the reported information would be 

designated as ‘‘inputs to emission 

equations.’’ However, some of the 

additional reporting requirements being 

finalized include information that the 

EPA is designating as ‘‘inputs to 

emission equations’’ falling within the 

definition of ‘‘emission data.’’ For each 

element that falls in this category, we 

further designate that the data element 

will be directly reported to the EPA (see 

section IV.D. of this preamble for a 

discussion of ‘‘inputs to emission 

equations’’). 

B. Final Confidentiality Determinations 

for New Data Elements 

Pursuant to CAA section 114(c), the 

EPA proposed to make categorical 

emission data and confidentiality 

determinations for the categories of 

information reported under part 99. The 

EPA described the proposed emission 

data categories and confidentiality 

determinations for the reported 

information, as well as the basis for 

such proposed determinations, in this 

section of the proposed and final 

preamble. This approach is similar to 

the approach the EPA has taken for the 

GHGRP under 40 CFR part 98 (see 75 FR 

39094, July 7, 2010, and 75 FR 30782, 

May 26, 2011, for more information). 

The determinations the EPA is 

finalizing in this rulemaking serve as 

notification of the Agency’s decisions 

concerning: (1) The categories of 

information the Agency will not treat as 

confidential because it is emission data; 

(2) the information that is not emission 

data but is not entitled to confidential 

treatment; and (3) the information that 

the submitter may claim as confidential 

but will remain subject to the existing 

40 CFR part 2 process. The EPA is not 

making in this final rule a determination 

in favor of confidential treatment for 

any data elements collected under 40 

CFR part 99. Instead, in responding to 

requests for information not determined 

in this final rule to be emission data or 

otherwise not entitled to confidential 

treatment, the EPA finalized as 

proposed to apply the default case-bycase process found in 40 CFR part 2. 

The emission data and confidentiality 

determinations finalized in this 

rulemaking are intended to provide 

consistency in the treatment of the 

information collected by the EPA as part 

of the WEC filings. The EPA anticipates 

that making these determinations in 

advance through this rulemaking will 

provide predictability and transparency 

for both the public and submitters. The 

regulatory provisions regarding 

confidentiality determinations for these 

products are being codified broadly in 

40 CFR 99.13. To provide additional 

clarity on the final confidentiality 

determinations for data elements under 

this rulemaking, individual data 

elements and their confidentiality 

determinations are provided in the 

memorandum, Confidentiality 

Determinations and Emissions Data 

Designations in the Final Waste 

Emissions Charge Rule, available in the 

docket to this rulemaking. 

The EPA requested comment on the 

proposed confidentiality 

determinations, including the categories 

of information considered emission 

data, the placement of specific data 

elements under different categories of 

emission data, and the treatment of data 

elements that the EPA did not propose 

to be considered emission data. Several 

commenters disagreed that the name of 

a part 99 designated representative and 

their contact information should be 

considered emission data and not 

entitled to confidential treatment and 

stated that this information should not 

be made publicly available. The EPA is 

finalizing as proposed that this 

information is emissions data but is 

clarifying that because it includes 

personal identification information, it 

will not be published by the agency and 

may be subject to personal privacy rules 

in certain scenarios. This final approach 

is aligned with the treatment of 

identical data elements under part 98. 

Changes from the proposal are 

discussed in more detail in this section 

of the preamble. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed that 

the categories of information 

determined to be emission data, and 

therefore not eligible to be treated as 

confidential business information and 

available to be disclosed to the public, 

in this action are codified in 40 CFR 

99.13(a) and include: 

(1) Methane emissions; 

(2) Calculation methodology; and 

(3) Facility and unit identifier 

information. 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed to 

group types of information (data 

elements) that WEC obligated parties 

must submit under part 99 that are 

considered emission data into these 

three categories based on their shared 

characteristics. For the sake of 

organization, for any information that 

logically could be grouped into more 

than one category, the EPA has chosen 

to label information as being in just one 

category where the Agency thinks it fits 

best. This approach will reduce 

redundancy within the categories that 

could otherwise lead to confusion and 

will ensure consistency in the treatment 

of similar information in the future. 

For reporting elements that the EPA 

does not designate as ‘‘emission data’’ 

(including ‘‘inputs to emission 

equations’’), the EPA proposed to assess 

each individual reporting element 

according to the Argus Leader criteria 

(i.e., whether the information is 

customarily and actually treated as 

private by the submitter) and 40 CFR 

2.208(a) through (d). Therefore, the EPA 


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did not propose and is not finalizing 

categories and categorical 

confidentiality determinations for 

information that is not ‘‘emission data.’’ 

However, the EPA is finalizing as 

proposed descriptions of the type of 

information that is not eligible for 

confidential treatment in 40 CFR 

99.13(b), including certain information 

demonstrating compliance with 

standards and information that is 

publicly available. The EPA also 

finalized as proposed in 40 CFR 99.13(c) 

and (d) to specify certain data elements 

and types of information that will 

remain subject to the Agency’s general 

process for conducting confidentiality 

determinations on a case-by-case basis 

in 40 CFR part 2. The final provisions 

in 40 CFR 99.13(b) establish the 

proposed confidentiality determinations 

of the final data elements in part 99 and 

also provide clarity and ensure 

consistent treatment of new or 

substantively revised data elements if 

the content of the WEC filing is 

amended in a future rulemaking. 

Sections IV.B.2. and 3. of this preamble 

describe these final provisions, and our 

assessment of each individual reporting 

element that is not ‘‘emission data.’’ 

1. Emission Data 

The EPA is finalizing as proposed to 

establish in 40 CFR 99.13(a) that certain 

categories of information the EPA will 

collect in the WEC filings are 

information that meets the regulatory 

definition of emission data under 40 

CFR 2.301(a)(2)(i). The following 

sections describe the categories of 

information we are determining to be 

emission data, based on application of 

the definition at 40 CFR 2.301(a)(2)(i) to 

the shared characteristics of the 

information in each category, and our 

rationale for each determination. Final 

determinations for the individual data 

elements included in each category of 

emission data can be found in a 

memorandum, Confidentiality 

Determinations and Emissions Data 

Designations in the Final Waste 

Emissions Charge Rule, available in the 

docket for this rulemaking. The EPA is 

providing this memorandum to provide 

clarity on the final data elements that 

fall into each category, including some 

data elements that were not directly 

included in the proposal that meet the 

definition emission data. These 

additional data elements were necessary 

to add in the final version of the rule as 

a result of revisions made from the 

proposal in response to comments. For 

example, revisions made from the 

proposal to allow netting at the parent 

company level requires additional 

reporting associated with the transfer of 

net WEC emissions between WEC 

obligated parties. The EPA notes that 

these added data elements in the final 

rule are derived from or outgrowths of 

data elements that were proposed with 

confidentiality determinations finding 

that they were emission data. While 

these data elements were revised in the 

final version of the rule in what would 

be specifically reported to the Agency, 

the revisions did not change the 

Agency’s rationale for the proposed 

emission data determinations and are 

being finalized under the same 

rationale. 

The EPA also notes that many of the 

final data elements for which 

confidentiality determinations are being 

finalized in this rulemaking are 

identical to or derived from data 

elements reported under part 98 that 

have been determined to be emissions 

data under that subpart. 

a. Information Necessary To Determine 

the Identity, Amount, Frequency, 

Concentration, or Other Characteristics 

of Emissions Emitted by the Source 

Under 40 CFR 2.301(a)(2)(i)(A), 

emission data includes ‘‘[i]nformation 

necessary to determine the identity, 

amount, frequency, concentration, or 

other characteristics (to the extent 

related to air quality) of any emission 

which has been emitted by the source 

(or of any pollutant resulting from any 

emission by the source), or any 

combination of the foregoing[.]’’ The 

EPA is finalizing that the following 

categories of information are emission 

data under 40 CFR 2.301(a)(2)(i)(A): 

(1) Methane emissions; and 

(2) Calculation methodology. 

Methane emissions. Data elements 

included in the Methane emissions data 

category are the net WEC emissions, net 

WEC emissions after transfers, facility 

waste emissions thresholds, industry 

segment waste emissions thresholds for 

each applicable industry segment 

within the facility (if more than one 

industry segment applies), and WEC 

applicable emissions, as well as the 

quantities of methane emissions that the 

WEC obligated party calculates should 

be exempted due to the unreasonable 

delay, regulatory compliance, and 

plugged well exemptions. The EPA has 

determined that the emissions at each 

reporting level constitute ‘‘emission 

data.’’ These data elements are 

information regarding the identity, 

amount, and frequency of any emission 

emitted by the WEC applicable facility, 

and, therefore, they are ‘‘emission data’’ 

and not eligible to be claimed as 

confidential. 

Calculation methodology. The data 

element included in this category is the 

method used to determine the quantity 

of methane emissions that the WEC 

obligated party calculates should be 

exempt due to the unreasonable delay 

exemption, regulatory compliance 

exemption, and plugged well 

exemption. Most of the necessary 

calculations in part 99 do not include 

multiple equations or approaches that 

could be selected by a WEC obligated 

party, and in those cases, the calculation 

methodology used is readily apparent 

for any WEC obligated party. 

Calculations for the exemptions for 

unreasonable delay, regulatory 

compliance, and plugged wells do 

include multiple equations that 

facilities must use under different 

circumstances. 

The EPA has concluded that the data 

elements in the calculation 

methodology category are ‘‘emission 

data’’ under 2.301(a)(2) because they are 

‘‘information necessary to determine 

. . . the amount’’ of emissions emitted 

by the source. The method used to 

calculate emissions is emission data 

under 40 CFR 2.301(a)(2) because it is 

information necessary for the WEC 

obligated party to calculate the 

emissions and for the EPA and the 

public to verify that an appropriate 

method was used. 

b. Information That is Emission Data 

Because It Provides a General 

Description of the Location and/or 

Nature of the Source to the Extent 

Necessary To Identify the Source and To 

Distinguish It From Other Sources 

Under 40 CFR 2.301(a)(2)(i)(C), 

emission data includes ‘‘a ‘‘[g]eneral 

description of the location and/or nature 

of the source to the extent necessary to 

identify the source and to distinguish it 

from other sources (including, to the 

extent necessary for such purposes, a 

description of the device, installation, or 

operation constituting the source).’’ The 

EPA is finalizing that the data elements 

in the facility and unit identifier 

information category of information are 

emission data under 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i)(C). 

The finalized part 99 regulations 

require WEC obligated parties to report 

in the WEC filing information needed to 

identify each facility as well as specific 

emission units (affected facilities) and/ 

or well-pads associated with an 

exemption. Facility-identifying 

information must be reported for all 

facilities as specified in 40 CFR part 99, 

subpart A. Affected facility-specific 

identifying information is required for 

the regulatory compliance exemption. 

Well-pad-specific identifying 

information is reported if required by an 

applicable exemption for onshore 


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petroleum and natural gas production 

facilities. 

Data elements in this category include 

the following data elements required 

under 40 CFR part 99, subpart A to be 

included in each annual WEC filing: 

WEC obligated party company name 

and address and a signed and dated 

certification statement of the accuracy 

and completeness of the report, which 

is provided by the designated 

representative of the owner or operator. 

The EPA proposed that the name and 

contact information for the designated 

representative of the WEC obligated 

party for each WEC applicable facility 

would be also included in the annual 

WEC filing. The EPA received 

comments disagreeing with the 

requirement to include the name and 

contact information for the designated 

representative of the WEC obligated 

party. After consideration of comments, 

the EPA is not finalizing that these data 

elements be included in the WEC filing, 

and therefore they will not be regularly 

published by the EPA. Because this 

information is not reported, it is not 

relevant to the confidentiality 

determinations discussed in this section 

of the preamble. The final part 99 

regulations also require that the filing 

include specific information about each 

facility covered by the annual WEC 

filing, including the industry segment 

and facility ID. For each exemption, the 

facility and unit identifier information 

category include (as applicable) the 

facility identifier, the well-pad and/or 

well identifier reported under subpart 

W (if applicable), other facility or 

affected facility identifiers used to 

identify the facility/sources in other 

EPA systems (specifically, the ICIS–AIR 

ID or Facility Registry Service (FRS) ID 

and the EPA Registry ID from the 

Compliance and Emissions Data 

Reporting Interface (CEDRI)), emission 

source-specific methane mitigation 

activities impacted by an unreasonable 

permitting delay, and exemptionspecific certification statements. 

As discussed in section IV.A. of this 

preamble, emission data must be 

available to the public and is not 

entitled to confidential treatment under 

CAA section 114(c). ‘‘Emission data’’ is 

defined in 40 CFR 2.301(a)(2)(i)(C) to 

include ‘‘[a] general description of the 

location and/or nature of the source to 

the extent necessary to identify the 

source and to distinguish it from other 

sources. . . .’’ Consistent with this 

definition of emission data, the EPA 

considers facility and emission unit 

identifiers to be source information or 

‘‘information necessary to determine the 

identity . . . of any emission which has 

been emitted by the source,’’ and 

therefore emission data under 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i). Further, 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i)(A) specifies that emission 

data includes, among other things, 

‘‘information necessary to determine the 

identity, amount, frequency, 

concentration, or other characteristics 

(to the extent related to air quality) of 

any emission which has been emitted by 

the source. . . .’’ The EPA considers 

the term ‘‘identity . . . of any emission’’ 

as not simply referring only to the 

names of the pollutants being emitted, 

but to also include other identifying 

information, such as from what and 

where (e.g., the identity of the emission 

unit) the pollutants are being emitted. 

2. Reported Information That Cannot Be 

Claimed as Confidential 

The EPA will assess the 

confidentiality of each individual part 

99 reporting element that is not 

otherwise designated as emission data 

in this rulemaking according to the 

Argus Leader criteria (i.e., whether the 

information is customarily and actually 

treated as private by the submitter) and 

40 CFR 2.208(a) through (d). However, 

in this action, the EPA finalized as 

proposed descriptions of the type of 

information that would not be eligible 

for confidential treatment in 40 CFR 

99.13(b), in part to establish the 

confidentiality determinations of the 

data elements in part 99 but also to 

provide clarity and consistency in the 

event that the content of the WEC filings 

are amended in a future rulemaking. 

The WEC obligation is calculated by 

multiplying the net WEC emissions by 

a set dollar amount, depending on the 

reporting year. As explained in section 

IV.B.1.a. of this preamble, the EPA 

determined that the net WEC emissions 

are emission data. Therefore, the EPA is 

finalizing that the WEC obligation, 

which is calculated as the net WEC 

emissions multiplied by a dollar per ton 

rate that is prescribed in CAA section 

136, is not eligible for confidential 

treatment. 

The EPA is also finalizing as proposed 

that certain information considered to 

be compliance information in part 99, 

regardless of whether it is or is not 

designated as emission data, is still not 

otherwise eligible for confidential 

treatment. Compliance information 

collected under part 99 includes 

information necessary to demonstrate 

compliance with the eligibility 

requirements for the exemptions for 

unreasonable permitting delay, 

regulatory compliance, and wells that 

have been permanently shut-in and 

plugged. Examples of the information 

collected include: for the unreasonable 

delay exemption, the date of the permit 

request, the estimated date to commence 

operation if the application had been 

approved within a set period of months, 

the first date that offtake to the gathering 

or transmission infrastructure from the 

implementation of methane emissions 

mitigation occurred once the 

application was approved, the 

beginning and ending date for which the 

eligible delay limited the offtake of 

natural gas associated with methane 

emissions mitigation activities, a listing 

of methane emissions mitigation 

activities that are impacted by the 

unreasonable permitting delay, and the 

quantity of methane emissions to be 

exempted due to the unreasonable delay 

for the reporting year. For the regulatory 

compliance exemption, copies of reports 

and other evidence of compliance with 

NSPS OOOOb or a State, Tribal, or 

Federal plan under 40 CFR part 62; and 

for the plugged well exemption, the date 

a well was permanently shut-in and 

plugged and the statutory citation for 

the requirements that were followed for 

that process. Operating and construction 

permits are available to the public 

through the State issuing the permits (as 

the delegated authority of the EPA), 

generally either through an online 

information system or website, or upon 

request to the State agency issuing the 

permits. These permits are expected to 

contain information about the type and 

size of process equipment operated at a 

facility, control devices or other 

measures undertaken to reduce 

emissions from each process, and the 

emission standards to which the facility 

is subject (including Federal standards 

as well as State or local standards). 

Reports submitted by owners and 

operators of facilities subject to NSPS 

OOOOb or a State, Tribal, or Federal 

plan under 40 CFR part 62 are available 

through the EPA’s online repository 

‘‘WebFIRE.’’ See https://www.epa.gov/ 

electronic-reporting-air-emissions/ 

webfire. Finally, well-specific 

information, including age, production 

rate, and operating status, is publicly 

available through State oil and gas 

commissions and/or State databases as 

well as sources such as Enverus. 

Because this information is already 

publicly available, it will not be eligible 

for confidential treatment. 

The EPA is also finalizing in 40 CFR 

99.13(b)(3) that any other information 

that has been published and made 

publicly available, including the 

publicly available reports submitted 

under the GHGRP and information on 

websites, are not eligible for 

confidential treatment. Information that 

is publicly available does not meet the 

criteria for information entitled to 


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73The term ‘‘verification software’’ refers to 

specific software and tools. For example, under part 

98, the EPA provides an Inputs Verification Tool 

(IVT) in e-GGRT. 

confidential treatment specified in 40 

CFR 2.208(c). Section IV.B.3. of this 

preamble specifies an additional type of 

information that is not eligible for 

confidential treatment when evaluating 

the confidentiality of supporting 

documentation submitted as described 

in 40 CFR 99.13(c) or (d). 

3. Information for Which the EPA Is Not 

Finalizing a Confidentiality 

Determination 

This section describes information for 

which the EPA is not finalizing a 

confidentiality determination. The EPA 

will initially treat this information as 

confidential upon receipt, if the 

submitter claimed it as such, until a 

case-by-case determination may be 

made by the Agency under the 40 CFR 

part 2 process. 

The EPA does not expect emission 

data to be submitted in supporting 

documentation, but the Agency is 

finalizing as proposed that information 

in supporting documentation as 

described in 40 CFR 99.13(c) (i.e., 

information not listed in 40 CFR 

99.13(a) or (b) as not eligible for 

confidential treatment) will be treated as 

confidential if claimed as such until a 

case-by-case determination is made 

under the 40 CFR part 2 process. The 

EPA is also finalizing that information 

provided in software comments fields as 

described in 40 CFR 99.13(d) will not be 

eligible for confidential treatment if it is 

listed in 40 CFR 99.13(a) or (b) as not 

eligible for confidential treatment. 

Otherwise, the EPA will treat the 

information as confidential if claimed as 

such until a case-by-case determination 

is made under the 40 CFR part 2 

process, as specified in 40 CFR 99.13(c). 

The EPA recognizes that supporting 

documentation and reporter comments 

may include information that is 

sensitive or proprietary, such as detailed 

process designs or site plans. Because 

the exact nature of this documentation 

cannot be predicted with certainty, the 

EPA will make case-by-case 

confidentiality determinations under 

CAA section 114(c) for any supporting 

documentation, or comments claimed 

confidential by applicants either upon 

receipt of such information or upon a 

request for such information after 

receipt. 

C. Final Amendments to 40 CFR Part 2 

Pursuant to CAA section 114(c), the 

EPA must make available to the public 

data submitted under part 99, except for 

data (other than emission data) that are 

considered confidential under CAA 

section 114(c). Accordingly, the EPA 

may publicly release part 99 data 

without further notice after submission 

to the EPA in accordance with the EPA’s 

determinations of their confidentiality 

status in the final rule. Specifically, the 

EPA may publicly release part 99 data 

that are determined in this final rule to 

be emission data or not otherwise 

entitled to confidential treatment under 

CAA section 114(c) (i.e., ‘‘non-CBI’’). 

For data elements that the EPA 

determined to be entitled to confidential 

treatment under CAA section 114(c), the 

EPA will release or publish such data 

only if the information can be 

aggregated in a manner that would 

protect the confidentiality of these data 

at the facility level. Existing regulations 

in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B set forth 

procedural steps that the EPA must 

follow before releasing any information, 

either on the Agency’s own initiative or 

in response to requests made pursuant 

to the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA). In particular, the EPA is 

generally required to make case-by-case 

confidentiality determinations and to 

notify individual reporters before 

disclosing information that businesses 

have submitted with a confidentiality 

claim. As discussed in section IV.B of 

this preamble, in light of the 

voluminous data the EPA receives 

under subpart W of part 98 and the 

multiple procedural steps required 

under 40 CFR part 2, subpart B, the EPA 

would not be able to make part 99 data 

(determined to be emission data or nonCBI) publicly available in a timely 

fashion if it were required to make 

separate confidentiality determinations 

based on each submitter’s individual 

claim of confidentiality. 

To facilitate timely release of GHG 

data collected under part 99 that are 

emission data or non-CBI, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed an amendment to 

40 CFR 2.301, Special rules governing 

certain information obtained under the 

Clean Air Act. Specifically, the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed to revise 40 CFR 

2.301(d) to specify that the special rules 

for data submitted under part 98 also 

apply to part 99. Under the final 

amendment, the EPA may release part 

99 data that are determined to be 

emission data or information 

determined to be not entitled to 

confidential treatment upon finalizing 

the confidentiality status of these data. 

Consistent with the 40 CFR part 2 

procedures, the approach finalized in 

this rulemaking provides the WEC 

obligated party an opportunity to justify 

and substantiate any confidentiality 

claim they may have for the data they 

are required to submit (except for 

emission data and other data not 

entitled to confidential treatment 

pursuant to CAA section 114(c)). In 

addition, WEC obligated parties have 

the benefit of seeing the EPA’s 

rationales and analyses prior to 

submitting any justification, information 

that they would not otherwise have 

under the current 40 CFR part 2 

procedures. 

D. Final Reporting Determinations for 

Inputs to Emission Equations 

In this section, we discuss data 

elements that the EPA is assigning to the 

‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ data 

category. This data category includes 

data elements that are the inputs to the 

emission equations used by WEC 

obligated parties to calculate their 

annual GHG emissions. See 75 FR 

39094, July 7, 2010 for a full description 

of the ‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ 

data category. As discussed in section 

VI.B.1. of the 2022 proposed Revisions 

and Confidentiality Determinations for 

Data Elements Under the Greenhouse 

Gas Reporting Rule (87 FR 36920, June 

21, 2022), the EPA determined that the 

Argus Leader standard does not apply to 

our approach for handling data elements 

assigned to the ‘‘Inputs to Emission 

Equations’’ data category. 

The EPA organizes data assigned to 

the ‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ data 

category into two subcategories. The 

first subcategory includes ‘‘inputs to 

emission equations’’ that must be 

directly reported to the EPA. This is 

done in circumstances where the EPA 

has determined that the data elements 

do not meet the criteria necessary for 

them to be entered into verification 

software.73 These ‘‘inputs to emission 

equations,’’ in the form received by the 

EPA, are not entitled to confidential 

treatment. The second subcategory 

includes ‘‘inputs to emission equations’’ 

that are entered into verification 

software. These ‘‘inputs to emission 

equations’’ are entered into verification 

software to satisfy the EPA’s verification 

requirements. These data must be 

maintained as verification software 

records by the submitter, but the data 

are not included in the annual report 

that is submitted to the EPA. This is 

done in circumstances where the EPA 

has determined that the data elements 

meet the criteria necessary for them to 

be entered into the verification software. 

Refer to the memorandum, Reporting 

Determinations for Data Elements 

Assigned to the Inputs to Emission 

Equations Data Category in the Final 

Waste Emissions Charge Rule, available 

in the docket for this rulemaking, for a 


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74Prior to Argus Leader, the EPA considered 

whether the business had satisfactorily shown that 

disclosure of the information is likely to cause 

substantial harm to the business’s competitive 

position when evaluating claims of confidentiality. 

discussion of the criteria established in 

2011 for evaluating whether data 

assigned to the ‘‘Inputs to Emission 

Equations’’ data category should be 

entered into the verification software. 

After review of all the final data 

elements in this rulemaking, the EPA 

has determined that some of the final 

data elements are assigned to the 

‘‘Inputs to Emission Equations’’ data 

category. The EPA evaluated each of the 

data elements assigned to the ‘‘Inputs to 

Emission Equations’’ data category and 

determined that none of these data 

elements meet the criteria necessary for 

them to be entered into verification 

software; therefore, these data elements 

will be directly reported to the EPA. The 

EPA has determined that some of these 

‘‘inputs to emission equations’’ are 

identical to or derived from data 

elements reported under part 98 that 

have been determined to not be eligible 

for confidential treatment. The ‘‘inputs 

to emission equations’’ used to 

determine the quantities of methane 

emissions that the WEC obligated party 

calculates should be exempted due to 

the unreasonable delay, regulatory 

compliance, and plugged well 

exemptions must be directly reported to 

the EPA so that the EPA can fully verify 

the quantities. As ‘‘inputs to emission 

equations’’ are emissions data, these 

data elements will not be eligible for 

confidential treatment once directly 

reported to the EPA, and they may be 

published once received by the EPA. 

Refer to the memorandum, Reporting 

Determinations for Data Elements 

Assigned to the Inputs to Emission 

Equations Data Category in the Final 

Waste Emissions Charge Rule, available 

in the docket for this rulemaking, for a 

list of the data elements designated as 

‘‘inputs to emission equations’’ that will 

be directly reported to the EPA and the 

EPA’s rationale for the reporting 

determinations. 

E. Changes to Confidentiality 

Determinations for Data Elements 

Reported Under Subpart W 

The industry segment waste 

emissions thresholds are calculated 

pursuant to 40 CFR 99.20. Except for 

facilities in the Offshore Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Production industry 

segment or the Onshore Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Production industry 

segment that have no natural gas sent to 

sale, each threshold is calculated by 

multiplying the specified natural gas 

throughput for that industry segment by 

two constant values, the density of 

methane and the industry segmentspecific methane intensity threshold (as 

summarized in Table 2 of this 

preamble). As noted in section IV.B.1.a. 

of this preamble, the EPA is finalizing 

as proposed that the facility waste 

emissions thresholds and industry 

segment waste emissions thresholds are 

emission data and will therefore be 

made publicly available. For two 

industry segments, Onshore Natural Gas 

Processing and Onshore Natural Gas 

Transmission Compression, throughput 

quantities similar to those specified in 

the industry segment waste emissions 

threshold calculations have historically 

not been made publicly available under 

subpart W. However, for WEC 

applicable facilities, once the industry 

segment-specific waste emissions 

thresholds are made publicly available, 

the throughputs can be calculated based 

on available information. 

For the Onshore Natural Gas 

Processing industry segment, a new data 

element was finalized as part of the 

2024 Subpart W Final Rule, the quantity 

of residue gas leaving that has been 

processed by the facility and any gas 

that passes through the facility to sale 

without being processed by the facility 

in the calendar year, in thousand 

standard cubic feet, reported under 

finalized 40 CFR 98.236(aa)(3)(ix). The 

EPA previously made a final 

determination in 79 FR 70352 

(November 25, 2014) that the quantity of 

natural gas received at the gas 

processing plant in the calendar year 

(reported under 40 CFR 98.236(aa)(3)(i)) 

and the quantity of processed (residue) 

gas leaving the gas processing plant 

(reported under 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(3)(ii)), should be maintained 

as confidential. As explained in 79 FR 

70352 (November 25, 2014), the 

reporting of this information to the 

Energy Information Administration is 

less frequent than required under 

subpart W, and the EPA had not 

identified any reliable public sources of 

the quantity of residue gas produced. In 

the June 2023 memorandum Proposed 

Confidentiality Determinations and 

Emission Data Designations for Data 

Elements in Proposed Revisions to the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule for 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems 

(Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2023– 

0234–0167), the EPA stated that the 

proposed new data element under 40 

CFR 98.236(aa)(3)(ix) would collect 

similar information to 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(3)(ii). As a result, the EPA 

determined that the information 

collected under 40 CFR 98.236(aa)(3)(ix) 

would be eligible for confidential 

treatment. 

However, because the EPA is 

finalizing as proposed the determination 

that the industry segment-specific waste 

emissions thresholds are emission data, 

then those industry segment-specific 

waste emissions thresholds will be 

made publicly available as emission 

data. Therefore, the EPA is not 

finalizing a confidentiality 

determination for this throughput 

quantity data element (i.e., the quantity 

of residue gas leaving that has been 

processed by the facility and any gas 

that passes through the facility to sale 

without being processed by the facility 

in the calendar year) under part 98. The 

confidentiality status of this data 

element will be evaluated on a case- bycase basis, in light of any publicly 

available information and in accordance 

with the existing regulations in 40 CFR 

part 2, subpart B, upon receipt of a 

public request for these data elements. 

For Onshore Natural Gas 

Transmission Compression, the EPA 

previously decided in 2014 not to make 

a confidentiality determination that 

would apply for all facilities for 40 CFR 

98.236(aa)(4)(i), the quantity of gas 

transported through a compressor 

station. In 79 FR 70352 (November 25, 

2014), the EPA explained that the 

Agency proposed that this data element 

would not be eligible for confidential 

treatment because natural gas 

transmission sector is heavily regulated 

by FERC and State commissions, 

resulting in a lack of competition 

between companies. However, the EPA 

received comments on this November 

2014 proposal noting that FERC Order 

636 had introduced greater competition 

to this sector and that some companies 

charge customers less than the FERC 

approved rates because of competitive 

market pressures. The commenters 

indicated that quantity of gas 

transported through the compressor 

station would provide information on 

the quantity of gas transported by a 

specific pipeline, which may potentially 

cause competitive harm to some 

pipeline companies operating in more 

competitive market areas. Since the 

determination would depend on the 

particular market conditions for each 

company, the EPA did not make a 

determination for the data element from 

this industry segment.74

In this rulemaking, the EPA is not 

finalizing a change to that previous 

decision and is not finalizing a 

confidentiality determination for the 

quantity of natural gas transported 

through a compressor station. While the 

Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Argus 

Leader altered the review criteria for 

confidentiality determinations from the 

Agency’s 2014 decision, the basis 


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provided by commenters to justify the 

confidential nature of the information is 

still relevant to a finding that the 

information is eligible for confidential 

treatment. For information pertaining to 

the quantity of gas transported through 

a compressor station collected under 

part 99, the EPA will conduct reviews 

of any claims made under the existing 

regulations in 40 CFR part 2, subpart B, 

upon receipt of a public request for this 

information. Any such reviews will 

consider the public availability of the 

same or similar information, including 

WEC filings, as part of the 

determination process. 

V. Impacts of the Final Rule 

In accordance with the requirements 

of Executive Order 12866, the EPA 

projected the emissions reductions, 

costs, benefits, and transfer payments 

that may result from this action. These 

results are presented in detail in the 

Regulatory Impact Analysis of the Waste 

Emission Charge (RIA) accompanying 

this final rule developed in response to 

Executive Order 12866 and available in 

the docket to this rulemaking, Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0434. This 

section provides a summary of the RIA. 

The EPA notes that the EPA’s duties and 

authority for this rulemaking are 

derived under CAA section 136 of the 

CAA, and its decisions in this 

rulemaking are made within the 

confines of that authority and justified 

under the EPA’s record-based analysis 

and analysis of the statutory language of 

CAA section 136. The analysis in the 

final RIA prepared under Executive 

Order 12866 is entirely distinct from the 

statutory determinations, is not used to 

justify this action, and is presented 

solely for the purposes of complying 

with E.O. 12866. Congress did not 

authorize the EPA to consider a formal 

cost-benefits analysis in implementing 

CAA section 136, and the EPA’s 

decisions were based on the best 

reading of the statutory directives that 

Congress did provide. Nevertheless, the 

EPA believes the results of the analysis 

in the final RIA prepared under 

Executive Order 12866 of the WEC final 

rule are reasonable. 

The WEC does not directly require 

emissions reductions from applicable 

facilities or emissions sources. However, 

by imposing a charge on methane 

emissions that exceed waste emissions 

thresholds, oil, and natural gas facilities 

subject to the WEC are expected to 

perform methane mitigation actions and 

make operational changes where the 

costs of those changes are less than the 

WEC payments that could be avoided by 

reducing methane emissions. In 

addition, because volatile organic 

compound (VOC) and hazardous air 

pollutant (HAP) emissions are emitted 

along with methane from oil and natural 

gas industry activities, reductions in 

methane emissions as a result of the 

WEC also result in co-reductions of VOC 

and HAP emissions. 

The RIA accompanying this proposal 

analyzes emissions changes and 

economic impacts of the WEC that arise 

through two pathways: (1) through the 

application of cost-effective methane 

mitigation technologies, and (2) through 

changes in oil and natural gas 

production and prices resulting from the 

WEC and associated mitigation 

responses. The analysis of methane 

mitigation is based on bottom-up 

engineering cost and mitigation 

potential information for a range of 

methane mitigation technologies. 

Application of methane mitigation 

technologies reduce WEC payments for 

WEC obligated parties by reducing 

methane emissions compared to a 

baseline without additional methane 

mitigation actions. The analysis 

assumes that methane mitigation is 

implemented where the engineering 

control costs are less than the avoided 

WEC payments for a particular 

mitigation technology. 

Additionally, oil and natural gas firms 

may change their production and 

operational decisions in response to the 

WEC. This potential impact is modeled 

using a partial equilibrium model of the 

crude oil and natural gas markets. The 

total cost of methane mitigation and 

WEC payments is added as an increase 

to production costs, resulting in changes 

in equilibrium production of oil and 

natural gas and associated emissions. 

Projected WEC payments are estimated 

after methane emissions reductions 

from both methane mitigation and 

economic impacts are accounted for. 

The number of facilities that will owe 

WEC obligations, and the amount of 

those WEC obligations, will ultimately 

depend on decisions that are within the 

control of owners and operators, among 

other factors. However, the EPA 

estimates that only a relatively small 

proportion of owner-operators of oil and 

gas facilities will owe WEC obligations. 

Using emissions reported to subpart W 

for RY2022 as an illustrative example, 

approximately 250 companies would 

owe WEC obligations related to less 

than 400 facilities, less than one-fifth of 

facilities that report to subpart W. Based 

on RY2022, Table 1–1 of the RIA shows 

that the WEC would be imposed on less 

than 15 percent of national methane 

emissions from petroleum and natural 

gas systems. Total methane emissions 

reported to subpart W are significantly 

less than national methane emissions 

from the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory 

for petroleum and natural gas systems. 

WEC-applicable facilities are the subset 

of GHGRP facilities that report at least 

25,000 mt CO2e to subpart W industry 

segments subject to the WEC. 

It is also important to note that the 

WEC would only apply to methane 

emissions that are above the emissions 

threshold, not for all emissions from 

WEC-applicable facilities. The WEC has 

exemptions related to regulatory 

compliance, emissions from plugged 

wells, and unreasonable delay in 

environmental permitting, although 

these provisions do not impact the 

illustrative results in Table 1–1 of the 

RIA. Finally, emissions subject to WEC 

accounts for netting of emissions 

between facilities and entities under 

common ownership and control. Under 

the final WEC, facilities with emissions 

below their emissions threshold may 

reduce emissions subject to the WEC at 

other facilities with emissions above the 

emissions threshold where those 

facilities are under common ownership 

or control. 

The benefit-cost analysis contained in 

the RIA accompanying this rulemaking 

for the WEC considers the potential 

benefits and costs of the WEC arising 

from cost-effective mitigation actions 

under the WEC as well as the potential 

transfers from affected operators to the 

government in payments. Costs include 

engineering costs for methane 

mitigation actions and costs resulting 

from production changes in oil and gas 

energy markets under this final rule. 

While the EPA expects a range of health 

and environmental benefits from 

reductions in methane, VOC, and HAP 

emissions under the WEC, the 

monetized benefits of the final rule are 

limited to the estimated climate benefits 

from projected methane emissions 

reductions. These benefits are based on 

the social cost of methane (SC–CH4). A 

screening-level analysis of ozone-related 

benefits from projected VOC reductions 

can be found in Appendix A of the RIA. 

However, these estimates are treated as 

illustrative and are not included in the 

quantified benefit-cost comparisons in 

the RIA. 

The EPA estimates that this action 

will result in cumulative emissions 

reductions of 1.2 million metric tons of 

methane over the 2024 to 2035 period. 

These reductions represent about 40 

percent of methane emissions that 

would be subject to the WEC before 

accounting for the adoption of costeffective emission reduction 

technologies. Virtually all the reduced 

emissions result from mitigation 

activities undertaken by industry to 

reduce WEC payments. Less than one 


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75U.S. EPA. The Benefits and Costs of the Clean 

Air Act from 1990 to 2020. Washington, DC. 

Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/sites/ 

production/files/2015-07/documents/fullreport_

rev_a.pdf. 

76Monetized climate effects are presented under 

a 2 percent near-term Ramsey discount rate, 

consistent with the EPA’s updated estimates of the 

SC–GHG. The 2003 version of OMB’s Circular A– 

4 had generally recommended 3 percent and 7 

percent as default discount rates for costs and 

benefits, though as part of the Interagency Working 

Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, 

OMB had also long recognized that climate effects 

should be discounted only at appropriate 

consumption-based discount rates. OMB finalized 

an update to Circular A–4 in 2023, in which it 

recommended the general application of a 2.0 

percent discount rate to costs and benefits (subject 

to regular updates), as well as the consideration of 

the shadow price of capital when costs or benefits 

are likely to accrue to capital. Because the SC–GHG 

estimates reflect net climate change damages in 

terms of reduced consumption (or monetary 

consumption equivalents), the use of the discount 

rate estimated using the average return on capital 

(7 percent in OMB Circular A–4 (2003)) to discount 

damages estimated in terms of reduced 

consumption would inappropriately underestimate 

the impacts of climate change for the purposes of 

estimating the SC–GHG. See section 6.1 of the RIA 

for more discussion. 

percent of reductions are associated 

with decreased production activity in 

the oil and gas sector resulting from the 

final rule. In addition to methane 

emissions reductions, the WEC is 

estimated to result in reductions of 170 

thousand metric tons of VOC and six 

thousand metric tons of HAP. 

The WEC has important interactions 

and is designed to work hand-in-hand 

with the NSPS and EG for the Oil and 

Natural Gas Sector by accelerating the 

adoption of cost-effective methane 

mitigation technologies, including those 

that would eventually be required under 

the 2024 Final NSPS/EG. The annual 

projected emissions reductions, costs, 

and WEC obligations are significantly 

affected by these interactions. 

The EPA finalized updates to the Oil 

and Gas NSPS/EG in March 2024. In 

addition to requirements already in 

place, these Oil and Gas NSPS/EG rules 

include standards for many of the major 

sources of methane emissions in the oil 

and natural gas industry. To avoid 

double counting of benefits and costs, 

the baseline for this analysis includes 

reductions resulting from the 2024 Final 

NSPS/EG based on information from the 

Final RIA for that rule (available in 

Docket No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0317). 

Specifically, that analysis showed 

gradually increasing reductions in 

methane emissions resulting from the 

NSPS and deep reductions in methane 

emissions beginning to take effect in 

2028 as a result of the EG. As facilities 

implement emission controls required 

by the 2024 Final NSPS/EG, emissions 

subject to the WEC decline. 

The second interaction between the 

WEC and NSPS/EG is the regulatory 

compliance exemption provision of the 

WEC. Under this provision, when 

certain conditions are met with respect 

to the implementation of the Oil and 

Gas NSPS/EG, applicable facilities in 

compliance with their applicable 

requirements are exempted from the 

WEC. The analysis in the RIA assumes 

that the regulatory compliance 

exemption takes effect in 2029, such 

that in 2029 and later, facilities in the 

industry segments subject to 

requirements under the NSPS/EG do not 

owe WEC payments. This assumption is 

based on an assumed timeline under 

which the conditions of the regulatory 

compliance exemption could be met. 

The timing of the regulatory compliance 

exemption availability will vary by 

State. As timing for any individual State 

is unknown, this RIA analysis assumes 

that the regulatory compliance 

exemption becomes available for all 

relevant facilities in 2029. 

Climate benefits associated with this 

final rule are the monetized value of 

methane reductions using the SC–CH4, 

which calculates the avoided climate 

related damages from reducing methane 

emissions. Methane is the principal 

component of natural gas. As discussed 

in section I.C.1. of this preamble, 

methane is also a potent GHG that, once 

emitted into the atmosphere, absorbs 

terrestrial infrared radiation, which in 

turn contributes to increased global 

warming and continuing climate 

change. 

This final rulemaking is projected to 

reduce VOC emissions, which are a 

precursor to ozone. Ozone is not 

generally emitted directly into the 

atmosphere but is created when its two 

primary precursors, VOC and oxides of 

nitrogen (NOX), react in the atmosphere 

in the presence of sunlight. Emissions 

reductions under the WEC may decrease 

ozone formation, human exposure to 

ozone, and the incidence of ozonerelated health effects. VOC emissions 

are also a precursor to fine particulate 

matter (PM2.5), so VOC reductions may 

also decrease human exposure to PM2.5

and the incidence of PM2.5-related 

health effects. 

Available emissions data show that 

several different HAP are emitted from 

oil and natural gas operations. 

Emissions of eight HAP make up a large 

percentage of the total HAP emissions 

by mass from the oil and natural gas 

sector: toluene, hexane, benzene, 

xylenes (mixed), ethylene glycol, 

methanol, ethyl benzene, and 2,2,4- 

trimethylpentane.75 Reductions of HAP 

emissions under the WEC may reduce 

exposure to these and other HAP. 

In section 9.3 of the RIA, the EPA 

identifies existing potential 

environmental justice issues for the 

communities in counties that have 

emissions sources that are expected to 

owe the WEC charge before accounting 

for mitigation actions and thus may be 

positively affected by emissions changes 

under the final rule. Compared to the 

national average, these communities 

include a higher percentage of 

individuals who identify as racial and 

ethnic minorities, have lower average 

incomes, and have slightly elevated 

health risks associated with various air 

emissions. Reductions in VOC and HAP 

emissions as a result of the WEC are 

expected to benefit communities in 

these counties. Because the WEC does 

not directly require emissions 

reductions, the EPA has not projected 

specific locations where emissions 

reductions might occur. In addition, 

detailed proximity analysis is infeasible 

because the emissions affected by the 

WEC occur at hundreds of thousands of 

locations. 

The total cost of the final rule 

includes the engineering costs for 

methane mitigation actions 

implemented by the oil and natural gas 

industry in order to avoid or reduce 

WEC obligations. Costs for methane 

mitigation are calculated on an 

annualized basis, with total costs spread 

over the expected lifetime. This 

includes the initial capital costs 

required to implement and install the 

specific mitigation technology. In 

addition, for mitigation technologies 

with expected lifetimes greater than 

one-year, annual recurring operations 

and maintenance costs, which include 

labor, energy and materials, are also 

incorporated. Finally, the total 

mitigation costs also include the 

avoided cost of natural gas losses. 

The social cost of energy market 

impacts is the loss in consumer and 

producer surplus value from changes in 

natural gas market production and 

prices. The economic impacts analysis 

uses a partial equilibrium model and 

estimates that the impact of the gas 

market is minimal, with the largest 

impact occurring in the first few years 

with a price increase of less than 0.1 

percent and a quantity reduction of less 

than 0.1 percent. 

Table 5 presents results of the benefitcost analysis for the final WEC. It 

presents the present value (PV) and 

equivalent annual value (EAV), 

estimated using discount rates of 2, 3, 

and 7 percent, of the changes in 

quantified benefits, costs, and net 

benefits relative to the baseline.76 These 

values reflect an analytical time horizon 

of 2024 to 2035, are discounted to 2023, 


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and are presented in 2019 constant 

dollars. The table includes 

consideration of the non-monetized 

benefits associated with the emissions 

reductions projected under this 

proposal. 

TABLE 5—PROJECTED EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS UNDER THE FINAL RULE, 2024–2035 TOTAL

Pollutant Emissions reductions 

(2024–2035 Total) 

Methane (thousand metric tons) a ....................................................................................................................................... 1,200 

VOC (thousand metric tons) ................................................................................................................................................ 170 

Hazardous Air Pollutant (thousand short tons) ................................................................................................................... 6 

Methane (million metric tons CO2e) b .................................................................................................................................. 34 

aTo convert from metric tons to short tons, multiply the short tons by 1.102. Alternatively, to convert from short tons to metric tons, multiply the 

short tons by 0.907. b Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Calculated using a global warming potential of 28. 

TABLE 6—BENEFITS, COSTS, AND NET BENEFITS OF THE FINAL RULE, 2024 THROUGH 2035 

[Dollar estimates in millions of 2019 dollars] a

Climate benefits b

2 Percent near-term Ramsey discount rate 

Present value Equivalent 

annual value Present value Equivalent annual value Present value Equivalent annual value 

$2,400 $230 $2,400 $230 $2,400 $230 

2 Percent discount rate 3 Percent discount rate 7 Percent discount rate 

Present value Equivalent 

annual value 

Present value Equivalent 

annual value 

Present value Equivalent 

annual value 

Total Social Costs .................................... $460 $43 $440 $44 $380 $48 

Cost of Methane Mitigation ...................... 420 40 400 41 350 44 

Cost of Energy Market Impacts ............... 39 4 38 4 33 4 

Net Benefits ............................................. 1,900 190 2,000 190 2,000 180 

Non-Monetized Benefits ........................... Climate and ozone health benefits from reducing 1.2 million metric tons of methane from 2024 to 

2035 

PM2.5 and ozone health benefits from reducing 170 thousand metric tons of VOC from 2024 to 2035 c

HAP benefits from reducing 6 thousand metric tons of HAP from 2024 to 2035 

Visibility benefits 

Reduced vegetation effects 

aValues rounded to two significant figures. Totals may not appear to add correctly due to rounding. 

b Climate benefits are based on reductions in methane emissions and are calculated using three different estimates of the social cost of methane (SC–CH4) (under 1.5 percent, 2.0 percent, and 2.5 percent near-term Ramsey discount rates). For the presentational purposes of this table, 

we show the climate benefits associated with the SC–CH4 at the 2 percent near-term Ramsey discount rate. Please see Table 6–5 of the RIA for 

the full range of monetized climate benefits estimates. cA screening-level analysis of ozone benefits from VOC reductions can be found in Appendix A of the RIA. 

WEC payments are transfers and do 

not affect total net benefits to society as 

a whole because payments by oil and 

natural gas operators are offset by 

receipts by the government. Therefore, 

from a net-benefit accounting 

perspective, transfers are considered 

separately from costs and benefits (and 

are therefore not included in Table 6). 

As explained further in section 2.7 of 

the RIA, the approach to transfers taken 

here is in line with OMB guidance and 

the approach taken for RIAs for other 

rules impacting payments to the 

government, such as the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM)’s waste prevention 

rule. 

One of the reasons that transfers are 

not considered costs is because they 

represent payments to the U.S. Treasury 

that do not affect total resources 

available to society. Payments to the 

U.S. Treasury can then be used to fund 

other programs, and the pairing of 

revenue collection (e.g., the WEC 

payments) with commensurate 

expenditures (e.g., financial assistance 

programs) by the Federal government 

can be designed to be revenue neutral. 

The Methane Emission Reduction 

Program created under CAA section 136 

includes both collection and 

expenditure components. In addition to 

establishing the WEC, another key 

purpose of CAA section 136 is to 

encourage the development of 

innovative technologies in the detection 

and mitigation of methane emissions. 

See 168 Cong. Rec. E869 (August 23, 

2022) (statement of Rep. Frank Pallone). 

CAA section 136(a) and (b) provides 

financial and technical assistance to 

reduce methane emissions from the oil 

and gas sector. To implement this 

program, the EPA is partnering with the 

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to 

provide up to $1.36 billion in financial 

and technical assistance to reduce 

methane emissions from the oil and gas 

sector. As designed by Congress, these 

resources and incentives were intended 

to complement the regulatory programs 

and to help facilitate the transition to a 

more efficient petroleum and natural gas 

industry. These incentives for methane 

mitigation and monitoring complement 

the WEC. 

The WEC has the effect of better 

aligning the economic incentives of oil 

and natural gas companies with the 


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costs and benefits faced by society from 

oil and gas activities. In the baseline 

scenario the environmental damages 

resulting from methane emissions from 

the oil and gas sector are a negative 

externality spread across society as a 

whole. Under the WEC, this negative 

externality is internalized, oil and gas 

companies are required to make WEC 

payments in proportion to the climate 

damages of methane emissions subject 

to the WEC. Alternatively, firms can 

avoid making WEC payments by 

mitigating their emissions generating 

climate benefits associated with the 

amount of mitigation. 

Table 7 provides details of the 

calculation steps used to estimate 

projected WEC obligations and climate 

damages based on projected emissions 

subject to WEC. In order to compare 

projected WEC payments to climate 

damages from emissions subject to the 

WEC, WEC payments are converted 

from nominal dollars to 2019 constant 

dollars using a chain-weighted GDP 

price index from the 2023 Annual 

Energy Outlook. Projected WEC 

payments after accounting for methane 

mitigation and energy market impacts 

are estimated to be about $540 million 

nominal dollars in 2024, and then drop 

significantly as reductions from the EG 

OOOOc are implemented in 2028 and 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

takes effect in 2029. 

TABLE 7—DETAILS OF PROJECTED WEC OBLIGATIONS AND CLIMATE DAMAGES FROM EMISSIONS SUBJECT TO WEC, 

2024 THROUGH 2035 

[Dollar estimates in millions of 2019 dollars] a

Year 

Methane 

emissions 

subject to WEC 

in policy 

scenario 

(thousand metric 

tons) 

Charge specified 

by Congress 

(nominal $ per 

metric ton) 

WEC payments in 

policy scenario 

(million nominal $) 

WEC payments in 

policy scenario 

(million 2019$) 

SC–CH4 values 

at 2 percent 

discount rate 

(2019$ per metric 

ton) 

Climate damages 

from emissions 

subject to WEC 

(million 2019$) a

2024 ...................................................... 600 $900 $540 $450 $1,900 $1,200 

2025 ...................................................... 460 1,200 560 450 2,000 930 

2026 ...................................................... 340 1,500 510 400 2,100 700 

2027 ...................................................... 320 1,500 480 380 2,200 690 

2028 ...................................................... 35 1,500 52 40 2,200 77 

2029 ...................................................... 3 1,500 5 4 2,300 7 

2030 ...................................................... 3 1,500 4 3 2,400 7 

2031 ...................................................... 3 1,500 4 3 2,500 7 

2032 ...................................................... 2 1,500 4 3 2,500 6 

2033 ...................................................... 2 1,500 3 3 2,600 5 

2034 ...................................................... 2 1,500 3 2 2,700 5 

2035 ...................................................... 1 1,500 2 1 2,800 4 

Total 2024–2035 ............................ 1,800 .............................. 2,200 1,700 .............................. 3,600 

a Climate damages are based on remaining methane emissions subject to WEC after accounting for emissions reductions and are calculated using three different 

estimates of the social cost of methane (SC–CH4) (under 1.5 percent, 2.0 percent, and 2.5 percent near-term Ramsey discount rates). For the presentational purposes of this table, we show the climate benefits associated with the SC–CH4 at the 2 percent near-term Ramsey discount rate. 

Compared to the analysis presented in 

the RIA for the January 2024 WEC 

proposal, the RIA analysis reflects some 

updates to methodologies used to 

project impacts reflecting changes in the 

final regulations relative to the proposal 

and updated available data. The 

analysis incorporates broader allowance 

for netting among owner-operators that 

share a common parent company, 

updates to requirements of the 

regulatory compliance exemption, and 

updated base year data from GHGRP for 

2022. 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Additional information about these 

statutes and Executive Orders can be 

found at https://www.epa.gov/lawsregulations/laws-and-executive-orders. 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory 

Review 

This action is a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as defined under section 3(f)(1) 

of Executive Order 12866, as amended 

by Executive Order 14094. Accordingly, 

the EPA submitted this action to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for Executive Order 12866 

review. Documentation of any changes 

made in response to the Executive Order 

12866 review is available in the docket 

for this rulemaking, Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2023–0434. The EPA 

prepared an analysis of the potential 

impacts associated with this action. 

This analysis, Regulatory Impact 

Analysis of the Waste Emissions Charge, 

is also available in the docket to this 

rulemaking and is briefly summarized 

in section V. of this preamble. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

The information collection activities 

in this rulemaking have been submitted 

for approval to the OMB under the PRA. 

The Information Collection Request 

(ICR) document that the EPA prepared 

has been assigned EPA ICR number 

2787.02 (OMB Control No. 2060–0752). 

You can find a copy of the ICR in the 

docket for this rulemaking, Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0434, and it is 

briefly summarized here. The 

information collection requirements are 

not enforceable until OMB approves 

them. Two comments were received 

regarding the proposed ICR. The 

commenters stated that actual costs may 

be higher than estimated by the EPA 

due to unfamiliarity and glitches with 

new programs, that burden would be 

reduced by offering more incentives, 

and that the proposed ICR was in 

conflict with the policy standards under 

the PRA of minimizing paperwork 

burden and the cost to the Federal 

government. The commenters did not 

identify specific aspects of the proposed 

ICR that were overly burdensome nor 

did the commenters identify ways to 

minimize burden to the Agency nor to 

affected WEC respondents. The EPA 

acknowledges the commenters’ 

concerns and consistent with the 

obligation established by CAA section 

136 on the EPA to impose and collect 

a charge, subject to statutorily specified 

exemptions, the EPA has taken steps to 

minimize the added paperwork and 

recordkeeping burden and avoid 

duplicative reporting, while 

maintaining effectiveness of the final 

rule through the utilization of existing 

systems such as the electronic 


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Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool (eGGRT) system. 

The EPA estimates that the final rule 

would result in an increase in burden. 

The burden associated with the final 

rule is due to reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements in the final 

rule. 

This information collection under the 

final rule is necessary for the EPA to 

implement the charge requirements of 

CAA section 136. The filing required by 

the final rule contains information 

identifying the WEC obligated party, the 

list of identification numbers assigned 

by the EPA’s electronic tool for 

submission of GHGRP reports for the 

WEC applicable facilities under the 

WEC obligated party, and for each WEC 

applicable facility, information related 

to the exemptions provided for under 

CAA section 136(f). Additionally, the 

filing includes calculations of the waste 

emissions threshold for each WEC 

applicable facility and emissions subject 

to charge at the level of the WEC 

obligated party (designated as ‘‘net WEC 

emissions’’) and at the individual WEC 

applicable facility level (designated as 

‘‘WEC applicable emissions’’). Each of 

these final reporting requirements are 

necessary for the EPA to determine the 

quantity of methane emissions subject 

to charge. To reduce the burden of data 

reporting under the final rule, the EPA 

plans to utilize the identification 

numbers reported in the final rule to 

link to data reported under the GHGRP. 

Additionally, the final rule amended 40 

CFR part 98, subpart A to harmonize 

reporting obligations under part 98 and 

part 99. 

The respondent reporting burden for 

this collection of information is 

estimated to be an annual average of 

12,876 hours and $1,756,935 over the 3 

years covered by this information 

collection, which includes an annual 

average of $1,726,440 in labor costs, $0 

in operation and maintenance costs, and 

$30,495 in capital costs. The annual 

average incremental burden to the EPA 

for this period is anticipated at 31,200 

hours and $5,783,774 ($2024) over the 

3 years covered by this information 

collection, which includes an annual 

average of $2,117,107 in labor costs and 

$3,666,667 in non-labor costs. 

Respondents/affected entities: 

Owners and operators of petroleum and 

natural gas systems that must submit a 

WEC filing to the EPA to comply with 

40 CFR part 99. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

The respondent’s obligation to respond 

is mandatory under the authority 

provided in CAA sections 114 and 136. 

Estimated number of respondents: 

3,105. 

Frequency of response: Annually. 

Total estimated burden: 12,876 hours 

(per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 

1320.3(b). 

Total estimated cost: $1.8 million (per 

year), includes $30,495 annualized 

capital or operation and maintenance 

costs. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control 

numbers for the EPA’s regulations in 40 

CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9. When 

OMB approves this ICR, the Agency will 

announce that approval in the Federal 

Register and publish a technical 

amendment to 40 CFR part 9 to display 

the OMB control number for the 

approved information collection 

activities contained in this final rule. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

I certify that this final action would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the RFA. The small entities that 

would be subject to the requirements of 

this action are small businesses in the 

petroleum and natural gas industry. 

Small entities include small businesses, 

small organizations, and small 

governmental jurisdictions. The EPA 

has determined that some small entities 

are affected because their processes emit 

methane that must be reported under 

subpart W and thus may be subject to 

WEC. 

To evaluate whether this final rule 

would have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities, the EPA conducted a small 

entity analysis that evaluated the costs 

of the final rule on small entities 

identified in the reporting year (RY) 

2022 subpart W dataset. The EPA used 

reported facility-to-parent company and 

facility-to-owner or operator data to link 

facilities to WEC obligated parties. The 

EPA then reviewed the available RY 

2022 data for the WEC obligated parties 

of subpart W facilities to determine 

whether the reporters were part of a 

small entity and whether the annualized 

costs of the proposal would have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The number of 

small entities potentially affected by the 

WEC regulation were estimated based 

on the information collected for 590 

owners or operators associated with a 

facility within one or more of the 

industry segments identified in CAA 

section 136(d) reporting at least 25,000 

metric tons CO2e under part 98 subpart 

W in RY2022. Of these, 371 were 

identified as small entities. Although 

the screening analysis suggests that 

some small entities may have cost-torevenue ratios that exceed 3 percent 

(approximately 19 percent), the EPA’s 

evaluation of the impacts to small 

entities relied on several methodologies 

involving conservative assumptions. For 

example, the identification and 

classification of subpart W parent 

entities reporting under more than one 

NAICS code resulted in a designation of 

‘‘small’’ based on whether the business 

information available met the SBA size 

classification threshold for a single 

NAICS code. In addition to the 

conservative assumptions, there were 

further mitigating factors not included 

in the screening analysis that would 

likely significantly reduce compliance 

costs, and, as a result, cost-to-revenueratios. For example, the compliance cost 

estimate used only the defined WEC 

cost and did not account for early 

adoption of mitigation measures that 

could lower an entity’s emissions below 

the threshold and therefore result in no 

WEC. Details of this analysis are 

presented in the Regulatory Impact 

Analysis of the Waste Emissions Charge, 

available in the docket for this 

rulemaking. The cumulative effect of the 

mitigating factors and conservative 

assumptions used in the screening 

analysis indicates that, overall, the final 

rule would not have a significant impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This action contains a Federal 

mandate that may result in expenditures 

of $183 million in 2023$ ($100 million 

in 1995$ adjusted for inflation using the 

GDP implicit price deflator) or more as 

described in UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538 

for State, local and Tribal governments, 

in the aggregate, or the private sector in 

any one year. Accordingly, the EPA has 

prepared under section 202 of the 

UMRA a written statement of the 

benefit-cost analysis, which can be 

found in Section V. of this preamble and 

in the Regulatory Impact Analysis of the 

Waste Emissions Charge (RIA), available 

in the docket for this rulemaking. The 

final action in part implements 

mandate(s) specifically and explicitly 

set forth in CAA section 136. 

The applicability, magnitude of 

charge, methane emissions subject to 

charge, and exemptions from charge for 

the WEC program are established by 

CAA section 136(c) through (g). Given 

that this framework is required by 

statute, it is not possible for the EPA to 

consider regulatory alternatives that are 

inconsistent with these elements. As 

such, to evaluate the benefits and costs 

of the final rule, in the RIA 


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accompanying this rulemaking two 

scenarios were evaluated: a baseline 

scenario (i.e., not including the effects of 

the WEC program) and a policy scenario 

inclusive of the costs, benefits, and 

transfers projected under the final rule. 

This action is not subject to the 

requirements of section 203 of UMRA 

because it contains no regulatory 

requirements that might significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. This 

final rule does not apply to 

governmental entities unless the 

government entity owns a facility in the 

applicable petroleum and gas industry 

segments and reports more 25,000 mt 

CO2e to subpart W of the GHGRP. It 

would not impose any implementation 

responsibilities on State, local, or Tribal 

governments and it is not expected to 

increase the cost of existing regulatory 

programs managed by those 

governments. Thus, the impact on 

governments affected by the final rule is 

expected to be minimal. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have Federalism 

implications. It will not have substantial 

direct effects on the States, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. This final rule 

will not apply to governmental entities 

unless the government entity owns a 

facility in the applicable petroleum and 

natural gas industry segments that and 

reports more 25,000 mt CO2e to subpart 

W of the GHGRP. Therefore, the EPA 

anticipates relatively few State or local 

government facilities will be affected. 

However, consistent with the EPA’s 

policy to promote communications 

between the EPA and State and local 

governments, the EPA solicited 

comment on this action from State and 

local officials. 

Specifically, the EPA issued an RFI to 

seek public input through a nonregulatory docket on broad elements of 

the Methane Emissions Reduction 

Program, including waste emissions 

charge revisions, in the early stages of 

its design (see Docket ID. No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2022–0875). The EPA received 

five comments from government entities 

related to implementation of the WEC. 

The EPA also solicited comments on the 

proposal. The EPA received two 

comments from local government 

entities and thirteen comments from 

State or Tribal government entities in 

response to the proposed rulemaking. 

All comments received on the proposed 

rulemaking were considered during the 

development of the final rule. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action has Tribal implications. 

While this action does not preempt 

Tribal law, it will impose direct 

compliance costs on one or more 

Federally recognized Tribal 

governments, and the Federal 

government will not provide the funds 

necessary to pay those costs; however, 

the final rule and the associated 

compliance costs are required by 

statute. This final regulation will apply 

directly to petroleum and natural gas 

facilities that may be owned by Tribal 

governments. However, it will generally 

only have Tribal implications where the 

Tribal entity owns or operates a facility 

in an applicable industry segment that 

emits GHGs above threshold levels or 

potentially where privately owned 

facilities subject to the charge are 

located in Indian country. Based on 

currently available data, the EPA 

anticipates that only one Tribe will be 

directly affected. Of the subpart W 

facilities currently reporting to the 

GHGRP in RY2022, this Tribe is the 

owner or partial owner of three facilities 

currently reporting to part 98. Based on 

RY2022 data, all three facilities would 

be WEC applicable facilities, and the 

WEC applicable emissions (without 

consideration of exemptions) for the 

individual facilities would range from 

less than 0 mt CH4 for one facility, up 

to about 2,700 mt CH4 for the largest 

facility (which corresponds to a WEC 

obligation of around $2.4 million using 

charge of $900/MT). Note that one of the 

facilities is within the onshore natural 

gas processing sector, and thus, this 

calculation utilizes proxy data of CBI 

throughput, which may not reflect the 

actual facility throughput and resulting 

WEC applicable emissions. Each of the 

three facilities has a different owner or 

operator or combination of owners or 

operators, so the Tribe may not be the 

WEC obligated party for all three 

facilities. These estimates do not 

consider any exemptions that might 

apply for the three facilities with 

emissions greater than the facility waste 

emissions threshold. 

In addition to the Tribe that may be 

directly impacted by the WEC due to 

owning a facility subject to the charge, 

the EPA anticipates that Tribes could be 

impacted in cases where privatelyowned facilities subject to the charge are 

located in Indian country. For example, 

the EPA reviewed the location of the 

production wells reported by facilities 

under the Onshore Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Production industry 

segment and found production wells 

reported under subpart W on lands 

associated with approximately 20 

Tribes. Therefore, although the EPA 

anticipates that at most only one Tribe 

may be designated as a WEC obligated 

party and has the potential to be subject 

to the WEC, the EPA has sought 

opportunities to provide information to 

Tribal governments and representatives 

during rule development. Further, 

consistent with the EPA Policy on 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribes, the EPA engaged in 

consultation with Tribal officials during 

the development of this action and 

specifically solicited comment on this 

action from Tribal officials. 

Consistent with the EPA Policy on 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribes, the EPA consulted with 

Tribal officials early in the process of 

developing this regulation to ensure 

meaningful and timely Tribal input into 

its development. On January 26, 2024, 

the EPA invited all 574 Federallyrecognized Tribes to consult on the 

proposed regulation. Separately, 

consistent with EPA’s Guiding 

Principles for Consulting with Alaska 

Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) 

Corporations, EPA invited ANCSA 

corporations to consult on the proposed 

rulemaking. A copy of this letter is 

available in the docket to this 

rulemaking (see Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2023–0434). Only two Tribes 

requested government-to-government 

consultation with the EPA. The EPA 

consulted with the Southern Ute Indian 

Tribe via video conference at 12:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time on March 21, 2024. A 

summary of the consultation with the 

Southern Ute Indian Tribe is provided 

at Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2023– 

0434. The Southern Ute Tribe 

additionally submitted written 

comments to the docket. In response to 

the Ute Indian Tribe’s consultation 

request, the EPA scheduled a video 

conference with the Ute Indian Tribe’s 

Business Committee at 3:30 p.m. Eastern 

Time on April 2, 2024; however, the 

Business Committee informed the EPA 

during the meeting that the video 

conference did not meet the Tribe’s 

requirements for a consultation and 

ended the meeting before providing any 

input on the proposed rulemaking to the 

EPA. The Business Committee informed 

the EPA that the meeting is only 

considered consultation if the meeting 

is in person and on Tribal land, but it 

submitted written comments to the 

docket. 

The EPA encouraged Tribal 

representatives to submit written 

comments through the docket on the 

proposed rulemaking and has 

responded in detail to Tribal comments 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91161 

77USGCRP, 2016: The Impacts of Climate Change 

on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific 

Assessment. Crimmins, A., J. Balbus, J.L. Gamble, 

C.B. Beard, J.E. Bell, D. Dodgen, R.J. Eisen, N. Fann, 

M.D. Hawkins, S.C. Herring, L. Jantarasami, D.M. 

Mills, S. Saha, M.C. Sarofim, J. Trtanj, and L. Ziska, 

Eds. U.S. Global Change Research Program, 

Washington, DC, 312 pp. https://dx.doi.org/ 

10.7930/J0R49NQX. 

78See https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/ 

uploads/2021/01/M-21-12.pdf. 

79The 2021 E.O. 13211 guidance memo states that 

the natural gas production decrease that indicates 

the regulatory action is a significant energy action 

is 40 mcf per year. Because this is a relatively small 

amount of natural gas and previous guidance from 

2001 indicated a threshold of 25 million mcf, we 

assume the 2021 memo was intended to establish 

40 million mcf as the indicator of an adverse energy 

effect. See https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/ 

uploads/2017/11/2001-M-01-27-Guidance-forImplementing-E.O.-13211.pdf. 

in the response to comments document 

on the proposed regulation to address 

Tribal concerns. The EPA has 

considered the Tribal input from the 

coordination and consultation calls and 

public comments in the development of 

the final rule. 

As required by section 7(a), the EPA’s 

Tribal Consultation Official has certified 

that the requirements of the executive 

order have been met in a meaningful 

and timely manner. A copy of the 

certification is included in the docket 

for this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 as applying only to regulatory 

actions that concern environmental 

health or safety risks that the EPA has 

reason to believe may 

disproportionately affect children, per 

the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. This action would not 

establish an environmental standard 

intended to mitigate health or safety 

risks and does not focus on informationgathering actions concerned with 

children’s health. Therefore, this action 

is not subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not concern an 

environmental health risk or safety risk. 

Since this action does not concern 

human health, the EPA’s Policy on 

Children’s Health also does not apply. 

Although this final action does not 

establish an environmental standard 

applicable to methane emissions or 

mandate methane emissions reductions, 

it is expected that the WEC 

implemented under this final action 

would result in elective methane 

mitigation actions by applicable 

facilities in the oil and gas industry in 

order to reduce, or eliminate, the 

imposition of charges. As such, the EPA 

believes that the impacts of this final 

action would result in a reduction in an 

environmental health or safety risk that 

has a disproportionate effect on 

children. Accordingly, the Agency has 

elected to evaluate the environmental 

health and welfare effects of climate 

change on children outside of this 

action. Greenhouse gases, including 

methane, contribute to climate change 

and are emitted in significant quantities 

by the oil and gas industry. The EPA 

believes that the implementation of the 

WEC in this action would improve 

children’s health as a result of methane 

mitigation actions and operational 

changes taken by oil and gas applicable 

facilities to avoid the imposition of 

WEC. The assessment literature cited in 

the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Findings 

concluded that certain populations and 

life stages, including children, the 

elderly, and the poor, are most 

vulnerable to climate-related health 

effects (74 FR 66524, December 15, 

2009). The assessment literature since 

2009 strengthens these conclusions by 

providing more detailed findings 

regarding these groups’ vulnerabilities 

and the projected impacts they may 

experience (e.g., the 2016 Climate and 

Health Assessment).77 These 

assessments describe how children’s 

unique physiological and 

developmental factors contribute to 

making them particularly vulnerable to 

climate change. Impacts to children are 

expected from heat waves, air pollution, 

and infectious and waterborne illnesses 

resulting in physical and mental health 

effects from extreme weather events. In 

addition, children are among those 

especially susceptible to most allergic 

diseases, as well as health effects 

associated with storms and floods. 

Additional health concerns may arise in 

low-income households, especially 

those with children, if climate change 

reduces food availability and increases 

prices, leading to food insecurity within 

households. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This final action is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ because it is not likely to 

have a significant adverse effect on the 

supply, distribution, or use of energy. 

To make this determination, we 

compare the projected change in crude 

oil and natural gas costs and production 

to guidance articulated in a January 13, 

2021 OMB memorandum ‘‘Furthering 

Compliance with Executive Order 

13211, Titled ‘‘Actions Concerning 

Regulations That Significantly Affect 

Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use.’’ 78

With respect to increases in the cost of 

energy production or distribution, the 

guidance indicates that a regulatory 

action produces a significant adverse 

effect if it is expected to increase costs 

in excess of one percent. With respect 

to crude oil production, the guidance 

indicates that a regulatory action 

produces a significant adverse effect if 

it is expected to produce reductions in 

crude oil supply, in excess of 20 million 

barrels per year. With respect to natural 

gas production, the guidance indicates 

that a regulatory action produces a 

significant adverse effect if it reduces 

natural gas production in excess of 40 

million thousand cubic feet (mcf) per 

year.79 The economic impacts analysis 

conducted as part of the RIA 

accompanying this rulemaking 

estimated a maximum impact on the gas 

market of a 0.044 percent price increase 

and a 0.026 percent decrease in 

production. The highest impact year is 

estimated to be in 2026, with a 

production decrease of 10.7 million mcf 

of natural gas. The analysis projected a 

maximum impact on the oil market of 

a 0.03 percent price increase and a 0.026 

percent decrease in production. The 

highest impact year is estimated to be in 

2026. These impacts are substantially 

below the thresholds available in OMB 

memoranda as measures of a significant 

adverse effect on the energy supply. 

Further discussion of this analysis is 

available in the Regulatory Impact 

Analysis of the Waste Emissions Charge, 

available in the docket for this 

rulemaking. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

This rulemaking does not involve 

technical standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations and Executive 

Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation’s 

Commitment to Environmental Justice 

for All 

The EPA concludes that the emissions 

reductions likely to result from this rule 

will improve health and environmental 

outcomes for communities facing 

disproportionate and adverse human 

health effects from the pollution subject 

to the waste emissions charge, including 

communities with environmental justice 

concerns. The EPA finalizes, however, 

to determine that the Executive Order 

charge to perform an environmental 

justice analysis does not apply to this 

rulemaking because it is a rulemaking 

that addresses information collection, 

reporting procedures, and imposition of 

the waste emissions charge directive of 

CAA section 136. Although the EPA 


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anticipates a reduction in methane and 

associated co-pollutant emissions from 

this action, these reductions are not the 

result of emissions standards or 

mandated reductions. 

Although this regulation does not 

require action that will directly affect 

human health or environmental 

conditions, it is expected that the WEC 

implemented under this final action 

would result in elective methane 

mitigation actions by applicable 

facilities in the oil and gas industry in 

order to reduce, or eliminate, the 

imposition of charges. Accordingly, the 

EPA has identified and addressed 

environmental justice concerns by 

electing to conduct a qualitative 

assessment of the environmental justice 

outcomes from the action. The EPA 

believes the human health or 

environmental conditions that exist 

prior to this final action would result in 

or have the potential to result in 

disproportionate and adverse human 

health or environmental effects on 

communities with environmental justice 

concerns. The EPA identified counties 

where Onshore Petroleum and Natural 

Gas Production and/or Onshore 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Gathering 

and Boosting facilities with emissions 

that may be above the waste emissions 

threshold and therefore subject to the 

WEC operated in 2022. These are the 

counties where emissions might change 

due to the WEC. The EPA found that 

there are generally higher percentages of 

low income and members of minority 

groups in these communities who may 

experience higher than average health 

risks. The EPA believes that in aggregate 

the final action will result in reduction 

of methane, hazardous air pollutants, 

and volatile organic compounds, and, 

generally, this result will improve 

environmental justice outcomes. 

The information supporting this 

Executive Order review is contained in 

the Regulatory Impact Analysis of the 

Waste Emissions Charge, available in 

the docket for this rulemaking. 

The EPA has promoted meaningful 

engagement from communities in 

developing this action. The EPA has 

provided several opportunities for 

public engagement. The EPA opened the 

proposed rule for public comment from 

January 26 to March 26, 2024, and 

hosted a virtual public hearing for the 

proposed revisions on February 12, 

2024. The EPA provided three 

informational webinars on the technical 

aspects of the proposed rule on January 

25, February 20, and March 5, 2024. The 

EPA has taken into consideration the 

comments received from representatives 

and stakeholders in the development of 

this final rule. 

K. Congressional Review Act 

This action is subject to the 

Congressional Review Act, and the EPA 

will submit a report on the final rule to 

each House of the Congress and to the 

Comptroller General of the United 

States. This action meets the criteria set 

forth by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

L. Judicial Review 

Under CAA section 307(b)(1), any 

petition for review of this final rule 

must be filed in the U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit by January 17, 2025. This final 

rule establishes requirements applicable 

to owners and operators of facilities in 

the petroleum and natural gas systems 

source category located across the 

United States that are subject to 40 CFR 

part 99 and therefore is ‘‘nationally 

applicable’’ within the meaning of CAA 

section 307(b)(1). Under CAA section 

307(d)(7)(B), only an objection to this 

final rule that was raised with 

reasonable specificity during the period 

for public comment can be raised during 

judicial review. CAA section 

307(d)(7)(B) also provides a mechanism 

for the EPA to convene a proceeding for 

reconsideration, ‘‘[i]f the person raising 

an objection can demonstrate to the EPA 

that it was impracticable to raise such 

objection within [the period for public 

comment] or if the grounds for such 

objection arose after the period for 

public comment (but within the time 

specified for judicial review) and if such 

objection is of central relevance to the 

outcome of the rule.’’ Any person 

seeking to make such a demonstration 

should submit a Petition for 

Reconsideration to the Office of the 

Administrator, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Room 3000, William 

Jefferson Clinton Building, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20460, with an electronic copy to the 

person listed in FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT, and the Associate 

General Counsel for the Air and 

Radiation Law Office, Office of General 

Counsel (Mail Code 2344A), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20004. Note that under CAA section 

307(b)(2), the requirements established 

by this final rule may not be challenged 

separately in any civil or criminal 

proceedings brought by the EPA to 

enforce these requirements. 

M. Determination Under CAA Section 

307(d) 

Pursuant to CAA section 307(d)(1)(V), 

the Administrator determines that this 

action is subject to the provisions of 

CAA section 307(d). Section 

307(d)(1)(V) of the CAA provides that 

the provisions of CAA section 307(d) 

apply to ‘‘such other actions as the 

Administrator may determine.’’ 

N. Severability 

This final rule is multifaceted and 

addresses many separate elements of the 

WEC program established by Congress 

for independent reasons, as detailed in 

each respective portion of this 

preamble. We intend each portion of 

this final rule to be severable from each 

other, though we took the approach of 

including all the parts in one 

rulemaking rather than promulgating 

multiple final rules in order to promote 

coordination of the adoption and 

implementation of the final rule, even 

though many elements are not 

interdependent. Should a reviewing 

court vacate certain elements of the final 

rule and not others, the remaining 

elements can and should function 

independently. 

For example, the provisions for 

calculating the charge, which are largely 

dictated by the statute, are severable 

from the provisions concerning netting 

and exemptions. Notably, the regulatory 

compliance exemption is not available 

until ‘‘methane emissions standards and 

plans pursuant to subsections (b) and 

(d) of section 111 have been approved 

and are in effect in all States with 

respect to the applicable facility.’’ 

Because of the time it will take for 

States to promulgate State plans and the 

EPA to review and approve them or 

issue a Federal plan, the regulatory 

compliance exemption would not be 

available for a few years after this final 

rule. Thus, should a court conclude that 

the EPA erred in codifying the 

regulatory compliance exemption, EPA 

anticipates that it would be able to 

timely address any identified errors. 

Likewise, the calculation 

methodologies and data input elements 

for the WEC calculations reflect the 

differences in thresholds established by 

Congress for certain oil and gas 

operations and the industry segmentspecific methane intensity thresholds 

specified in CAA 136(f) and listed in 

Table 2 of this preamble. If a reviewing 

court were to invalidate any of the 

calculation methodologies for a 

particular segment, the remainder of the 

calculations for other segments subject 

to the WEC would be independent from 

and do not rely on the calculations that 

were to be invalidated. Accordingly, 

each calculation methodology and data 

input element for the WEC calculations 

is severable. This is reflected in the 

structure of the final rule, which 

describes each of the equations for 

calculation of the WEC separately. 


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Moreover, because the calculations as 

established in this rulemaking are direct 

translations of the statute into practical 

terms for ease of implementation, the 

calculations themselves could be done 

even without the specific methodologies 

finalized in this rulemaking. 

The EPA is also finalizing certain 

requirements regarding implementation 

of the netting requirement established in 

CAA section 136(f)(4). To the extent a 

reviewing court were to find any legal 

issue with any element of the EPA’s 

netting requirements as finalized, that 

would have no bearing on the 

implementation of any other elements of 

the netting requirement, or on any other 

aspect of the final rule, including the 

underlying charge obligation. 

Each of the exemptions identified in 

this final rule (emissions from eligible 

delays in environmental permitting 

under CAA section 136(f)(5); the 

regulatory compliance exemption under 

CAA section 136(f)(6); and the plugged 

well exemption under CAA section 

136(f)(7)) are also severable from each 

other and from the other provisions of 

the final rule. Each exemption was 

established independently under each 

separate authority under CAA section 

136 and each regards a different (and 

unrelated) set of factual circumstances. 

Each exemption can function and be 

implemented in the absence of each 

other, and are severable. Additionally, 

certain provisions promulgated within 

each exemption are also severable. For 

instance, the EPA is finalizing a 

determination that plugged wells in the 

underground storage industry segment 

are eligible for the plugged well 

exemption. To the extent that a court 

were to find any legal issue with the 

eligibility of the underground storage 

industry segment for this exemption, it 

would have no bearing on the eligibility 

of wells in the production industry 

segments—nor would it have bearing on 

the application of any other exemption. 

As described in section III. of this 

preamble, the EPA is also finalizing 

certain general requirements and 

establishing confidentiality 

determinations for the reporting of 

certain data elements. Each of these 

requirements continues to be fully 

implementable even in the absence of 

any one or more of these elements, 

because each element is reported and 

evaluated independently pursuant to 

requirements finalized in this 

rulemaking. 

Finally, as described in section II.A. 

of this preamble, the EPA is finalizing 

revisions to the general provisions 

(subpart A) of part 98. These reporting 

requirements are independent of the 

general requirements and other 

reporting requirements under part 99, 

and invalidation of the revisions to 

subpart A of part 98 would have no 

bearing on the EPA’s ability to calculate 

the WEC. Moreover, the WEC rule can 

continue to function irrespective of the 

status of the latest subpart W revisions, 

because if any aspect of those revisions 

were invalidated, the previously 

existing version of the subpart W 

regulation would then apply. 

Thus, the EPA has independently 

considered and adopted portions of the 

final rule (including but not limited to 

the definitions to support WEC 

implementation; provisions related to 

common ownership or control; 

calculation methodologies for each part 

of the WEC; each of the provisions 

regarding the exemptions to the WEC; 

the general requirements of this final 

rule, and establishing confidentiality 

determinations for the reporting of 

certain data elements), and each of these 

components is severable. If a court were 

to invalidate any one of these elements 

of the final rule, we intend the 

remainder of this action to remain 

effective. We have designed these 

different elements of the program to 

function independently; the supporting 

basis for each of these elements of the 

final rule reflects that they are 

independently justified and appropriate; 

and our analysis finding each separate 

portion to be appropriate remains valid 

even in the event that one or more other 

parts of the final rule has been set aside. 

Moreover, this list is not intended to be 

exhaustive, and should not be viewed as 

an intention by the EPA to consider 

other parts of the final rule not 

explicitly listed here as not severable 

from other parts of the final rule. 

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 2 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential business 

information, Courts, Environmental 

protection, Freedom of information, 

Government employees. 

40 CFR Part 98 

Environmental protection, 

Greenhouse gases, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

40 CFR Part 99 

Environmental protection, 

Greenhouse gases, Natural gas, 

Petroleum, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Penalties. 

Michael S. Regan, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency amends title 40, chapter I, of the 

Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 

PART 2—PUBLIC INFORMATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552, 552a, 553; 28 

U.S.C. 509, 510, 534; 31 U.S.C. 3717. 

Subpart B—Confidentiality of Business 

Information 

■ 2. Amend § 2.301 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 2.301 Special rules governing certain 

information obtained under the Clean Air 

Act. 

* * * * * 

(d) Data submitted under parts 98 or 

99 of this chapter. (1) Sections 2.201 

through 2.215 do not apply to data 

submitted under parts 98 or 99 of this 

chapter that EPA has determined, 

pursuant to sections 114(c) and 307(d) 

of the Clean Air Act, to be either of the 

following: 

(i) Emission data. 

(ii) Data not otherwise entitled to 

confidential treatment pursuant to 

section 114(c) of the Clean Air Act. 

(2) Except as otherwise provided in 

this paragraph (d)(2) and (4) of this 

section, §§ 2.201 through 2.215 do not 

apply to data submitted under parts 98 

or 99 of this chapter that EPA has 

determined, pursuant to sections 114(c) 

and 307(d) of the Clean Air Act, to be 

entitled to confidential treatment. EPA 

shall treat that information as 

confidential in accordance with the 

provisions of § 2.211, subject to 

paragraph (d)(4) of this section and 

§ 2.209. 

(3) Upon receiving a request under 5 

U.S.C. 552 for data submitted under 

parts 98 or 99 of this chapter that EPA 

has determined, pursuant to sections 

114(c) and 307(d) of the Clean Air Act, 

to be entitled to confidential treatment, 

the EPA office shall furnish the 

requestor a notice that the information 

has been determined to be entitled to 

confidential treatment and that the 

request is therefore denied. The notice 

shall include or cite to the appropriate 

EPA determination. 

(4) Modification of prior 

confidentiality determination. A 

determination made pursuant to 

sections 114(c) and 307(d) of the Clean 

Air Act that information submitted 

under parts 98 or 99 of this chapter is 

entitled to confidential treatment shall 

continue in effect unless, subsequent to 

the confidentiality determination, EPA 

takes one of the following actions: 

(i) EPA determines, pursuant to 

sections 114(c) and 307(d) of the Clean 


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Air Act, that the information is emission 

data or data not otherwise entitled to 

confidential treatment under section 

114(c) of the Clean Air Act. 

(ii) The Office of General Counsel 

issues a final determination, based on 

the criteria in § 2.208, stating that the 

information is no longer entitled to 

confidential treatment because of 

change in the applicable law or newly 

discovered or changed facts. Prior to 

making such final determination, EPA 

shall afford the business an opportunity 

to submit comments on pertinent issues 

in the manner described by §§ 2.204(e) 

and 2.205(b). If, after consideration of 

any timely comments submitted by the 

business, the Office of General Counsel 

makes a revised final determination that 

the information is not entitled to 

confidential treatment under section 

114(c) of the Clean Air Act, EPA will 

notify the business in accordance with 

the procedures described in 

§ 2.205(f)(2). 

* * * * * 

PART 98—MANDATORY 

GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 98 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q. 

Subpart A—General Provision 

■ 4. Amend § 98.3 by adding paragraph 

(c)(14) to read as follows: 

§ 98.3 What are the general monitoring, 

reporting, recordkeeping and verification 

requirements of this part? 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(14) Additional reporting for facilities 

subject to reporting under subpart W of 

this part. Legal name(s) and physical 

address(es) of each owner and each 

operator of the facility as of December 

31 of the year for which data are being 

reported. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 98.4 by revising 

paragraphs (g), (h), and (n)(2) and 

adding paragraph (o) to read as follows: 

§ 98.4 Authorization and responsibilities of 

the designated representative. 

* * * * * 

(g) Changing a designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative. The designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative identified in a complete 

certificate of representation under this 

section for a facility or supplier received 

by the Administrator may be changed at 

any time upon receipt by the 

Administrator of another later signed, 

complete certificate of representation 

under this section for the facility or 

supplier. Except as provided in 

paragraph (o) of this section, 

notwithstanding any such change, all 

representations, actions, inactions, and 

submissions by the previous designated 

representative or the previous alternate 

designated representative of the facility 

or supplier before the time and date 

when the Administrator receives such 

later signed certificate of representation 

shall be binding on the new designated 

representative and the owners and 

operators of the facility or supplier. 

(h) Changes in owners and operators. 

Except as provided in paragraphs (n) 

and (o) of this section, in the event an 

owner or operator of the facility or 

supplier is not included in the list of 

owners and operators in the certificate 

of representation under this section for 

the facility or supplier, such owner or 

operator shall be deemed to be subject 

to and bound by the certificate of 

representation, the representations, 

actions, inactions, and submissions of 

the designated representative and any 

alternate designated representative of 

the facility or supplier, as if the owner 

or operator were included in such list. 

Within 90 days after any change in the 

owners and operators of the facility or 

supplier (including the addition of a 

new owner or operator), the designated 

representative or any alternate 

designated representative shall submit a 

certificate of representation that is 

complete under this section except that 

such list shall be amended to reflect the 

change. If the designated representative 

or alternate designated representative 

determines at any time that an owner or 

operator of the facility or supplier is not 

included in such list and such exclusion 

is not the result of a change in the 

owners and operators, the designated 

representative or any alternate 

designated representative shall submit, 

within 90 days of making such 

determination, a certificate of 

representation that is complete under 

this section except that such list shall be 

amended to include such owner or 

operator. 

* * * * * 

(n) * * * 

(2) If the entire facility is acquired by 

an owner or operator that already has a 

reporting facility in the same industry 

segment and basin (for onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production or 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting) or State (for 

natural gas distribution), the new owner 

or operator shall merge the acquired 

facility into their existing facility for 

purposes of the annual GHG report. The 

previous owner or operator shall also 

follow the provisions of § 98.2(i)(6) to 

notify EPA that the sold facility will 

discontinue reporting and shall provide 

the e-GGRT identification number of the 

merged, or reconstituted, facility. The 

owner or operator of the merged facility 

shall be responsible for submitting the 

annual report for the merged facility for 

the entire reporting year beginning with 

the reporting year in which the 

acquisition occurred. The owner or 

operator of the merged facility shall 

provide the e-GGRT identification 

number of the acquired facility. 

* * * * * 

(o) Alternative provisions for 

responsibility for submissions and 

revisions to annual GHG reports for 

reporting years prior to changes in 

owners and operators for facilities that 

report under subpart W of this part. If 

there is a change to the owner or 

operator of a facility that reports under 

subpart W of this part on January 17, 

2025 or later and paragraph (o)(3) of this 

section does not apply, the entity (or 

entities) that was (were) the owner or 

operator as of December 31 of each 

reporting year remains responsible for 

submission and any revisions to annual 

reports for that reporting year and if 

applicable, annual GHG reports under 

§ 98.3(h) for reporting years as specified 

in paragraph (o)(6) of this section. If 

paragraph (o)(1) or (o)(2) applies, the 

seller(s) shall select a historic reporting 

representative according to paragraph 

(o)(1) or (o)(2) of this section, as 

applicable, and according to paragraph 

(o)(5) of this section who will be 

responsible for submission (if not 

already submitted before the 

transaction) and revisions to annual 

GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

reporting years as specified in paragraph 

(o)(6) of this section. If there is a change 

to the owner or operator of a facility that 

reports under subpart W of this part that 

occurs during a transaction that results 

in the selling owner(s) and operator(s) 

ceasing to exist or if there is a change 

in owner or operator that occurs after 

December 31, 2024 and prior to January 

17, 2025, the owner(s) and operators(s) 

as of December 31, 2024 and buyer(s) 

shall select a historic reporting 

representative according to paragraph 

(o)(3) or (o)(4) of this section, as 

applicable, and paragraph (o)(5) of this 

section who will be responsible for 

submission (if not already submitted 

before the transaction) and revisions to 

annual GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

reporting years as specified in paragraph 

(o)(6) of this section. If an entire facility 

is merged or acquired by a new owner(s) 

or operator(s), the owner(s) or 


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operator(s) prior to the transaction must 

notify EPA of the date of the last 

transaction that results in a change to 

the owner or operator of the facility and 

the acquiring owner(s) or operator(s) 

must provide the e-GGRT identification 

number of the facility acquired in the 

transaction. For facilities that meet the 

criteria in this paragraph (o), the terms 

Owner and Operator used in this 

subpart A and subpart W of this part 

refer to the owner(s) and operator(s) 

responsible for submission (if not 

already submitted before the 

transaction) and revisions to annual 

GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

reporting years as specified in paragraph 

(o)(6) of this section. 

(1) If a facility reporting under subpart 

W had a single owner or operator as of 

December 31 of the year prior to the 

transaction(s), then within 90 days of a 

transaction(s) that results in a change to 

the owner or operator of the facility 

from the owner or operator as of 

December 31 of that reporting year, the 

owner or operator as of December 31 of 

that reporting year shall select a historic 

reporting representative who will be 

responsible for submission (if not 

already submitted before the 

transaction(s)) and revisions to annual 

GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

reporting years as specified in paragraph 

(o)(6) of this section. The historic 

reporting representative shall be an 

individual selected by an agreement 

binding on the owner or operator as of 

December 31 of that reporting year, 

following the provisions of paragraph 

(b) of this section. 

(2) If a facility reporting under subpart 

W had more than one owner or operator 

as of December 31 of the year prior to 

the transaction(s), then within 90 days 

of a transaction(s) that results in a 

change to the owners or operators of the 

facility from the owners and operators 

of that reporting year, the owners and 

operators, as applicable, as of December 

31 of that reporting year, shall select a 

historic reporting representative who 

will be responsible for submission (if 

not already submitted before the 

transaction(s)) and revisions to annual 

GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

reporting years as specified in paragraph 

(o)(6) of this section. The historic 

reporting representative shall be an 

individual selected by an agreement 

binding on each of the owners and 

operators as of December 31 of that 

reporting year, following the provisions 

of paragraph (b) of this section. If the 

transaction results in a change to the 

owner(s) or operator(s) for the entire 

facility, the new owner(s) or operator(s) 

must notify EPA of the date(s) of each 

transaction that results in a change to 

the owner or operator of the facility and 

must provide the e-GGRT identification 

number of the facility acquired in the 

transaction. 

(3) If a facility is sold by the owner(s) 

or operator(s) as of December 31 of the 

year prior to the transaction and the 

owner(s) or operator(s) selling the 

facility is(are) acquired or all of the 

remaining assets of the owner(s) or 

operators(s) are acquired such that the 

selling owner(s) or operator(s) cease to 

exist as a result of a transaction that 

results in a change to the owner(s) or 

operator(s) of a facility, the owners or 

operators involved in that transaction 

shall select a historic reporting 

representative who will be responsible 

for submission (if not already submitted 

before the transaction) and revisions to 

annual GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

reporting years as specified in paragraph 

(o)(6) of this section. The historic 

reporting representative shall be an 

individual selected by an agreement 

binding on each of the owners and 

operators involved in the transaction, 

following the provisions of paragraph 

(b) of this section. If the transaction 

results in a change to the owner(s) or 

operator(s) for the entire facility, the 

new owner(s) or operator(s) must notify 

EPA of the date(s) of each transaction 

that results in a change to the owner or 

operator of the facility and must provide 

the e-GGRT identification number of the 

facility acquired in the transaction. 

(4) If a facility is sold after December 

31, 2024 and prior to January 17, 2025, 

all of the owners or operators involved 

in that transaction(s) must select a 

historic reporting representative who 

will be responsible for submission (if 

not already submitted before the 

transaction(s)) and revisions to annual 

GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

reporting years as specified in paragraph 

(o)(6) of this section. The historic 

reporting representative shall be an 

individual selected by an agreement 

binding on each of the owners and 

operators involved in the transaction(s), 

following the provisions of paragraph 

(b) of this section. If the transaction 

results in a change to the owner(s) or 

operator(s) for the entire facility, the 

new owner(s) or operator(s) must notify 

EPA of the date(s) of each transaction 

that results in a change to the owner or 

operator of the facility and must provide 

the e-GGRT identification number of the 

facility acquired in the transaction. 

(5) The provisions of paragraphs (b), 

(c), (e), (f), (g), and (m) of this section 

apply to the historic reporting 

representative selected in paragraphs 

(o)(1) through (4) of this section by 

substituting the term ‘‘historic reporting 

representative’’ for ‘‘designated 

representative.’’ The provisions of 

paragraph (i) of this section apply to the 

historic reporting representative by 

adding the term ‘‘historic reporting 

representative and any historic alternate 

designated representative to instances of 

‘‘the designated representative and any 

alternate designated representative.’’ 

(6) Following a transaction as 

specified in this paragraph (o), the 

owner(s) or operator(s) relevant as 

specified in this paragraph (o) (and their 

selected historic reporting 

representative as specified in this 

paragraph (o)) remain responsible for 

submission (if not already submitted 

before the transaction) and any revisions 

to annual reports for the reporting year 

prior to the transaction and, if 

applicable, annual GHG reports under 

§ 98.3(h) for additional reporting years 

prior to the transaction as specified in 

paragraphs (o)(6)(i) and (ii) of this 

section. If the responsible owner(s) or 

operators(s) are acquired such that the 

owner(s) or operator(s) as of cease to 

exist as a result of a transaction, the 

acquiring owners would become 

responsible for submission (if not 

already submitted before the 

transaction) and any revisions to annual 

reports for the reporting year prior to the 

transaction and, if applicable, annual 

GHG reports under § 98.3(h) for 

additional reporting years prior to the 

transaction as specified in paragraphs 

(o)(6)(i) and (ii) of this section. 

(i) For the first transaction that occurs 

as specified in this paragraph (o), all 

reporting years prior to the reporting 

year prior to the transaction. 

(ii) For each transaction after the first 

transaction that occurs as specified in 

this paragraph (o), all reporting years 

prior to the reporting year in which the 

transaction occurred and for which the 

owner(s) or operator(s) was (were) the 

owner(s) or operator(s) for the facility as 

of December 31st of the reporting year 

(and for which the historic reporting 

representative represents). 

■ 6. Add part 99 to read as follows: 

PART 99—WASTE EMISSIONS 

CHARGE 

Sec. 

Subpart A—General Provisions 

99.1 Purpose and scope. 

99.2 Definitions. 

99.3 Who must file? 

99.4 How do I authorize and what are the 

responsibilities of the designated 

representative? 

99.5 When must I file and remit the 

applicable WEC obligation? 

99.6 How do I file? 

99.7 What are the general reporting, 

recordkeeping, and verification 

requirements of this part? 


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99.8 What are the general provisions for 

assessment of the WEC obligation? 

99.9 How are payments required by this 

part made? 

99.10 What fees apply to delinquent 

payments? 

99.11 What are the compliance and 

enforcement provisions of this part? 

99.12 What addresses apply for this part? 

99.13 What are the confidentiality 

determinations and related procedures 

for this part? 

Subpart B—Determining Waste Emissions 

Charge 

99.20 How will the waste emissions 

threshold for each WEC applicable 

facility be determined? 

99.21 How will the WEC applicable 

emissions for a WEC applicable facility 

be determined? 

99.22 How will the net WEC emissions for 

a WEC obligated party be determined? 

99.23 How will the transfer of negative net 

WEC emissions for facilities under the 

same parent company be determined? 

99.24 How will the WEC Obligation for a 

WEC obligated party be determined? 

Subpart C—Unreasonable Delay Exemption 

99.30 Who qualifies for the exemption for 

emissions caused by an unreasonable 

delay in environmental permitting of 

gathering or transmission infrastructure? 

99.31 What are the reporting requirements 

for the exemption for emissions caused 

by an unreasonable delay in 

environmental permitting of gathering or 

transmission infrastructure? 

99.32 How are the methane emissions 

caused by an unreasonable delay in 

environmental permitting of gathering or 

transmission infrastructure quantified? 

99.33 What are the recordkeeping 

requirements for methane emissions 

caused by an unreasonable delay in 

environmental permitting of gathering or 

transmission infrastructure? 

Subpart D—Regulatory Compliance 

Exemption 

99.40 When is the regulatory compliance 

exemption available, and under what 

conditions does the exemption cease to 

be available? 

99.41 Which facilities qualify for the 

exemption for regulatory compliance? 

99.42 What are the reporting requirements 

for the exemption for regulatory 

compliance? 

99.43 How are the emissions qualifying for 

regulatory compliance exemption in the 

reporting year quantified? 

Subpart E—Exemption for Permanently 

Shut-in and Plugged Wells 

99.50 Who qualifies for the exemption of 

emissions from permanently shut-in and 

plugged wells? 

99.51 What are the reporting requirements 

for the exemption for wells that were 

permanently shut-in and plugged? 

99.52 How are the net emissions 

attributable to all wells at a WEC 

applicable facility that were permanently 

shut-in and plugged in the reporting year 

quantified? 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q; 31 

U.S.C. 3717. 

Subpart A—General Provisions 

§ 99.1 Purpose and scope. 

(a) This part establishes requirements 

for owners and operators of certain 

petroleum and natural gas systems 

facilities to make filings and be assessed 

waste emission charges as required by 

section 136 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). 

(b) Owners and operators of facilities 

that are subject to this part must follow 

the requirements of this subpart and all 

applicable subparts of this part. If a 

conflict exists between a provision in 

subpart A and any other applicable 

subpart, the requirements of the 

applicable subpart of this chapter shall 

take precedence. 

§ 99.2 Definitions. 

All terms used in this part shall have 

the same meaning given in the Clean Air 

Act, unless as defined in this section. 

Terms defined here only apply to this 

part. 

Act means the Clean Air Act, as 

amended, 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq. 

Administrator means the 

Administrator of the United States 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

or the Administrator’s authorized 

representative. 

Affected facility means, for the 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption of this part, affected 

facilities, as defined in part 60, subpart 

A of this chapter, that are subject to 

methane emissions requirements 

pursuant to part 60 of this chapter. 

Applicable facility means a facility 

within one or more of the following 

industry segments, as those industry 

segment terms are defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter. In the case where 

operations from two or more industry 

segments are co-located at the same part 

98 reporting facility, operations for all 

co-located segments constitute a single 

applicable facility under this part: 

(1) Offshore petroleum and natural 

gas production. 

(2) Onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production. 

(3) Onshore natural gas processing. 

(4) Onshore natural gas transmission 

compression. 

(5) Underground natural gas storage. 

(6) Liquefied natural gas storage. 

(7) Liquefied natural gas import and 

export equipment. 

(8) Onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting. 

(9) Onshore natural gas transmission 

pipeline. 

Carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2e 

means the number of metric tons of CO2

emissions with the same global warming 

potential as one metric ton of another 

greenhouse gas and is calculated using 

equation A–1 in § 98.2(b) of this 

chapter. 

Designated facility means, for 

purposes of the regulatory compliance 

exemption of this part, designated 

facilities, as defined in § 60.21a(b) of 

this chapter, subject to methane 

emissions requirements pursuant to a 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan 

implementing part 60 of this chapter. 

Deviation means, for the purposes of 

the regulatory compliance exemption of 

this part, the same meaning as defined 

in part 60, subparts OOOOb and 

OOOOc of this chapter. 

Facility applicable emissions means 

the annual methane emissions, as 

calculated in § 99.21, associated with a 

Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) 

applicable facility that are either equal 

to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for the WEC 

applicable facility prior to consideration 

of any applicable exemptions. 

Facility ID number means the 

identification number assigned to a 

facility by the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Program (GHGRP). 

Gas to oil ratio (GOR) means the ratio 

of the volume of gas at standard 

temperature and pressure that is 

produced from a volume of oil when 

depressurized to standard temperature 

and pressure. 

Gathering and boosting site means a 

single gathering compressor station as 

defined in this section, centralized oil 

production site as defined in this 

section, gathering pipeline site as 

defined in this section, or other fenceline site within the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segment. 

Gathering and boosting system means 

a single network of pipelines, 

compressors and process equipment, 

including equipment to perform natural 

gas compression, dehydration, and acid 

gas removal, that has one or more 

connection points to gas and oil 

production or one or more other 

gathering and boosting systems and a 

downstream endpoint, typically a gas 

processing plant, transmission pipeline, 

Local gas distribution company (LDC) 

pipeline, or other gathering and 

boosting system. 

Gathering and boosting system owner 

or operator means any person that holds 

a contract in which they agree to 

transport petroleum or natural gas from 

one or more onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production wells or one or 

more other gathering and boosting 

systems to a downstream endpoint, 

typically a natural gas processing 


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facility, another gathering and boosting 

system, a natural gas transmission 

pipeline, or a distribution pipeline, or 

any person responsible for custody of 

the petroleum or natural gas 

transported. 

Global warming potential or GWP 

means the ratio of the time-integrated 

radiative forcing from the instantaneous 

release of one kilogram of a trace 

substance relative to that of one 

kilogram of a reference gas (i.e., CO2). 

GWPs for each greenhouse gas are 

provided in Table A–1 of part 98, 

subpart A of this chapter. 

Greenhouse gas or GHG means the air 

pollutants carbon dioxide (CO2), 

hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane 

(CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), 

perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur 

hexafluoride (SF6). 

Natural gas means a naturally 

occurring mixture or process derivative 

of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon 

gases found in geologic formations 

beneath the earth’s surface, of which its 

constituents include, but are not limited 

to, methane, heavier hydrocarbons, and 

carbon dioxide. Natural gas may be field 

quality, pipeline quality, or process gas. 

Net WEC emissions means the sum of 

WEC applicable emissions from 

facilities with the same WEC obligated 

party as calculated pursuant to § 99.22 

using equation B–8 of this part. If the 

conditions specified in § 99.7(b)(1)(iv) 

apply for a reporting year, a single WEC 

obligated party may have multiple net 

WEC emissions totals for that reporting 

year. 

Net WEC emissions after transfers 

means the total quantity of methane 

emissions subject to charge for a WEC 

obligated party. If the WEC obligated 

party is not eligible to, or elects not to, 

transfer or receive negative net WEC 

emissions pursuant to § 99.23, the net 

WEC emissions after transfers are 

determined pursuant to § 99.22. If the 

WEC obligated party transfers or 

receives negative net WEC emissions 

pursuant to § 99.23, the net WEC 

emissions after transfers reflect such 

transfers subject to the requirements of 

§ 99.23. 

Nonproduction sector means facilities 

in the onshore natural gas processing, 

the liquefied natural gas storage, the 

liquefied natural gas import and export 

equipment, and the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segments as those industry 

segments are defined in § 98.230 of this 

chapter. 

Onshore natural gas transmission 

pipeline owner or operator means, for 

interstate pipelines, the person 

identified as the transmission pipeline 

owner or operator on the Certificate of 

Public Convenience and Necessity 

issued under 15 U.S.C. 717f, or, for 

intrastate pipelines, the person 

identified as the owner or operator on 

the transmission pipeline’s Statement of 

Operating Conditions under section 311 

of the Natural Gas Policy Act, or for 

pipelines that fall under the ‘‘Hinshaw 

Exemption’’ as referenced in section 1(c) 

of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. 717– 

717 (w)(1994), the person identified as 

the owner or operator on blanket 

certificates issued under 18 CFR 

284.224. If an intrastate pipeline is not 

subject to section 311 of the Natural Gas 

Policy Act (NGPA), the onshore natural 

gas transmission pipeline owner or 

operator is the person identified as the 

owner or operator on reports to the State 

regulatory body regulating rates and 

charges for the sale of natural gas to 

consumers. 

Onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production owner or operator means the 

person or entity who holds the permit 

to operate petroleum and natural gas 

wells on the drilling permit or an 

operating permit where no drilling 

permit is issued, which operates a 

facility in the onshore petroleum and/or 

natural gas production industry segment 

(as that industry segment is defined in 

§ 98.230(a)(2) of this chapter). Where 

petroleum and natural gas wells operate 

without a drilling or operating permit, 

the person or entity that pays the State 

or Federal business income taxes is 

considered the owner or operator. 

Operator means, except as otherwise 

defined in this section, any person who 

operates or supervises a facility. 

Owner means, except as otherwise 

defined in this section, any person who 

has legal or equitable title to, has a 

leasehold interest in, or control of an 

applicable facility, except a person 

whose legal or equitable title to or 

leasehold interest in the facility arises 

solely because the person is a limited 

partner in a partnership that has legal or 

equitable title to, has a leasehold 

interest in, or control of the facility shall 

not be considered an ‘‘owner’’ of the 

facility. 

Parent company means the United 

States parent company. 

Part 98 report means the annual 

report required under part 98 of this 

chapter for owners and operators of 

certain facilities under the Petroleum 

and Natural Gas Systems source 

category. 

Petroleum means oil removed from 

the earth and the oil derived from tar 

sands and shale. 

Production sector means facilities in 

the offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production and the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production industry 

segments as those industry segments are 

defined in § 98.230 of this chapter. 

Qualified Professional Engineer 

means an individual who is licensed by 

a State as a Professional Engineer to 

practice in one or more disciplines of 

engineering, is in good standing and 

who is qualified by education, technical 

knowledge, and experience to review 

and interpret the records required under 

this subpart. 

Reporting year means the calendar 

year during which data are required to 

be collected for purposes of the annual 

WEC filing. For example, reporting year 

2024 is January 1, 2024, through 

December 31, 2024, and the annual 

WEC filing for reporting year 2024 is 

submitted to the EPA by August 31, 

2025. 

Standard temperature and pressure 

means 60 °F and 14.7 psia. 

Transmission sector means facilities 

in the onshore natural gas transmission 

compression, the underground natural 

gas storage, and the onshore 

transmission pipeline industry segments 

as those industry segments are defined 

in § 98.230 of this chapter. 

United States parent company(s) 

means the highest-level United States 

company(s), as reported under § 98.3 of 

this chapter for a WEC applicable 

facility, with an ownership interest in 

the facility as of December 31 of the year 

for which data are being reported. 

Waste emissions threshold means the 

metric tons of methane emissions 

calculated by multiplying WEC 

applicable facility throughput by the 

industry segment-specific methane 

intensity thresholds established in CAA 

section 136(f) and the density of 

methane (0.0192 metric ton per 

thousand standard cubic feet). 

WEC means waste emissions charge, 

the charge established in CAA section 

136(c) on methane emissions that 

exceed certain thresholds. 

WEC applicable emissions means the 

annual methane emissions, as 

calculated in § 99.21, associated with a 

WEC applicable facility that are either 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for the WEC 

applicable facility after consideration of 

any applicable exemptions. 

WEC applicable facility means an 

applicable facility, as defined in this 

section, for which the owner(s) or 

operator(s) of the part 98 of this chapter 

reporting facility was (were) required to 

report GHG emissions under part 98, 

subpart W of this chapter of more than 

25,000 metric tons CO2e for the 

reporting year. 

WEC filing means the report and 

payment of applicable WEC obligation 

required to be submitted by a WEC 


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obligated party under the requirements 

of this chapter. The WEC filing contains 

information regarding the WEC 

obligated party and WEC applicable 

facilities for the previous reporting year. 

For example, the WEC filing due on 

August 31, 2025 contains information 

regarding reporting year 2024, which is 

January 1, 2024 through December 31, 

2024. 

WEC obligated party means the WEC 

applicable facility’s owner or operator 

as defined in this section for the 

applicable industry segment as of 

December 31 of the reporting year or 

that became an owner or operator of the 

WEC applicable facility in a transaction 

occurring subsequent to the end of the 

reporting year (i.e., between January 1 

and December 31 of the year following 

the reporting year) that resulted in the 

owner(s) or operator(s) of the facility as 

of December 31 of the reporting year 

ceasing to exist prior to the WEC filing 

date pursuant to § 99.5. In cases where 

a WEC applicable facility has more than 

one owner or operator, the WEC 

obligated party must be one of the 

owners or operators of the facility 

selected by an agreement binding on 

each of the owners and operators of the 

facility, following the provisions of 

§ 99.4(b). Each WEC applicable facility 

must have only one WEC obligated 

party for a reporting year. 

WEC obligation means the WEC 

charge amount resulting from the 

calculations in § 99.24. 

Well identification (ID) number means 

the unique and permanent identification 

number assigned to a petroleum or 

natural gas well. If the well has been 

assigned a US Well Number, the well ID 

number required in this subpart is the 

US Well Number. If a US Well Number 

has not been assigned to the well, the 

well ID number is the identifier 

established by the well’s permitting 

authority. 

Well-pad site means all equipment on 

or associated with a single well-pad. 

Specifically, the well-pad site includes 

all equipment on a single well-pad plus 

all equipment associated with that 

single well-pad. 

You means a WEC obligated party 

subject to this part. 

§ 99.3 Who must file? 

WEC obligated parties, as defined in 

§ 99.2, are required to submit a WEC 

filing and remit applicable WEC 

obligations and payments. 

§ 99.4 How do I authorize and what are the 

responsibilities of the designated 

representative? 

Each WEC obligated party must 

follow the procedures in paragraphs (a) 

through (l) of this section, as applicable, 

to identify a WEC obligated party 

designated representative. In cases 

where a WEC applicable facility has 

more than one owner or operator, the 

WEC obligated party shall be an owner 

or operator selected by an agreement 

binding on each of the owners and 

operators involved with the facility, 

following the provisions of paragraph 

(b) of this section. Failure to select a 

WEC obligated party for each WEC 

applicable facility with multiple owners 

or operators following the procedures of 

paragraph (b) of this section is 

considered a violation of this part for 

each owner and operator (as defined in 

§ 99.2 of this part) for the applicable 

industry segment of the associated WEC 

applicable facility. If an owner or 

operator acquires a WEC applicable 

facility in a transaction occurring 

subsequent to the end of the reporting 

year (i.e., between January 1 and 

December 31 of the year following the 

reporting year) that resulted in the 

owner(s) or operator(s) of the facility as 

of December 31 of the reporting year 

ceasing to exist prior to the WEC filing 

date pursuant to § 99.5, the acquiring 

owner or operator shall be considered 

the WEC obligated party for that facility. 

(a) General. Except as provided under 

paragraph (f) of this section, each WEC 

obligated party that is subject to this 

part shall have one designated 

representative, who shall be responsible 

for certifying, signing, and submitting 

WEC filings or other submissions to the 

Administrator under this part. 

(b) Authorization of a designated 

representative. The designated 

representative of each WEC obligated 

party shall be an individual selected by 

an agreement binding on the owner and 

operator of such entity and shall act in 

accordance with the certification 

statement in paragraph (i) of this 

section. Failure of a WEC obligated 

party to authorize a designated 

representative following the procedures 

of this section is considered a violation 

of this part. 

(c) Responsibility of the designated 

representative. Upon receipt by the 

Administrator of a complete certificate 

of representation under this section for 

the WEC obligated party, the designated 

representative identified in such 

certificate of representation shall 

represent and, by their representations, 

actions, inactions, or submissions, 

legally bind the WEC obligated party in 

all matters pertaining to this part, 

notwithstanding any agreement between 

the designated representative and said 

WEC obligated party. The owner and 

operator shall be bound by any decision 

or order issued to the designated 

representative by the Administrator or a 

court. 

(d) Timing. No WEC filing or other 

submissions under this part for a WEC 

obligated party will be accepted until 

the Administrator has received a 

complete certificate of representation for 

the reporting year under this section for 

a designated representative of the WEC 

obligated party. Such certificate of 

representation shall be submitted at 

least 60 days before the deadline for 

submission of the WEC obligated party’s 

WEC filing under § 99.5 in each 

reporting year. 

(e) Certification of the WEC filing. 

Each WEC filing and any other 

submission under this part for a WEC 

obligated party shall be certified, signed, 

and submitted by the designated 

representative or any alternate 

designated representative of the WEC 

obligated party in accordance with this 

section and § 3.10 of this chapter. 

(1) Each such submission shall 

include the following certification 

statement signed by the designated 

representative or any alternate 

designated representative: ‘‘I am 

authorized to make this submission on 

behalf of the WEC obligated party, for 

which the submission is made. I certify 

under penalty of law that I have 

personally examined, and am familiar 

with, the statements and information 

submitted in this document and all its 

attachments. Based on my inquiry of 

those individuals with primary 

responsibility for obtaining the 

information, I certify that the statements 

and information are to the best of my 

knowledge and belief true, accurate, and 

complete. I am aware that there are 

significant penalties for submitting false 

statements and information or omitting 

required statements and information, 

including the possibility of fine or 

imprisonment.’’ 

(2) The Administrator will accept a 

WEC filing or other submission for a 

WEC obligated party under this part 

only if the submission is certified, 

signed, and submitted in accordance 

with this section. 

(f) Alternate designated 

representative. A certificate of 

representation under this section for the 

WEC obligated party may designate one 

alternate designated representative, who 

shall be an individual selected by an 

agreement binding on the owner and 

operator, and may act on behalf of the 

WEC obligated party designated 

representative. The agreement by which 

the alternate designated representative 

is selected shall include a procedure for 

authorizing the alternate designated 

representative to act in lieu of the 

designated representative. 


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(1) Upon receipt by the Administrator 

of a complete certificate of 

representation under this section for a 

WEC obligated party identifying an 

alternate designated representative, the 

following apply. 

(i) The alternate WEC obligated party 

designated representative may act on 

behalf of the WEC obligated party 

designated representative. 

(ii) Any representation, action, 

inaction, or submission by the alternate 

designated representative shall be 

deemed to be a representation, action, 

inaction, or submission by the WEC 

obligated party designated 

representative. 

(2) Except in this section, whenever 

the term ‘‘designated representative’’ is 

used in this part, the term shall be 

construed to include the designated 

representative or any alternate 

designated representative. 

(g) Changing a designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative. The designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative identified in a complete 

certificate of representation under this 

section for a WEC obligated party 

received by the Administrator may be 

changed at any time upon receipt by the 

Administrator of another later signed, 

complete certificate of representation 

under this section for the WEC obligated 

party. Notwithstanding any such 

change, all representations, actions, 

inactions, and submissions by the 

previous designated representative or 

the previous alternate designated 

representative of the WEC obligated 

party before the time and date when the 

Administrator receives such later signed 

certificate of representation shall be 

binding on the new designated 

representative and the owner and 

operator of the WEC obligated party. 

(h) Changes in the WEC obligated 

party. Within 90 days after any change 

in the WEC obligated party, the 

designated representative or any 

alternate designated representative shall 

submit a certificate of representation 

that is complete under this section to 

reflect the change. 

(i) Certificate of representation. The 

annual certificate of representation shall 

be complete if it includes the following 

elements in a format prescribed by the 

Administrator in accordance with this 

section: 

(1) Identification of the WEC obligated 

party and the United States address of 

the WEC obligated party for which the 

certificate of representation is 

submitted. 

(2) The name, organization name 

(company affiliation-employer), address, 

email address, telephone number, and 

facsimile transmission number (if any) 

of the designated representative and any 

alternate designated representative. 

(3) The facility ID number for each 

WEC applicable facility comprising the 

WEC obligated party. 

(4) The name and United States 

address of the parent company for 

purposes of netting under subpart B of 

this part for the WEC obligated party 

and the WEC applicable facilities. The 

indicated parent company must meet 

the requirements specified in 

paragraphs (i)(4)(i) and (ii) of this 

section. As an alternative to reporting a 

parent company, the WEC obligated 

party may be listed and paragraphs 

(i)(4)(i) and (ii) of this section do not 

apply. 

(i) The indicated parent company 

must have been reported pursuant to 

§ 98.3(c)(11) of this chapter for each 

WEC applicable facility listed in the 

certificate of representation for which 

the WEC obligated party was an owner 

or operator of the facility as of December 

31 of the reporting year and was 

reported pursuant to § 98.3(c)(14) of this 

chapter. 

(ii) The WEC obligated party must be 

a subsidiary of, or partially owned by, 

the indicated parent company. 

(5) The following certification 

statements by the designated 

representative and any alternate 

designated representative: 

(i) ‘‘I certify that I was selected as the 

designated representative or alternate 

designated representative, as applicable, 

by an agreement binding on the WEC 

obligated party.’’ 

(ii) ‘‘I certify that I have all the 

necessary authority to carry out my 

duties and responsibilities under 40 

CFR part 99 on behalf of the WEC 

obligated party and that such owner and 

operator shall be fully bound by my 

representations, actions, inactions, or 

submissions.’’ 

(iii) ‘‘I certify that the owner and 

operator of the WEC obligated party, as 

applicable, shall be bound by any order 

issued to me by the Administrator or a 

court therein.’’ 

(iv) If there are multiple owners and/ 

or operators reported pursuant to 

§ 98.3(c)(14) of this chapter for any WEC 

applicable facility listed in the 

certificate of representation pursuant to 

paragraph (i)(5) of this section, for each 

facility, ‘‘I certify that I have given a 

written notice of my selection as the 

‘designated representative’ or ‘alternate 

designated representative’, as 

applicable, and of the agreement by 

which I was selected to each owner and 

operator of the WEC applicable facility 

for which there are multiple owners 

and/or operators.’’ 

(6) The signature of the designated 

representative and any alternate 

designated representative and the dates 

signed. 

(j) Documents of agreement. Unless 

otherwise required by the 

Administrator, documents of agreement 

referred to in the certificate of 

representation shall not be submitted to 

the Administrator. The Administrator 

shall not be under any obligation to 

review or evaluate the sufficiency of 

such documents, if submitted. 

(k) Binding nature of the certificate of 

representation. Once a complete 

certificate of representation under this 

section for a WEC obligated party has 

been received, the Administrator will 

rely on the certificate of representation 

unless and until a later signed, complete 

certificate of representation under this 

section for the facility is received by the 

Administrator. 

(l) Objections concerning a designated 

representative. (1) Except as provided in 

paragraph (g) of this section, no 

objection or other communication 

submitted to the Administrator 

concerning the authorization, or any 

representation, action, inaction, or 

submission, of the designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative shall affect any 

representation, action, inaction, or 

submission of the designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative, or the finality of any 

decision or order by the Administrator 

under this part. 

(2) The Administrator will not 

adjudicate any private legal dispute 

concerning the authorization or any 

representation, action, inaction, or 

submission of any designated 

representative or alternate designated 

representative. 

§ 99.5 When must I file and remit the 

applicable WEC obligation? 

Each WEC obligated party must 

submit their WEC filing including the 

information specified in § 99.7, which 

contains payment of the applicable WEC 

obligation no later than August 31 of the 

year following the reporting year. All 

filing revisions must be received 

according to the schedule in § 99.7(e) to 

be considered for revisions to WEC 

obligations. If the submission date falls 

on a weekend or a Federal holiday, the 

submission date shall be extended to the 

next business day. 

§ 99.6 How do I file? 

Each WEC filing, certificate of 

representation, and remittance of 

applicable WEC fees for the WEC 

obligated party must be submitted 

electronically in accordance with the 


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requirements of this part and in a format 

specified by the Administrator. 

§ 99.7 What are the general reporting, 

recordkeeping, and verification 

requirements of this part? 

The WEC obligated party that is 

subject to the requirements of this part 

must submit a WEC filing to the 

Administrator as specified in this 

section. 

(a) Schedule. The WEC filing must be 

submitted in accordance with § 99.5. 

(b) Content of the WEC filing. For each 

WEC obligated party, report the 

information in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) 

through (vii) of this section. For each 

WEC applicable facility comprising the 

WEC obligated party, report the 

information in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) 

through (xiii) of this section, as 

appropriate. The WEC filing must also 

include payment of applicable WEC 

obligation, as specified in paragraph 

(b)(3) of this section. 

(1) Reporting requirements at the 

WEC obligated party level. 

(i) The WEC obligated party company 

name. 

(ii) The United States address for the 

WEC obligated party. 

(iii) The list of facility ID number(s) 

under which the WEC applicable 

facilities comprising the WEC obligated 

party as of December 31 of the reporting 

year reported under part 98, subpart W 

of this chapter. 

(iv) If the WEC obligated party 

acquired one or more WEC applicable 

facilities in a transaction occurring 

subsequent to the end of the reporting 

year (i.e., between January 1 and 

December 31 of the year following the 

reporting year) that resulted in the 

owner(s) or operator(s) of the facility as 

of December 31 of the reporting year 

ceasing to exist prior to the WEC filing 

date pursuant to § 99.5, report the 

facility ID number for each WEC 

applicable facility. You must include 

these WEC applicable facilities in the 

reporting requirements under 

§ 99.7(b)(2). For each such WEC 

applicable facility, also report an 

indication of whether the parent 

company identified in paragraph 

(b)(1)(vi) of this section was reported in 

the part 98 report for the reporting year 

pursuant to § 98.3(c)(11) of this chapter. 

For any such WEC applicable facilities 

that were not associated with the parent 

company identified in paragraph 

(b)(1)(vi) of this section, you may elect 

to report a parent company for that WEC 

applicable facility subject to the 

requirement that such parent company 

must have been reported in the part 98 

report for the reporting year pursuant to 

§ 98.3(c)(11) of this chapter for that 

facility. 

(v) The net WEC emissions, as 

calculated pursuant to § 99.22, net WEC 

emissions after transfers, following the 

provisions of § 99.23, and WEC 

obligation, as calculated pursuant to 

§ 99.24, for the WEC obligated party. If 

the condition specified in 

§ 99.7(b)(1)(iv) applies for the reporting 

year, report separately the net WEC 

emissions, net WEC emissions after 

transfers, and WEC obligation associated 

with each WEC applicable facility that 

was acquired. 

(vi) The parent company for purposes 

of netting under subpart B of this part 

for the WEC obligated party and the 

WEC applicable facilities. The indicated 

parent company must meet the 

requirements specified in paragraphs 

(b)(1)(vi)(A) and (B) of this section. As 

an alternative to reporting a parent 

company, the WEC obligated party may 

be listed and paragraphs (b)(1)(vi)(A) 

and (B) of this section do not apply. 

(A) The indicated parent company 

must have been reported pursuant to 

§ 98.3(c)(11) of this chapter for each 

WEC applicable facility listed pursuant 

to paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section. 

(B) The WEC obligated party must be 

a subsidiary of, or partially owned by, 

the indicated parent company. 

(vii) The United States address of the 

parent company, if electing to report a 

parent company for purposes of netting 

under subpart B of this part. 

(2) Reporting requirements for each 

WEC applicable facility comprising the 

WEC obligated party. 

(i) The facility ID number under 

which the WEC applicable facility 

emissions are reported under part 98, 

subpart W of this chapter. 

(ii) The industry segment(s) for the 

WEC applicable facility. 

(iii) For WEC applicable facilities in 

the offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production or onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production industry 

segment, as those industry segment 

terms are defined in § 98.230 of this 

chapter, if the conditions specified in 

§ 99.30 regarding emissions from delays 

in permitting are met, indicate if you are 

electing to claim for exemption any 

emissions from delays in permitting. If 

so, you must provide information as 

specified in § 99.31. 

(iv) If the WEC applicable facility 

meets the conditions specified in 

§ 99.41(a) and (b) regarding the 

regulatory compliance exemption, 

indicate if you are electing to claim for 

exemption any emissions related to 

regulatory compliance. If so, you must 

report the following: 

(A) A list of the State(s) and/or Tribal 

land(s) meeting the conditions specified 

in § 99.40 for the reporting year in 

which the WEC applicable facility is 

located. For WEC applicable facilities in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production or onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segments, as those industry 

segment terms are defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter, a WEC applicable facility 

is considered to be located in each State 

or Tribal lands within which a well-pad 

site or gathering and boosting site, as 

applicable, was reported pursuant to 

§§ 98.236(aa)(1)(iv)(C) or (aa)(10)(v)(E) 

of this chapter, as applicable, for the 

reporting year. 

(B) An indication of whether the WEC 

applicable facility contained any 

affected facilities subject to methane 

emissions standards under part 60 of 

this chapter as of December 31st of the 

reporting year or any designated 

facilities subject to methane emissions 

standards under an applicable approved 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan in part 62 

of this chapter as of December 31st of 

the reporting year. If so, provide the 

information specified in § 99.42, as 

applicable. 

(v) For WEC applicable facilities in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production, offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production, or underground 

natural gas storage industry segments, as 

those industry segment terms are 

defined in § 98.230 of this chapter, if the 

conditions specified in § 99.50 regarding 

emissions from permanently shut-in and 

plugged wells are met, indicate if you 

are electing to claim for exemption any 

emissions from plugged wells. If so, you 

must report the information specified in 

§ 99.51. 

(vi) The facility waste emissions 

threshold as calculated pursuant to 

§ 99.20, and, if there is more than one 

applicable industry segment within the 

WEC applicable facility, each industry 

segment waste emissions threshold for 

each applicable industry segment 

within the applicable facility, as 

calculated pursuant to § 99.20. 

(vii) The facility applicable emissions, 

as calculated pursuant to § 99.21 and 

the WEC applicable emissions, as 

calculated pursuant to § 99.21. 

(viii) The total emissions for the WEC 

applicable facility as reported under 

part 98, subpart W of this chapter for the 

reporting year, mt CO2e. If the facility 

reported information related to one or 

more combustion-related other large 

release events pursuant to paragraph 

(b)(2)(xiii) of this section, reduce this 

amount by the total quantity of 

emissions reported pursuant to 

paragraph (b)(2)(xiii)(D) of this section. 


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If the adjusted total emissions for the 

WEC applicable facility following this 

reduction are less than or equal to 

25,000 metric tons CO2e for the 

reporting year, then the total facility 

applicable emissions and WEC 

applicable emissions for the WEC 

applicable facility are zero, paragraphs 

(a) through (d) of § 99.20 do not apply 

to the WEC applicable facility, and the 

reporting requirements of paragraphs 

(b)(2)(iii) through (vii) of this section do 

not apply. 

(ix) The annual methane emissions for 

the WEC applicable facility, as reported 

under part 98, subpart W of this chapter 

for the corresponding reporting year, mt 

CH4. If the facility reported information 

related to one or more combustionrelated other large release events 

pursuant to paragraph (b)(2)(xiii) of this 

section, reduce this amount by the total 

quantity of emissions reported pursuant 

to paragraph (b)(2)(xiii)(C) of this 

section. 

(x) The total quantity of natural gas 

that is sent to sale from the WEC 

applicable facility in the reporting year, 

as reported pursuant to part 98, subpart 

W of this chapter, in Mscf. 

(xi) The total quantity of crude oil that 

is sent to sale from the WEC applicable 

facility in the reporting year, as reported 

pursuant to part 98, subpart W of this 

chapter, in barrels. 

(xii) The percentage of ownership 

interest of the parent company reported 

pursuant to § 99.7(b)(1)(vi) of the WEC 

applicable facility as reported pursuant 

to § 98.3(c)(11) of this chapter for the 

reporting year. Report 0 for any WEC 

applicable facilities reported pursuant 

to § 99.7(b)(1)(iv) for which the parent 

company was not reported pursuant to 

§ 98.3(c)(11) of this chapter for the 

reporting year. 

(xiii) For reporting year 2025 and 

later, if one or more combustion-related 

other large release events were reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(y) of this chapter 

and reported emissions pursuant 

§ 98.236(z) of this chapter for the same 

combustion unit for the timespan of the 

event for the WEC applicable facility in 

the part 98 report for that reporting year, 

then for each combustion-related other 

large release event report the 

information specified in paragraphs 

(b)(2)(xiii)(A) through (D) of this section. 

For purposes of this part, a combustionrelated other large release event is one 

in which the equipment involved in the 

release identified pursuant to 

§ 98.236(y)(5)(i) of this chapter is 

equipment that reports emissions 

pursuant § 98.236(z) of this chapter. 

(A) The unique release event 

identification number for the other large 

release event as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(y)(2) of this chapter. 

(B) The annual CO2 emissions, in 

metric tons CO2, that were reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(z) of this chapter 

from the equipment associated with the 

release that occurred during the 

timespan of the release as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(y)(4) of this 

chapter. Determine this quantity using 

the applicable method in paragraphs 

§ 98.236(z)(1) through (3) of this chapter 

and using measurement data, if 

available, or a combination of process 

knowledge, engineering estimates, and 

best available data when measurement 

data are not available. 

(C) The annual CH4 emissions, in 

metric tons CH4, that were reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(z) of this chapter 

from the equipment associated with the 

release that occurred during the 

timespan of the release as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(y)(4) of this 

chapter. Determine this quantity using 

the applicable method in paragraphs 

§ 98.236(z)(1) through (3) of this chapter 

and using measurement data, if 

available, or a combination of process 

knowledge, engineering estimates, and 

best available data when measurement 

data are not available. 

(D) The CO2e emissions, in metric 

tons CO2e, that were reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(z) of this chapter from the 

equipment associated with the release 

that occurred during the timespan of the 

release as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(y)(4) of this chapter. Calculate 

this value using equation A–1 of subpart 

A to part 98 of this chapter, using the 

values of CO2 and CH4 reported 

pursuant to paragraphs (b)(2)(xiii)(B) 

and (C), respectively, of this section. 

(3) Payment of applicable WEC 

obligation, submitted in accordance 

with § 99.9. 

(c) Verification of the WEC filing. To 

verify the completeness and accuracy of 

WEC filing, the EPA will consider the 

verification status of part 98 reports and 

may review the certification statements 

described in § 99.4 and any other 

credible evidence, in conjunction with a 

comprehensive review of the WEC 

filing, including attachments. The EPA 

intends to conduct audits of select WEC 

obligated parties and associated WEC 

applicable facilities. During such audits, 

the records generated under this part 

must be made available to the EPA. The 

on-site audits may be conducted by 

private auditors contracted by the EPA 

or by Federal, State or local personnel, 

as appropriate. Nothing in this section 

prohibits the EPA from requesting or 

using additional information, including 

reports, prepared and submitted in 

accordance with part 60 of this chapter, 

or an applicable approved State, Tribal, 

or Federal plan under part 62 of this 

chapter that implements the emission 

guidelines contained in part 60 of this 

chapter, to verify the completeness and 

accuracy of the filings. 

(d) Recordkeeping. A WEC obligated 

party that is subject to the requirements 

of this part must keep records as 

specified in this paragraph (d). You 

must retain all required records for at 

least 5 years from the date of submission 

of the WEC filing for the reporting year 

in which the record was generated. The 

records shall be kept in an electronic or 

hard-copy format (as appropriate) and 

recorded in a form that is suitable for 

expeditious inspection and review. 

Upon request by the Administrator, the 

records required under this section must 

be made available to the EPA or a thirdparty auditor if one is required. Records 

may be retained off site if the records 

are readily available for expeditious 

inspection and review. For records that 

are electronically generated or 

maintained, the equipment or software 

necessary to read the records shall be 

made available, or, if requested by the 

EPA, electronic records shall be 

converted to paper documents. You 

must retain the following records, in 

addition to those records prescribed in 

each applicable subpart of this part: 

(1) All information required to be 

retained by part 98, including subparts 

A and W of this chapter. 

(2) Any other information not 

included in a part 98 report used to 

complete the WEC filing. 

(3) All information required to be 

submitted as part of the WEC filing. 

(e) Annual WEC filing revisions. 

Except as specified in paragraph (e)(2) 

of this section, the provisions of this 

paragraph (e) apply until December 15 

of the year following the reporting year, 

or for a given reporting year after the 

December 15 deadline if the 

resubmission is related to the resolution 

of unverified filings specified at § 99.8. 

If the deadline falls on a weekend or a 

Federal holiday, the deadline date shall 

be extended to the next business day. 

(1) The WEC obligated party shall 

submit a revised WEC filing within 30 

days of discovering that a previously 

submitted WEC filing contains one or 

more substantive errors. The revised 

WEC filing must correct all substantive 

errors. If the resubmission is due to a 

correction in a part 98 report 

resubmitted by a WEC applicable 

facility, the WEC obligated party must 

report the number of corrections made 

in the part 98 report(s) and a description 

of how the changes impact the 

assessment of the WEC obligation. 


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(2) The revisions for substantive 

errors as described in paragraphs 

(e)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section are 

not subject to the December 15 deadline 

and must be submitted according to the 

schedule therein. 

(i) Revised filings for purposes of the 

regulatory compliance exemption must 

be submitted as follows: 

(A) Revised filings to submit a CAA 

section 111(b) or (d) compliance report 

which covers the remaining portion of 

a WEC filing year, which were not 

available at the time of the WEC filing, 

must be submitted within 30 calendar 

days of the date that the compliance 

report covering the remainder of the 

year is due under the applicable 

requirements of CAA section 111(b) or 

(d), as applicable. 

(B) Revised filings to submit findings 

by the WEC obligated party that one or 

more deviations or violations 

discovered after the WEC filing must be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

discovery. 

(ii) The Administrator may notify the 

WEC obligated party in writing that a 

WEC filing previously submitted by the 

WEC obligated party contains one or 

more substantive errors. Such 

notification will identify each such 

substantive error. The WEC obligated 

party shall, within 30 days of receipt of 

the notification, either resubmit the 

WEC filing that, for each identified 

substantive error, corrects the identified 

substantive error (in accordance with 

the applicable requirements of this part) 

or provide information demonstrating 

that the previously submitted filing does 

not contain the identified substantive 

error or that the identified error is not 

a substantive error. The EPA reserves 

the right to revise WEC obligations for 

a given reporting year after the 

December 15 final resubmission 

deadline if data errors are discovered by 

the EPA at a later date. 

(iii) Revised filings submitted 

pursuant to Administrator approval or 

an Agreement between the WEC 

obligated party and the Administrator to 

correct substantive errors. 

(3) A substantive error is an error that 

impacts the Administrator’s ability to 

accurately calculate a WEC obligated 

party’s WEC obligation, which may 

include, but is not limited to, the list of 

WEC applicable facilities associated 

with a WEC obligated party, the 

emissions or throughput reported in the 

WEC applicable facility part 98 

report(s), emissions associated with 

exemptions, and supporting information 

for each exemption to demonstrate its 

validity. 

(4) Notwithstanding paragraphs (e)(1) 

and (2) of this section, upon request the 

Administrator may provide an extension 

of the 30-day period for submission of 

a revised report or information under 

paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this section 

if adequate justification is provided by 

the WEC obligated party. The 

Administrator may provide an extension 

provided that the request is received by 

email to an address prescribed by the 

Administrator prior to the expiration of 

the 30-day period and that the request 

demonstrates that it is not practicable to 

submit a revised report or information 

under paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this 

section within 30 days. In no case shall 

an extension be granted beyond the 

December 15 final submission deadline. 

(5) The WEC obligated party shall 

retain documentation for a minimum of 

5 years from the date of creation to 

support any revision made to a WEC 

filing. 

(6) If a WEC applicable facility 

changes ownership such that there is a 

change to the WEC obligated party, the 

entity that was the WEC obligated party 

as reported pursuant to § 99.7(b)(1)(i) in 

the WEC filing submitted for a reporting 

year remains responsible for any 

revisions to WEC filings for that 

reporting year. 

(f) Designation of unverified filings 

and reports. Following the verification 

process discussed in § 98.3(h) of this 

chapter for part 98 reports and 

paragraph (c) of this section for WEC 

filings, the EPA shall designate: 

(1) The annual part 98 report 

associated with each WEC applicable 

facility as either verified or unverified. 

An unverified report is one in which the 

EPA has provided notification under 

§ 98.3(h)(2) of this chapter and the 

owner or operator of the WEC 

applicable facility has failed to revise 

and resubmit the report and resolve the 

error or provide justification to the 

satisfaction of the EPA that the 

identified error is not a substantive error 

(in accordance with the applicable 

requirements of § 98.3(h)(3) of this 

chapter). 

(2) The annual WEC filing from each 

WEC obligated party submitted 

pursuant to § 99.7 as either verified or 

unverified. An unverified filing is one 

in which the EPA has provided 

notification under § 99.7(e)(2) and the 

WEC obligated party designated 

representative has failed to resubmit the 

filing and for each identified substantive 

error correct the identified substantive 

error (in accordance with the applicable 

requirements of paragraph (e)(3) of this 

section) or provide information 

demonstrating that the submitted filing 

does not contain the identified 

substantive error or that the identified 

error is not a substantive error. The 

determination of verification status of a 

part 98 report under paragraph (f)(1) of 

this section will be taken into 

consideration in the determination of 

the verification status of a WEC filing. 

A WEC filing may also be designated as 

unverified if it includes receipt of a 

transfer of negative net WEC emissions, 

pursuant to § 99.23, associated with an 

unverified part 98 report (i.e., the WEC 

obligated party which transferred the 

negative net WEC emissions includes 

one or more WEC applicable facilities 

for which the associated part 98 report 

is unverified). 

§ 99.8 What are the general provisions for 

assessment of the WEC obligation? 

(a) Assessment of the WEC obligation. 

WEC obligation assessments shall be 

made pursuant to § 99.23 on the basis of 

information submitted by the date 

specified in § 99.5 and following the 

submittal requirements of § 99.6. 

(b) Assessment of the WEC obligation 

for unverified filings. If a WEC filing is 

unverified but the EPA is able to correct 

the error(s) based on reported data, the 

EPA may recalculate the WEC obligation 

using available information and provide 

an invoice or refund to the WEC 

obligated party within 60 days of 

determining a WEC filing to be 

unverified. If the WEC obligated party 

resubmits a WEC filing within that 

timeframe, the EPA will either verify the 

resubmission, or take the resubmission 

into account when calculating the WEC 

obligation. 

(c) Third-party audits for unverified 

reports. If the EPA is unable to calculate 

the WEC obligation with available 

information, the EPA may require the 

WEC obligated party to undergo a thirdparty audit. The EPA may require the 

WEC obligated party to fund and 

arrange the third-party audit. The WEC 

obligated party must make available for 

review to the third-party auditor all 

records related to the WEC filing 

pursuant to § 99.7. The WEC obligated 

party will have the audit completed and 

direct the third-party auditor to submit 

the audit results to the EPA and to the 

WEC obligated party pursuant to 

§ 99.8(c)(1)(vi). The WEC obligated party 

will resubmit the WEC filing, if 

necessary, in accordance with 

§ 99.8(c)(2)(i) and (ii). Nothing in this 

section regarding third-party audits 

shall be construed to limit the authority 

of the Administrator to exercise its 

authorities under § 114 of the CAA. 

(1) Third-party reviews. An 

independent third-party audit of the 

information provided shall be based on 

a review of the relevant documents and 

shall identify each item required by the 

WEC filing, describe how the 


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independent third-party evaluated the 

accuracy of the information provided, 

state whether the independent thirdparty agrees with the information 

provided, and identify any exceptions 

between the independent third-party’s 

findings and the information provided. 

(i) Audits required under this section 

must be conducted by an independent 

third-party. The auditor must have 

professional work experience in the 

petroleum engineering field or related to 

oil and gas production, gathering, 

processing, transmission, or storage and 

must be a qualified professional 

engineer. 

(ii) To be considered an independent 

third-party, the auditor must not be an 

employee of the WEC obligated party or 

its WEC applicable facilities at which 

the auditor is conducting the 

independent review. 

(iii) The independent third-party shall 

submit all records pertaining to the 

audit required under this section, 

including information supporting all of 

the requirements of § 99.8(c)(1) to the 

WEC obligated party. 

(iv) The independent third-party must 

provide to the WEC obligated party 

documentation of qualifications of 

professional work experience in the 

petroleum engineering field or related to 

oil and gas production, gathering, 

processing, transmission, or storage. 

(v) The WEC obligated party must 

make the following information 

available to the auditor(s) for review 

which were used to develop the WEC 

filing including: 

(A) All records described under 

§ 99.7(d) of the general recordkeeping 

provisions for this chapter. 

(B) All units, operations, processes, 

and activities for which GHG emissions 

were calculated. 

(C) The GHG emissions calculations 

and methods used. 

(D) The calculations for the 

development of site-specific emissions 

factors. 

(E) The quantity of petroleum and 

natural gas received, produced, and 

consumed at the facility in the calendar 

year. 

(F) The dates on which any 

measurements were conducted as well 

as the results of all emissions measured. 

(G) The calibration reports for 

detection and measurement instruments 

used. 

(H) The inventory of petroleum and 

natural gas for the current and/or prior 

calendar year. 

(I) The annual part 98 reports. 

(vi) The WEC obligated party will 

direct the independent third-party 

auditor to submit the audit results to the 

EPA and the WEC obligated party 

within 90 days of notification by the 

EPA of the requirement to conduct a 

third-party audit. 

(2) Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements for WEC obligated parties 

following third party audits. (i) The 

WEC obligated party shall direct the 

independent third-party auditor to 

provide the results of the audit to the 

EPA and the WEC obligated party. After 

receiving notification from the EPA that 

the audited information has been 

verified by the EPA, the WEC obligated 

party must resubmit the WEC filing, 

including the WEC obligation amount 

and all supporting documentation 

information that is included in reporting 

requirements under § 99.7, 99.31, 99.42, 

and 99.51, as applicable, within 30 days 

of receipt of the EPA notification. 

(ii) The WEC obligated party shall 

provide to the EPA documentation of 

qualifications of the third-party auditor. 

(iii) The WEC obligated party shall 

retain all records pertaining to the audit 

required under this section for a period 

of 5 years from the date of creation and 

shall deliver such records to the 

Administrator upon request. 

(d) Resubmittal of filings and reports 

for the current or prior reporting year. If 

resubmittal of a previously submitted 

part 98 report and/or WEC filing, 

submitted as specified in § 99.7(e), 

results in a change to the WEC 

obligation determined for a WEC 

obligated party for the reporting year the 

following process shall apply: 

(1) If the WEC obligation based upon 

the resubmitted report or filing for the 

reporting year is less than the WEC 

obligation previously remitted by the 

WEC obligated party, the Administrator 

shall authorize a refund to the WEC 

obligated party equal to the difference in 

WEC obligation. 

(2) If the WEC obligation based upon 

the resubmitted report or filing for the 

reporting year is greater than the WEC 

obligation previously remitted by the 

WEC obligated party, the Administrator 

may issue an invoice or bill to the WEC 

obligated party payable in accordance 

with § 99.9(b). WEC obligations not paid 

in full by the specified due date, or 

within 30 days of the date of the invoice 

or bill if a due date is not provided, 

shall be subject to fees as described in 

§ 99.10. 

§ 99.9 How are payments required by this 

part made? 

(a) The WEC obligation owed for each 

reporting year must be paid by the WEC 

obligated party as part of the annual 

WEC filing, as required by § 99.7(b), and 

is considered due at the date specified 

in § 99.5. 

(b) Other than the WEC obligation 

specified in paragraph (a) of this 

section, all other charges required by 

this part, including adjusted WEC 

obligations, interest fees, and penalties, 

shall be paid by the WEC obligated 

party in response to an invoice or bill 

by the specified due date, or within 30 

days of the date of the invoice or bill if 

a due date is not provided. 

(c) All WEC obligations, interest fees, 

and penalties required by this subpart 

shall be paid to the Department of the 

Treasury by the WEC obligated party 

electronically in U.S. dollars, using an 

online electronic payment service 

specified by the Administrator. 

§ 99.10 What fees apply to delinquent 

payments? 

(a) Delinquency. WEC obligated party 

accounts are delinquent if the accounts 

remain unpaid after the due date 

specified in the invoice or other notice 

of the WEC amount owed. 

(b) Interest fee. In accordance with 31 

U.S.C. 3717(a), delinquent WEC 

obligated party accounts shall be 

charged a minimum annual rate of 

interest equal to the average investment 

rate for Treasury tax and loan accounts 

(Current Value of Funds Rate or CVFR) 

most recently published and in effect by 

the Secretary of the Treasury. 

(c) Non-payment penalty. In 

accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3717(e), WEC 

obligated party invoiced debts that are 

more than 90 days past due shall be 

charged an additional penalty of 6 

percent per year assessed on any part of 

the invoiced debt that is past due for 

more than 90 days. 

(d) Penalty for non-submittal. In 

accordance with 42 U.S.C. 7413(d)(1), a 

WEC obligated party that fails to submit 

an annual WEC filing by the date 

specified in § 99.5 may be charged an 

administrative penalty. The penalty 

assessment shall be a daily assessment 

per day that the WEC filing is not 

submitted, assessed up to the value 

specified in Table 1 of 40 CFR 19.4, as 

amended. The assessment of penalty 

shall begin on the date that the WEC 

filing was considered past due per 

§ 99.5 and continue until such time that 

the WEC filing is submitted by the WEC 

obligated party’s designated 

representative. (For example: A WEC 

filing for reporting year 2025 submitted 

on September 4, 2026, may be subject to 

an assessment of four (4) days of 

administrative penalty for nonsubmittal.) 

§ 99.11 What are the compliance and 

enforcement provisions of this part? 

Any violation of any requirement of 

this part shall be a violation of the Clean 


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Air Act, including section 114 (42 

U.S.C. 7414) and section 136 (42 U.S.C. 

7436). A violation would include but is 

not limited to failure to submit, or 

resubmit as required, a WEC filing, 

failure to collect data needed to 

calculate the WEC obligation (including 

any data relevant to determining the 

applicability of any exemptions and 

how the netting was conducted), failure 

to select a WEC obligated party, failure 

to authorize a designated representative, 

failure to retain records needed to verify 

the amount of WEC obligation, 

providing false or incorrect information 

in a WEC filing, and failure to remit 

WEC payment. Each day of each 

violation constitutes a separate 

violation. Any penalty assessed shall be 

in addition to any WEC obligation due 

under this part and any fees applicable 

to delinquent payments due under 

§ 99.10. 

§ 99.12 What addresses apply for this 

part? 

All requests, notifications, and 

communications to the Administrator 

pursuant to this part must be submitted 

electronically and in a format as 

specified by the Administrator. 

§ 99.13 What are the confidentiality 

determinations and related procedures for 

this part? 

This section characterizes various 

categories of information for purposes of 

making confidentiality determinations, 

as follows: 

(a) This paragraph (a) applies the 

definition of ‘‘Emission data’’ in 40 CFR 

2.301(a)(2)(i) for information reported 

under this part. ‘‘Emission data’’ cannot 

be treated as confidential business 

information and shall be available to be 

disclosed to the public. The following 

categories of information qualify as 

emission data: 

(1) Methane emission information, 

including the net WEC emissions, waste 

emissions thresholds, WEC applicable 

emissions, and the quantity of methane 

emissions to be exempted due to 

unreasonable delay and wells that were 

permanently shut-in and abandoned. 

(2) Calculation methodology, 

including the method used to determine 

the quantity of methane emissions to be 

exempted due to an unreasonable 

permitting delay and the method used 

to quantify emissions exempted from 

permanently shut-in and plugged wells. 

(3) Facility and unit identifier 

information, including WEC obligated 

party company name and address, 

signed and dated certification 

statements of the accuracy and 

completeness of the report, facility 

identifiers, industry segment, well-pad 

and/or well identifiers, and emission 

source-specific methane mitigation 

activities impacted by an unreasonable 

permitting delay. 

(b) The following types of information 

are not eligible for confidential 

treatment: 

(1) The WEC obligation, as calculated 

pursuant to § 99.24. 

(2) Compliance information, 

including information regarding 

applicable emissions standards or other 

relevant standards of performance or 

requirements, information in 

construction or operating permits, and 

information submitted to document 

compliance with an emissions standard 

or a standard of performance, such as a 

periodic report, prepared and submitted 

in accordance with part 60 of this 

chapter, or an applicable approved 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan under part 

62 of this chapter that implements the 

emission guidelines contained in part 

60 of this chapter, (excluding any 

information redacted from the report 

and claimed as confidential). 

(3) Published information that is 

publicly available, including 

information that is made available 

through publication of annual reports 

submitted under part 98 of this chapter, 

on company or other websites, or 

otherwise made publicly available. 

(c) If you submit information that is 

not described in paragraphs (a) and (b) 

of this section, you may claim the 

information as confidential and the 

information is subject to the process for 

confidentiality determinations in 40 

CFR part 2 as described in §§ 2.201 

through 2.208 of this chapter. You may 

be required to provide information to 

substantiate your claims. If claimed, the 

Administrator may consider this 

substantiating information to be 

confidential to the same degree as the 

information for which you are 

requesting confidential treatment. The 

determination will be based on your 

statements, the supporting information 

submitted, and any other available 

information. However, the 

Administrator may determine that your 

information is not subject to 

confidential treatment consistent with 

40 CFR part 2 and 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). 

(d) Submitted applications and 

reports typically rely on software or 

templates to identify specific categories 

of information. If you submit 

information in a comment field 

designated for users to add general 

information, the Administrator will 

respond to requests for disclosing that 

information consistent with paragraphs 

(a) through (c) of this section. 

Subpart B—Determining Waste 

Emissions Charge 

§ 99.20 How will the waste emissions 

threshold for each WEC applicable facility 

be determined? 

The methane waste emissions 

threshold for each applicable industry 

segment within a WEC applicable 

facility for the reporting year will be 

calculated as described in paragraphs (a) 

through (d) of this section, as 

applicable. The methane waste 

emissions threshold for each WEC 

applicable facility will be determined as 

described in paragraph (e) of this 

section. 

(a) For each offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production industry segment 

or onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment that sends 

natural gas to sale at a WEC applicable 

facility, the facility waste emissions 

threshold will be calculated using 

equation B–1 of this section. 

Where: 

THis,Prod = The methane waste emissions 

threshold for the industry segment at a 

WEC applicable facility for the reporting 

year in the production sector that has 

natural gas sent to sale, metric tons (mt) 

CH4. 

0.002 = Industry segment-specific methane 

intensity threshold, as specified in CAA 

section 136(f), for methane emissions for 

applicable facilities with natural gas 

sales in the production sector, thousand 

standard cubic feet (Mscf) CH4 per Mscf 

of natural gas sent to sale. 

rCH4 = Density of methane = 0.0192 

kilograms per standard cubic foot (kg/ 

scf) = 0.0192 metric tons per thousand 

standard cubic feet (mt/Mscf). 

Qng,Prod = The total quantity of natural gas 

that is sent to sale from the WEC 

applicable facility in the reporting year, 

as reported pursuant to part 98, subpart 

W of this chapter. For onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production, you must 

use the quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(i)(B) of this chapter, in 

Mscf. For offshore petroleum and natural 

gas production, you must use the 

quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(2)(i) of this chapter, in Mscf. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91175 

(b) For each offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production industry segment 

or onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment that has no 

natural gas sent to sale at a WEC 

applicable facility, the facility waste 

emissions threshold will be calculated 

using equation B–2 of this section. 

Where: 

THis,Prod = The annual methane waste 

emissions threshold for the industry 

segment at a WEC applicable facility in 

the production sector that has no natural 

gas sent to sale, mt CH4. 

10 = Industry segment-specific methane 

intensity threshold, as specified in CAA 

section 136(f), for applicable facilities 

with no natural gas sales in the 

production sector, mt CH4 per million 

barrels oil sent to sale. 

Qo,Prod = The total quantity of crude oil that 

is sent to sale from the WEC applicable 

facility in the reporting year, as reported 

pursuant to part 98, subpart W of this 

chapter. For onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production, you must use the 

quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(i)(C) of this chapter, in 

barrels. For offshore petroleum and 

natural gas production, you must use the 

quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(2)(ii) of this chapter, in 

barrels. 

10¥6 = Conversion from barrels to million 

barrels. 

(c) For each onshore natural gas 

processing industry segment, liquefied 

natural gas storage industry segment, 

the liquefied natural gas import and 

export equipment industry segment, or 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting industry segment 

at a WEC applicable facility, the facility 

waste emissions threshold will be 

calculated using equation B–3 of this 

section. 

Where: 

THis,NonProd = The annual methane waste 

emissions threshold for the industry 

segment at a WEC applicable facility in 

the nonproduction sector, mt CH4. 

0.0005 = Industry segment-specific methane 

intensity threshold, as specified in CAA 

section 136(f), for applicable facilities in 

the nonproduction sector, Mscf CH4 per 

Mscf of natural gas sent to sale from or 

through the facility. 

rCH4 = Density of methane = 0.0192 kg/scf = 

0.0192 mt/Mscf. 

Qng,NonProd = The total quantity of natural gas 

that is sent to sale from or through the 

industry segment at a WEC applicable 

facility in the reporting year as reported 

pursuant to part 98, subpart W of this 

chapter. For RY 2024 for onshore natural 

gas processing, you must use the 

quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(3)(ii) of this chapter, in Mscf 

and for RY 2025 and later, you must use 

the quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(3)(ix) of this chapter, in 

Mscf. For LNG import and export, you 

must use the sum of the quantities 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(6) and 

(7) of this chapter, in Mscf. For LNG 

storage, you must use the quantity 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(8)(ii) of 

this chapter, in Mscf. For onshore 

petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting, you must use the quantity 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(10)(ii) 

of this chapter, in Mscf. 

(d) For each onshore natural gas 

transmission compression industry 

segment, underground natural gas 

storage industry segment, or onshore 

natural gas transmission pipeline 

industry segment at a WEC applicable 

facility, the facility waste emissions 

threshold will be calculated using 

equation B–4 of this section. 

Where: 

THis,Tran = The annual methane waste 

emissions threshold for the industry 

segment at a WEC applicable facility in 

the transmission sector, mt CH4. 

0.0011 = Industry segment-specific methane 

intensity threshold, as specified in CAA 

section 136(f), for applicable facilities in 

the transmission sector, Mscf CH4 per 

Mscf of natural gas sent to sale from or 

through the facility. 

rCH4 = Density of methane = 0.0192 kg/scf = 

0.0192 mt/Mscf. 

Qng,Tran = The total quantity of natural gas 

that is sent to sale from or through the 

industry segment at a WEC applicable 

facility in the reporting year as reported 

pursuant to part 98, subpart W of this 

chapter. For onshore natural gas 

transmission compression, you must use 

the quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(4)(i) of this chapter, in Mscf. 

For underground natural gas storage, you 

must use the quantity reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(aa)(5)(ii) of this chapter, in 

Mscf. For onshore natural gas 

transmission pipeline, you must use the 

quantity reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(11)(iv) of this chapter, in 

Mscf. 

(e) For each WEC applicable facility 

that operates in a single industry 

segment, the methane waste emissions 

threshold shall be equal to the value 

calculated in equation B–1, equation B– 

2, equation B–3, or equation B–4 of this 

section, as applicable. For each WEC 

applicable facility that operates in two 

or more industry segments, the facility 

waste emissions threshold will be 

calculated using equation B–5 of this 

section. 

Where: THWAF = The WEC applicable facility waste 

emissions threshold, mt CH4. 

THis,s = The industry segment waste 

emissions threshold, as calculated in 


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TH;s Prod = l 0 X Q p d X 10-6 , o, ro 

TH;s NonProd = 0.0005 X PcH X Q ., p d ' 4 ng,1von ro 

TH;s Tran = 0.0011 X PcH X Q "' , 4 ng,,ran 

N 

THwAF = L TH;s,s 

s=l 

(Eq. B-2) 

(Eq. B-3) 

(Eq. B-4) 

(Eq. B-5) 
91176 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

equation B–3 or equation B–4 of this 

section, for each industry segment ‘‘s’’ at 

the WEC applicable facility, mt CH4. 

N = Number of industry segments at the WEC 

applicable facility. 

§ 99.21 How will the WEC applicable 

emissions for a WEC applicable facility be 

determined? 

Except for WEC applicable facilities 

with a waste emissions threshold of zero 

as determined in § 99.20(e), the total 

facility applicable emissions and WEC 

applicable emissions for each WEC 

applicable facility for the reporting year 

will be calculated as described in 

paragraphs (a) through (d) of this 

section, as applicable. If the waste 

emissions threshold for a WEC 

applicable facility is zero as determined 

in § 99.20(e), then the total facility 

applicable emissions and WEC 

applicable emissions for the WEC 

applicable facility are zero and 

paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section 

do not apply to the WEC applicable 

facility. 

(a) The total facility applicable 

emissions for each WEC applicable 

facility will be calculated using 

equation B–6 of this section. 

Where: 

ETFA,CH4 = The annual methane emissions 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for a WEC 

applicable facility prior to consideration 

of any applicable exemptions (i.e., total 

facility applicable emissions), mt CH4.

ESubpartW,CH4 = The annual methane emissions 

for a WEC applicable facility, as reported 

to § 99.7(b)(2)(ix), mt CH4.

THWAF = The waste emissions threshold for 

a WEC applicable facility, as determined 

in § 99.20(e), mt CH4. 

(b) If the total facility applicable 

emissions calculated using equation B– 

6 of this section are less than or equal 

to 0 mt, then the WEC applicable 

emissions are equal to the total facility 

applicable emissions. 

(c) If the total facility applicable 

emissions calculated using equation B– 

6 of this section are greater than 0 mt 

and the regulatory compliance 

exemption as specified in § 99.41 

applies for the entire reporting year and 

to all sites at the WEC applicable 

facility, the WEC applicable emissions 

for that facility are equal to 0 mt. 

(d) If the total facility applicable 

emissions calculated using equation B– 

6 of this section are greater than 0 mt 

and the regulatory compliance 

exemption as specified in § 99.41 does 

not apply for the entire reporting year or 

does not apply to all sites at the WEC 

applicable facility, the WEC applicable 

emissions for each WEC applicable 

facility will be calculated using 

equation B–7 of this section. If the result 

of this calculation is less than 0 mt CH4, 

the WEC applicable emissions for the 

facility are equal to 0 mt CH4. 

Where: 

EWA,CH4 = The annual methane emissions 

associated with a WEC applicable facility 

that are either equal to, below, or 

exceeding the waste emissions threshold 

for the WEC applicable facility (i.e., the 

WEC applicable emissions), mt CH4. 

ETFA,CH4 = The annual methane emissions 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for a WEC 

applicable facility prior to consideration 

of any applicable exemptions for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

EDelay,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions exempted, as determined in 

equation C–1 of § 99.32, at the WEC 

applicable facility due to an 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure meeting the applicability 

provisions of § 99.30, mt CH4. 

ERCE,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions, as determined pursuant to 

§ 99.43, at the WEC applicable facility 

attributable to the regulatory compliance 

exemption subject to the applicability 

provisions of § 99.41, mt CH4. 

EPlug,CH4 = The total quantity of annual 

methane emissions, as determined in 

equation E–7 of § 99.52, at the WEC 

applicable facility attributable to all 

wells that were permanently shut-in and 

plugged during the reporting year 

meeting the applicability provisions of 

§ 99.50, mt CH4. 

§ 99.22 How will the net WEC emissions 

for a WEC obligated party be determined? 

(a) If the condition specified in 

§ 99.7(b)(1)(iv) does not apply for the 

reporting year, net WEC emissions for a 

WEC obligated party, equal to the sum 

of WEC applicable emissions from all 

facilities with the same WEC obligated 

party, as specified in § 99.2, will be 

calculated using equation B–8 of this 

section. 

Where: 

ENetWEC,CH4 = The net WEC emissions for the 

WEC obligated party for the reporting 

year, rounded to the nearest 0.01 mt CH4. 

EWA,CH4,j = The annual methane emissions 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions thresholds (i.e., the WEC 

applicable emissions) for a WEC 

applicable facility, j, as calculated in 

§ 99.21(b) or (d) of a WEC obligated 

party, mt CH4. 

N = Total number of WEC applicable 

facilities of a WEC obligated party, 

excluding any WEC applicable facilities 

for which the regulatory compliance 

exemption as specified in § 99.41 

applied for the entire reporting year. 

(b) If the condition specified in 

§ 99.7(b)(1)(iv) applies for the reporting 

year, net WEC emissions for a WEC 

obligated party must be calculated 

according to this paragraph (b). The net 

WEC emissions for any acquired WEC 

applicable facilities that were not 

associated with the parent company 

reported pursuant to § 99.7(b)(1)(vi) will 

be calculated using equation B–8 of this 

section. The net WEC emissions for the 

WEC applicable facilities that were 

associated with the WEC obligated party 

as of December 31 of the reporting year 

and any acquired WEC applicable 

facilities that were associated with the 

parent company reported pursuant to 

§ 99.7(b)(1)(vi) will be calculated using 

equation B–8 of this section. 


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N 

ENetWEC,CH4 = L EwA,CH4,j 

j=l 

(Eq. B-6) 

(Eq. B-7) 

(Eq. B-8) 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91177 

(c) If net WEC emissions are 

calculated pursuant to paragraph (b) of 

this section, each calculated net WEC 

emission value will each be treated as 

a distinct net WEC emission for 

purposes of netting under § 99.23 and 

for which the WEC obligation for the 

WEC obligated party will be determined 

under § 99.24. 

§ 99.23 How will the transfer of negative 

net WEC emissions for facilities under the 

same parent company be determined? 

(a) Subject to the requirements of this 

section, a WEC obligated party with a 

negative quantity of net WEC emissions, 

as calculated pursuant to § 99.22, may 

elect to transfer negative quantities of 

net WEC emissions to another WEC 

obligated party sharing the same parent 

company, as indicated in the annual 

WEC filing for the reporting year 

submitted pursuant to § 99.7 by each 

WEC obligated party involved in the 

transfer. 

(b) Following each transfer, the net 

WEC emissions of the WEC obligated 

party transferring the negative quantities 

of net WEC emissions will increase by 

the quantity of metric tons of CH4

transferred and the net WEC emissions 

of the WEC obligated party receiving the 

transfer will decrease by this amount. In 

no case can the net WEC emissions of 

the WEC obligated party transferring the 

negative quantities of net WEC 

emissions become a positive value as a 

result of transfers. 

(c) Each transfer of negative quantities 

of net WEC emissions must be 

submitted electronically in a format 

specified by the Administrator and must 

be approved by the designated 

representative of each WEC obligated 

party. Each transfer will designate the 

WEC obligated party making the 

transfer, the quantity of metric tons of 

negative emissions to transfer, and the 

WEC obligated party that is receiving 

the transfer. Each transfer must be 

initiated by the designated 

representative of the WEC obligated 

party that is transferring the negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions. The 

transfer shall be considered to have 

occurred at such time that the 

designated representative of the WEC 

obligated party that is receiving the 

transfer approves receipt of the transfer. 

(d) Transfers may occur prior to the 

deadline for submission of the WEC 

filing under § 99.5, provided that all 

necessary information to determine net 

WEC emissions has been completed by 

both WEC obligated parties involved in 

the transfer. Transfers for a reporting 

year must be completed by the date 

specified in § 99.7(e). 

(e) For transfers occurring after the 

deadline for submission of the WEC 

filing under § 99.5, the WEC obligated 

party receiving the transfer must follow 

the provisions of § 99.7(e) regarding 

WEC filing revisions and § 99.8(d) 

regarding resubmittals that result in a 

change in WEC obligation. 

(f) If a WEC obligated party that 

previously transferred negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions to 

another WEC obligated party submits a 

revised WEC filing pursuant to § 99.7(e) 

that results in a change to that WEC 

obligated party’s net WEC emissions, 

the validity of any previously 

transferred negative quantities of net 

WEC emissions will be assessed as 

follows: 

(1) If the revised WEC filing results in 

a greater magnitude of negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions than in 

the prior WEC filing, those negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions are 

eligible for transfer subject to the 

requirements of this section. 

(2) If the revised WEC filing results in 

a decrease or elimination of negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions 

compared to the prior WEC filing (i.e., 

the WEC obligated party’s net WEC 

emissions are closer to zero or a positive 

number), and the WEC obligated party 

had previously transferred negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions greater 

than the revised net WEC emissions, 

any previously transferred negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions will be 

invalidated such that the total quantity 

of remaining valid negative quantities of 

net WEC emissions does not exceed the 

revised net WEC emissions. Previously 

transferred negative quantities of net 

WEC emissions will be invalidated in 

the order that the transfers were 

approved by the designated 

representative of the WEC obligated 

party that received the transfer, 

beginning with the last transfer 

approved. Each WEC obligated party 

that received invalidated negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions must 

follow the provisions of § 99.7(e) 

regarding WEC filing revisions and 

§ 99.8(d) regarding resubmittals that 

result in a change in WEC obligation. 

(g) For each transfer of negative 

quantities of net WEC emissions 

between WEC obligated parties, the 

WEC obligated party that transferred 

negative quantities of net WEC 

emissions and the WEC obligated party 

that received negative quantities of net 

WEC emissions must maintain all 

records of the transaction, including any 

value exchanged, if applicable. 

(h) Each transfer of net WEC 

emissions will be denominated in 

hundredths of a metric ton of methane 

(i.e., 0.01 mt CH4) or larger order of 

magnitude. 

§ 99.24 How will the WEC Obligation for a 

WEC obligated party be determined? 

(a) If the net WEC emissions for a 

WEC obligated party as determined in 

§ 99.22 and following any transfers 

pursuant to § 99.23 (i.e., the net WEC 

emissions after transfers) are less than or 

equal to zero, the WEC obligated party’s 

WEC obligation is zero and the WEC 

obligated party is not subject to a waste 

emissions charge in the reporting year 

for the WEC applicable facilities 

included in the calculation of the net 

WEC emissions as determined in 

§ 99.22. 

(b) If the net WEC emissions for a 

WEC obligated party as determined in 

§ 99.22 and following any transfers 

pursuant to § 99.23 (i.e., the net WEC 

emissions after transfers) are greater 

than zero, the WEC obligation will be 

calculated according to the applicable 

provisions in paragraphs (b)(1) through 

(3) of this section. 

(1) For reporting year 2024, multiply 

the net WEC emissions after transfers by 

$900 per mt CH4 to determine the WEC 

obligation. 

(2) For reporting year 2025, multiply 

the net WEC emissions after transfers by 

$1,200 per mt CH4 to determine the 

WEC obligation. 

(3) For reporting year 2026 and each 

year thereafter, multiply the net WEC 

emissions after transfers by $1,500 per 

mt CH4 to determine the WEC 

obligation. 

Subpart C—Unreasonable Delay 

Exemption 

§ 99.30 Which facilities qualify for the 

exemption for emissions caused by an 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure? 

(a) The WEC applicable facility must 

be in the offshore petroleum and natural 

gas production or onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production industry 

segment, as those industry segment 

terms are defined in § 98.230 of this 

chapter. 

(b) The total facility applicable 

emissions for the WEC applicable 

facility as calculated in accordance with 

§ 99.21(a) must exceed 0 mt. 

(c) The WEC obligated party seeking 

to exempt a portion of its facility 

applicable emissions from a WEC 

applicable facility must not have 

contributed to the delay. All requests for 

information regarding the 

environmental permit application 

received by the WEC obligated party 

must not have exceeded the response 

time requested by, or agreed to by, the 


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91178 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

permitting agency or exceeded 30 days 

if no specific response time is requested. 

The WEC obligated party seeking 

eligibility for the exemption must not be 

a plaintiff in a lawsuit regarding the 

environmental permit application. 

(d) The WEC applicable facility must 

have reported eligible methane 

emissions pursuant to § 98.236 of this 

chapter in the reporting year that 

occurred as a result of a delay in 

environmental permitting of gathering 

or transmission infrastructure necessary 

for offtake of increased volume as a 

result of methane emissions mitigation 

implementation. These eligible methane 

emissions must have been in 

compliance with all applicable local, 

State, and Federal regulations. For 

purposes of this section, eligible 

methane emissions for exemption 

consist of the emissions from the 

increased volume of gas used as an 

onsite fuel source, used for another 

useful purpose that an otherwise 

purchased fuel or raw material would 

have served, reinjection into a well, or 

flared, if that gas would have been 

routed to a gas gathering flow line or 

collection system to a sales line if not 

for the delay in environmental 

permitting. 

(e) Thirty-six (36) months must have 

passed since submission of the 

technically complete environmental 

permit application, as documented by 

the appropriate permitting authority, to 

construct gathering or transmission 

infrastructure without approval or 

denial of the environmental permit 

application. 

§ 99.31 What are the reporting 

requirements for the exemption for 

emissions caused by an unreasonable 

delay in environmental permitting of 

gathering or transmission infrastructure? 

(a) For a WEC applicable facility 

meeting all criteria in § 99.30(a) through 

(e), you may elect to report information 

regarding an exemption for 

unreasonable delay in permitting of 

gathering or transmission infrastructure 

for a given reporting year. The 

unreasonable delay exemption 

information to be reported is described 

in paragraph (b) of this section. The 

unreasonable delay exemption 

information shall be submitted as 

described in § 99.7. 

(b) For each unreasonable delay 

exemption, the WEC obligated party 

must report the information specified in 

paragraphs (b)(1) through (13) of this 

section. 

(1) The company name and name of 

the facility that submitted the 

environmental permit application to 

construct and/or operate gathering or 

transmission infrastructure. 

(2) For reporting year 2025 and later, 

for a WEC applicable facility in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, as that 

industry segment term is defined in 

§ 98.230 of this chapter, the well-pad ID, 

as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(iii)(B) of this chapter, of 

each well-pad impacted by the 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure. 

(3) The date the environmental permit 

application request experiencing an 

unreasonable delay to build gathering or 

transmission infrastructure was 

submitted to the permitting authority 

and the date the permitting authority 

determined the application to be 

technically complete. 

(4) A certification that the WEC 

obligated party seeking to exempt a 

portion of its facility applicable 

emissions from a WEC applicable 

facility has not contributed to the 

unreasonable delay, has been responsive 

to the relevant permitting authority 

regarding the environmental permit 

application and is not a plaintiff in 

litigation related to the environmental 

permit application. For purposes of this 

paragraph, responsive shall be 

interpreted to mean that the entity has 

responded to all requests from the 

permitting authority within the time 

frame requested or agreed to by the 

relevant authority or within thirty (30) 

days if no timeframe is specified. 

(5) A listing of methane emissions 

mitigation activities that are impacted 

by the unreasonable permitting delay. 

(6) The estimated date to commence 

operation of the gathering or 

transmission infrastructure if the 

application had been approved within 

thirty-six (36) months. 

(7) If the application has been 

approved and operations commenced 

during the reporting year, the first date 

that offtake to the gathering or 

transmission infrastructure from the 

implementation of methane emissions 

mitigation occurred. 

(8) The beginning and ending date for 

which the eligible delay limited the 

offtake of increased volume associated 

with methane emissions mitigation 

activities for the reporting year as 

determined according to § 99.32(a). 

(9) The increased volumes of gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation as 

determined according to § 99.32(b), in 

thousand standard cubic feet. For 

reporting year 2024, report these values 

for the WEC applicable facility. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, if the 

WEC applicable facility is in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, report 

these values for each well-pad site 

reported in paragraph (b)(2) of this 

section. Report the increased volumes 

associated with each of the following: 

(i) Onsite fuel source. 

(ii) Another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source. 

(iii) Reinjection into a well. 

(iv) Flaring. 

(10) The quantity of methane 

emissions to be exempted due to the 

unreasonable delay for the reporting 

year calculated as specified in § 99.32. 

(i) For a WEC applicable facility in the 

offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, report the 

following for the WEC applicable 

facility: 

(A) The result of equation C–1 of 

§ 99.32(c)(1), in metric tons CH4. 

(B) The quantity of methane 

emissions from another useful purpose 

that an otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source, (EUse,CH4), 

in metric tons CH4. 

(C) The quantity of methane 

emissions from reinjection of recovered 

gas (EReinject,CH4), in metric tons CH4. 

(D) The quantity of methane 

emissions from flaring (EFlare,CH4), in 

metric tons CH4. 

(E) The total quantity of natural gas 

that was flared at the WEC applicable 

facility in the reporting year, in 

thousand scf. 

(ii) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, for 

reporting year 2024 report the following 

for the WEC applicable facility: 

(A) The result of equation C–2 of 

§ 99.32(c)(2), in metric tons CH4. 

(B) The quantity of methane 

emissions from use as an onsite fuel 

source of increased volume of natural 

gas resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation (EFuel,CH4), as 

calculated in equation C–5 to 

§ 99.32(c)(5), in metric tons CH4. 

(C) The quantity of methane 

emissions from another useful purpose 

that an otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source, (EUse,CH4), 

as calculated in equation C–6 to 

§ 99.32(c)(6), in metric tons CH4. 

(D) The quantity of methane 

emissions from reinjection of increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation (EReinject,CH4), as 

calculated in equation C–7 to 

§ 99.32(c)(7), in metric tons CH4. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91179 

(E) The quantity of methane emissions 

from flaring of increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation 

(EFlare,CH4), as calculated in equation C– 

8B to § 99.32(c)(8), in metric tons CH4. 

(iii) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, for 

reporting year 2025 and later, report the 

following for each well-pad site 

reported in paragraph (b)(2) of this 

section: 

(A) The result of equation C–4 of 

§ 99.32(c)(4), in metric tons CH4. 

(B) The quantity of methane 

emissions from use as an onsite fuel 

source of increased volume of natural 

gas resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation (EFuel,CH4), as 

calculated in equation C–5 to 

§ 99.32(c)(5), in metric tons CH4. 

(C) The quantity of methane 

emissions from another useful purpose 

that an otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source, (EUse,CH4), 

as calculated in equation C–6 to 

§ 99.32(c)(6), in metric tons CH4. 

(D) The quantity of methane 

emissions from reinjection of increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation (EReinject,CH4), as 

calculated in equation C–7 to 

§ 99.32(c)(7), in metric tons CH4. 

(E) The quantity of methane emissions 

from flaring of increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation 

(EFlare,CH4), as calculated in equation C– 

8B to § 99.32(c)(8), in metric tons CH4. 

(iv) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment that 

reported emissions from use as an onsite 

fuel source of increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation 

(EFuel,CH4), report the information 

specified in paragraphs (b)(10)(iv)(A) 

and (B) of this section, as applicable. 

For reporting year 2024, report each 

value for the WEC applicable facility. 

For reporting year 2025 and later, report 

the value for each well-pad site. 

(A) The quantity of methane 

emissions from combustion of increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation in stationary or portable 

fuel combustion equipment as 

calculated using the methods in 

§ 98.233(z) of this chapter (ECombEq,CH4), 

in metric tons CH4. 

(B) The total volume of natural gas 

combusted in reciprocating internal 

combustion engines with crankcase 

vents during the reporting year (VRICE), 

in thousand scf. 

(v) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment that 

reported emissions from reinjection into 

a well (EReinject,CH4), report the 

information specified in paragraphs 

(b)(10)(v)(A) and (B) of this section, as 

applicable. For reporting year 2024, 

report each value for the WEC 

applicable facility. For reporting year 

2025 and later, report the value for each 

well-pad site. 

(A) A list including each centrifugal 

compressor unique name or ID as 

submitted in the part 98 report for the 

WEC applicable facility that was used in 

the reinjection into wells of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation (i.e., that 

was included in CountCent,Reinject of 

equation C–7 of this part). For reporting 

year 2024, use the values reported to 

§ 98.236(o)(1)(i) of this chapter. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

values reported to § 98.236(o)(1)(ii) of 

this chapter. 

(B) A list of each reciprocating 

compressor unique name or ID as 

submitted to in the part 98 report for the 

WEC applicable facility that was used in 

the reinjection into wells of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation (i.e., that 

was included in CountRecip,Reinject of 

equation C–7 of this part). For reporting 

year 2024, use the values reported to 

§ 98.236(p)(1)(i) of this chapter. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

values reported to § 98.236(p)(1)(ii) of 

this chapter. 

(vi) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment that 

reported emissions from flaring 

(EFlare,CH4), report the information 

specified in paragraphs (b)(10)(vi)(A) 

and (B) of this section for all reporting 

years. For reporting year 2025 and later, 

report the information specified in 

paragraph (b)(10)(vi)(C) of this section. 

For reporting year 2024, report the 

information specified in paragraph 

(b)(10)(vi)(A) for the WEC applicable 

facility. For reporting year 2025 and 

later, report the information specified in 

paragraph (b)(10)(vi)(A) for each wellpad site. 

(A) The unique name or ID as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(n)(1) of 

this chapter for each flare stack that 

flared gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation. 

(B) For each flare stack reported to 

paragraph (b)(10)(vi)(A) of this section, 

report the volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation that was 

flared at that flare as determined 

according to § 99.32(b)(4), in thousand 

scf. 

(C) For each flare stack reported to 

paragraph (b)(10)(vi)(A) of this section, 

indicate if flow for each stream to the 

flare was measured or determined in 

accordance with § 98.233(n)(3)(ii) of this 

chapter and that stream or combination 

of streams contained only flow resulting 

from the environmental permit delay. If 

so, report the unique ID as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(n)(3) of this 

chapter for each stream that contained 

only flow resulting from the 

environmental permit delay. 

(vii) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment that 

reported emissions from another useful 

purpose that an otherwise purchased 

fuel or raw material would have served, 

excluding use as an onsite fuel source, 

(EUse,CH4) and/or emissions from 

reinjection into a well (EReinject,CH4) and 

quantified the equipment leaks 

associated with either/both use(s), 

report the information specified in 

paragraphs (b)(10)(vii)(A) through (F) of 

this section, as applicable. For reporting 

year 2024, report this information for 

the WEC applicable facility. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, report this 

information for each well-pad site. 

Report separately the information 

specified in paragraphs (b)(10)(vii)(A) 

through (F) of this section, as 

applicable, related to another useful 

purpose that an otherwise purchased 

fuel or raw material would have served, 

excluding use as an onsite fuel source, 

and related to reinjection into a well. 

(A) Indicate the method used to 

calculate equipment leak emissions (i.e., 

§ 99.32(c)(9)(i), (ii), or (iii)). 

(B) If the method in § 99.32(c)(9)(i) is 

used to calculate equipment leak 

emissions, you must report the 

following information for each leak: the 

leak detection survey method used, 

component type as reported in 

§ 98.236(q) of this chapter, the 

volumetric flow rate of the natural gas 

leak in standard cubic feet per hour and 

the duration of the measured leak as 

determined in accordance with 

§ 99.32(c)(9)(i), in hours. The measured 

leak rate, the component type and 

duration of measured leaks must only 

include those components associated 

with another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source, or 

associated with reinjection into a well. 

(C) If the method in § 99.32(c)(9)(ii) is 

used to calculate equipment leak 

emissions, you must report the 

following information for each 


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91180 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

component identified as leaking: the 

leak detection survey method used, the 

component type as specified in 

§ 98.233(q)(2)(iii) of this chapter and the 

time the surveyed component is 

assumed to be leaking and operational, 

in hours. The component type and time 

the surveyed components are assumed 

to be leaking and operational must only 

include those components associated 

with another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source, or 

associated with reinjection into a well. 

(D) If the method in § 99.32(c)(9)(iii) 

is used to calculate equipment leak 

emissions, you must report the counts of 

each component type listed in 

§ 98.233(r)(2) of this chapter that are 

associated with a useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source, or 

associated with reinjection into a well. 

(E) The mole fraction of CH4 in 

produced gas for the sub-basin in which 

the useful purpose or reinjection 

occurred, as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) of this chapter, 

unitless. For RY2024, if multiple subbasins were impacted by the 

unreasonable delay, report the value of 

the flow-weighted average mole fraction 

for the sub-basins in which the useful 

purpose or reinjection occurred. 

(F) The equipment leak emissions 

qualifying for exemption from another 

useful purpose that an otherwise 

purchased fuel or raw material would 

have served, excluding use as an onsite 

fuel source, or reinjection into a well as 

calculated in accordance with 

paragraphs § 99.32(c)(9)(i), (ii), or (iii), 

metric tons CH4. 

(11) A certification of the facility’s 

compliance with all applicable local, 

State, and Federal regulations regarding 

emissions from the activities listed in 

§ 99.30(d) that occurred as a result of a 

delay in environmental permitting of 

gathering or transmission infrastructure. 

(12) For each environmental permit 

relevant to the exemption, the name/ 

type of permit, permitting agency, 

contact information at the permitting 

agency, and a link to information on the 

permit (e.g., available through the 

permitting agency), if available. 

(13) Upon request, any other 

documentation deemed necessary by the 

Administrator to verify eligibility under 

this section. 

§ 99.32 How are the methane emissions 

caused by an unreasonable delay in 

environmental permitting of gathering or 

transmission infrastructure quantified? 

(a) Determine the time period, in 

days, associated with the emissions that 

occurred as a result of the eligible delay 

within the reporting year as specified in 

paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section. 

(1) The start date of the emissions 

caused by the delay in the reporting 

year is the latter of January 1 of the 

reporting year, or the date on which 

emissions would have been avoided 

through commencement of the 

operation of the gathering or 

transmission infrastructure if the 

environmental permit application to 

construct and/or operate the gathering 

or transmission infrastructure had been 

approved within 36 months as specified 

in § 99.31(b)(6). 

(2) The end time of the emissions 

caused by the delay in the reporting 

year is the earlier of December 31 of the 

reporting year or the date the emissions 

caused by the unreasonable delay ended 

because the infrastructure commenced 

operation. 

(b) Determine by engineering 

estimates based upon best available 

information the increased volume of 

gas, in thousand standard cubic feet, 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation during the 

time period determined in paragraph (a) 

of this section associated with each of 

the activities listed in paragraphs (b)(1) 

through (4) of this section. If the WEC 

applicable facility is in the offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segment, determine these 

values for the WEC applicable facility in 

every reporting year. If the WEC 

applicable facility is in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segment, for reporting year 

2024 determine these values for the 

WEC applicable facility, and for 

reporting year 2025 and later determine 

these values for each well-pad site 

impacted by the unreasonable delay. 

(1) Onsite fuel source. 

(2) Another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source. 

(3) Reinjection into a well. 

(4) Flaring. Determine this value in 

accordance with this paragraph (4)(i), 

(ii), or (iii), as applicable. For the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment flaring 

volumes must be determined for each 

flare that received an increased volume 

of gas resulting from the environmental 

permit delay and then totaled for the 

WEC applicable facility or well-pad site, 

as applicable. 

(i) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

the offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment determine 

by engineering estimate based upon best 

available information. 

(ii) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment for 

reporting year 2024, determine by 

engineering estimate based upon best 

available information the portion of the 

flow reported pursuant to § 98.236(n)(4) 

of this chapter attributable to the 

environmental permit delay for each 

flare that received an increased volume 

of gas. If a continuous emissions 

monitoring system (CEMS) was used to 

measure emissions from the flare as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(n)(12) of 

this chapter, do not determine a volume 

of gas for that flare. 

(iii) If the WEC applicable facility is 

in the onshore petroleum and natural 

gas production industry segment for 

reporting year 2025 and later, for each 

flare that received an increased volume 

of gas attributable to the environmental 

permit delay, if flow for each stream to 

the flare is measured or determined in 

accordance with § 98.233(n)(3)(ii) of this 

chapter and that stream or combination 

of streams contain only flow resulting 

from the environmental permit delay, 

use the flow for those streams as 

reported to § 98.236(n)(11) of this 

chapter. If flow is measured at the inlet 

to the flare in accordance with 

§ 98.233(n)(3)(i) of this chapter or the 

stream flow measured or determined in 

accordance with § 98.233(n)(3)(ii) of this 

chapter includes flow unrelated to the 

environmental permit delay, use an 

engineering estimate based upon best 

available information of the portion of 

flow resulting from the environmental 

permit delay. 

(c) For each well-pad site or offshore 

platform at a WEC applicable facility 

impacted by an unreasonable delay in 

environmental permitting of gathering 

or transmission infrastructure, you must 

calculate the emissions that occurred at 

the well-pad site or offshore platform 

that were caused by the unreasonable 

delay according to paragraphs (c)(1) 

through (9) of this section, as applicable. 

(1) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, as that 

industry segment term is defined in 

§ 98.230 of this chapter, equation C–1 of 

this section must be used to calculate 

the WEC applicable facility 

unreasonable delay emissions. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91181 

Where: 

EDelay,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to an 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure during the reporting year 

at a WEC applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.30, mt 

CH4. 

EUse,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

another useful purpose that an otherwise 

purchased fuel or raw material would 

have served, excluding use as an onsite 

fuel source, mt CH4. For reporting year 

2024, use best available data to 

determine the portion of fugitive 

emissions reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(s)(2) of this chapter for the 

reporting year that were associated with 

another useful purpose that an otherwise 

purchased fuel or raw material would 

have served, excluding use as an onsite 

fuel source. For reporting year 2025 and 

later, use the applicable portion of the 

value reported to § 98.236(s)(3)(ii) of this 

chapter for the reporting year. 

EReinject,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

reinjection of recovered gas, mt CH4. For 

reporting year 2024, use best available 

data to determine the portion fugitive 

emissions reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(s)(2) of this chapter for the 

reporting year that were associated with 

reinjection of recovered gas. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

applicable portion of the value reported 

to § 98.236(s)(3)(ii) of this chapter for the 

reporting year. 

Td = The time period associated with the 

eligible delay within the reporting year, 

as determined pursuant to § 99.32(a), in 

days. 

T = The number of days in the reporting year. 

Use 365, or for leap years, 366. 

EFlare,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

flaring, mt CH4. For reporting year 2024, 

use the value reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(s)(2) of this chapter for the 

reporting year. For reporting year 2025 

and later, use the value reported to 

§ 98.236(s)(3)(ii) of this chapter for the 

reporting year. 

VMM,Flare = The volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation that was 

flared as determined pursuant to 

§ 99.32(b)(4)(i), in thousand scf. 

VWAF,Flare = The total quantity of natural gas 

that was flared at the WEC applicable 

facility in the reporting year, in thousand 

scf. 

(2) For reporting year 2024, for a WEC 

applicable facility in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segment, as that industry 

segment term is defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter, equation C–2 of this 

section must be used to calculate the 

WEC applicable facility unreasonable 

delay emissions. 

Where: 

EDelay,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to an 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure during the reporting year 

at a WEC applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.30, mt 

CH4. 

EFuel,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

combustion of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation as 

calculated in accordance with paragraph 

(c)(5) of this section. 

EUse,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from the 

increased volume of natural gas resulting 

from methane emissions mitigation 

implementation used for another useful 

purpose that an otherwise purchased 

fuel or raw material would have served, 

excluding use as an onsite fuel source, as 

calculated in accordance with paragraph 

(c)(6) of this section. 

EReinject,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation as 

calculated in accordance with paragraph 

(c)(7) of this section. 

EFlare,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

flaring of the increased volume of natural 

gas resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation as calculated 

in accordance with paragraph (c)(8) of 

this section, mt CH4. 

(3) For reporting year 2025 and later, 

for a WEC applicable facility in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, as that 

industry segment term is defined in 

§ 98.230 of this chapter, equation C–3 of 

this section must be used to calculate 

the WEC applicable facility 

unreasonable delay emissions. 

Where: 

EDelay,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions at the WEC applicable facility 

attributable to unreasonable delay during 

the reporting year meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.30, mt 

CH4. 

EWP-Delay,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to a well-pad site 

‘‘i’’ that met the applicability provisions 

of § 99.30 during the reporting year 

calculated using equation C–4 of this 

section. 

N = Total number of well-pad sites that met 

the applicability provisions of § 99.30 

during the reporting year at a WEC 

applicable facility. 

(4) For reporting year 2025, for a WEC 

applicable facility in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segment, as that industry 

segment term is defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter, equation C–4 of this 

section must be used to calculate the 

unreasonable delay emissions for each 

affected well-pad site. 


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[( ) Td] ( V MM,Flare ) Enelay,CH4 = Euse,CH4 + EReinject,CH4 X T + EF!are,CH4 X V 

WAF,Flare 

N 

(Eq. C-1) 

(Eq. C-2) 

EDelay,CH4 = L EwP-Delay,CH4 

i=l 

(Eq. C-3) 
91182 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Where: 

EWP-Delay,CH4 = The annual quantity of 

methane emissions attributable to a wellpad site impacted by an unreasonable 

delay in environmental permitting of 

gathering or transmission infrastructure 

during the reporting year at a WEC 

applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.30, mt 

CH4. 

EFuel,CH4 = The well-pad site quantity of 

methane emissions from use as an onsite 

fuel source of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation as 

calculated in accordance with paragraph 

(c)(5) of this section. 

EUse,CH4 = The well-pad site quantity of 

methane emissions from the increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation used for another useful 

purpose that an otherwise purchased 

fuel or raw material would have served, 

excluding use as an onsite fuel source, as 

calculated in accordance with paragraph 

(c)(6) of this section. 

EReinject,CH4 = The well-pad site quantity of 

methane emissions from reinjection of 

the increased volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation as calculated 

in accordance with paragraph (c)(7) of 

this section. 

EFlare,CH4 = The well-pad site quantity of 

methane emissions from flaring of the 

increased volume of natural gas resulting 

from methane emissions mitigation 

implementation as calculated in 

accordance with paragraph (c)(8) of this 

section, mt CH4. 

(5) If a portion, or all, of the increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation was used 

as an onsite fuel source, equation C–5 of 

this section must be used to calculate 

the quantity of methane emissions from 

use as an onsite fuel source of increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation. 

Where: 

EFuel,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

from use as an onsite fuel source of the 

increased volume of natural gas resulting 

from methane emissions mitigation 

implementation, mt CH4. 

ECombEq,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions from use as an onsite fuel 

source of the increased volume of natural 

gas resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation in stationary 

or portable fuel combustion equipment, 

mt CH4. Use the methods in § 98.233(z) 

of this chapter to calculate the methane 

emissions from the use as an onsite fuel 

source in stationary or portable 

equipment of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation. 

ECCV,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility sum 

quantity of methane emissions from 

crankcase venting, mt CH4. For reporting 

year 2024, use a value of 0. For reporting 

year 2025 and later, use the sum total of 

the values reported to § 98.236(ee)(2)(ii) 

and (ee)(3)(iv) of this chapter for the 

reporting year. 

VCombusted = The volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation that was used 

as an onsite fuel source as determined 

pursuant to § 99.32(b)(1), in thousand 

scf. 

VRICE = The total volume of natural gas 

combusted in reciprocating internal 

combustion engines with crankcase 

vents during the reporting year, in 

thousand scf. 

(6) If a portion, or all, of the increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation was used 

for another useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw 

material would have served, excluding 

use as an onsite fuel source, equation C– 

6 of this section must be used to 

calculate the quantity of methane 

emissions from the use of the increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation. 

Where: 

EUse,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

from the increased volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation used for 

another useful purpose that an otherwise 

purchased fuel or raw material would 

have served, excluding use as an onsite 

fuel source as calculated in accordance 

with paragraph (c)(5) of this section, mt 

CH4. 

ELeaks-Use,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions from equipment leaks from 

components involved in the useful 

purpose as calculated in accordance with 

paragraphs (c)(9)(i) through (iii) of this 

section, as applicable, for the reporting 

year, mt CH4. When determining the 

equipment leak emissions, use only the 

equipment components that were 

involved in the useful purpose that an 

otherwise purchased fuel or raw material 

would have served during the eligible 

delay. 

(7) If a portion, or all, of the increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation was 

reinjected into a well, equation C–7 of 

this section must be used to calculate 

the quantity of methane emissions from 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation. 

Where: 

EReinject,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions from reinjection into a well of 

increased volume of natural gas resulting 

from methane emissions mitigation 

implementation, mt CH4. 

ECent,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions from centrifugal compressors, 

mt CH4. For reporting year 2024, use the 

sum total of the values reported to 

§ 98.236(o)(2)(ii)(D)(2) and (o)(5)(iii) of 

this chapter for the WEC applicable 


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(Eq. C-4) 

( V Combusted) 

EFuel,CH4 = EcombEq,CH4 + EccV,CH4 X VRICE (Eq. C-5) 

(Eq. C-6) 

[( Counfcent,Reinject) ( CountRecip,Reinject)] Ta 

EReinject,CH4 = Ecent,CH4 X C + ERecip,CH4 X C X T + ELeaks-Reinject,CH4 

Cent, Total Recip, Total 

(Eq. C-7) 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91183 

facility. For reporting year 2025 and 

later, use the sum total of the values 

reported to § 98.236(o)(2)(ii)(D)(2) and 

(o)(5)(iv) of this chapter for the well-pad 

site. 

CountCent,Reinject = The count of centrifugal 

compressors used in the reinjection into 

wells of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation. For reporting year 2024, 

use the count associated with the WEC 

applicable facility for the reporting year. 

For reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

count associated with the well-pad site 

for the reporting year. 

CountCent,Total = The total count of centrifugal 

compressors reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(o)(1) of this chapter. For 

reporting year 2024, use the quantity 

reported at the WEC applicable facility 

for the reporting year. For reporting year 

2025 and later, use the quantity reported 

for the well-pad site. 

ERecip,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions from reciprocating 

compressors, mt CH4. For reporting year 

2024, use the sum total of the values 

reported to § 98.236(p)(2)(ii)(D)(2) and 

(p)(5)(iii) of this chapter for the WEC 

applicable facility. For reporting year 

2025 and later, use the sum total of the 

values reported to § 98.236(p)(2)(ii)(D)(2) 

and (p)(5)(iv) of this chapter for the wellpad site. 

CountRecip,Reinject = The count of reciprocating 

compressors used in the reinjection into 

wells of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation. For reporting year 2024, 

use the count associated with the WEC 

applicable facility for the reporting year. 

For reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

count associated with the well-pad site. 

CountRecip,Total = The total count of 

reciprocating compressors reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(o)(1) of this chapter. 

For reporting year 2024, use the quantity 

reported at the WEC applicable facility 

for the reporting year. For reporting year 

2025 and later, use the quantity reported 

for the well-pad site. 

Td = The time period associated with the 

eligible delay within the reporting year, 

as determined pursuant to § 99.32(a), in 

days. 

T = The number of days in the reporting year. 

Use 365, or for leap years, 366. 

ELeaks-Reinject,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions from equipment leaks from 

components involved in reinjection as 

calculated in accordance with paragraph 

(c)(9)(i) through (iii) of this section, as 

applicable, for the reporting year, mt 

CH4. When determining the equipment 

leaks use only the equipment 

components that were involved in 

reinjection during the eligible delay. 

(8) If a portion, or all, of the increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation was 

flared, equation C–8A of this section 

must be used to calculate the quantity 

of methane emissions from flaring of 

increased volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation for each 

associated flare. For reporting year 2024, 

if a CEMS was used to measure 

emissions from an associated flare as 

reported to § 98.236(n)(12) of this part, 

do not determine methane emissions for 

that flare. Equation C–8B of this section 

must be used to calculate the quantity 

of methane emissions from flaring of 

increased volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation for the WEC 

applicable facility or well-pad site, as 

applicable. 

Where: 

EFlare,i,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions from flaring of increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation for an individual flare, 

mt CH4.

VFlared = The volume of natural gas resulting 

from methane emissions mitigation 

implementation that was flared at the 

flare as determined pursuant to 

§ 98.32(b)(4)(ii) or (iii) of this chapter, as 

applicable, scf. 

XCH4 = Mole fraction of CH4 in the gas sent 

to the flare. For reporting year 2024, use 

the value reported to § 98.236(n)(7) of 

this chapter. For reporting year 2025 and 

later, if you determine composition of 

each stream routed to the flare as 

specified in § 98.233(n)(4)(iii) of this 

chapter and the stream or combination of 

streams contain only the flow resulting 

from methane emissions mitigation 

implementation, use the mole fraction as 

reported to § 98.236(n)(14) of this 

chapter (if using multiple streams, use 

the flow-weighted average mole 

fraction). Otherwise, for reporting year 

2025 and later, use the average mole 

fraction of CH4 in produced gas for the 

sub-basin in which the well-pad site at 

which methane emissions mitigation 

implementation occurred as reported to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) of this chapter. 

O = Flare destruction efficiency for the flare. 

For reporting year 2024, use the flare 

combustion efficiency reported to 

§ 98.236(n)(6) of this chapter. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

flare destruction efficiency reported to 

§ 98.236(n)(13) of this chapter. 

ZL = Fraction of the feed gas sent to the 

burning flare, equal to 1—ZU of this 

section. 

ZU = Fraction of the feed gas sent to the flare 

when it was un-lit. For reporting year 

2024, use the value reported to 

§ 98.236(n)(5) of this chapter. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

value reported to § 98.236(n)(12) of this 

chapter. 

rCH4 = Density of methane at 60 °F and 14.7 

psia. Use 0.0192 kg/ft3. 

10¥3 = Conversion from kilograms to metric 

tons. 

Where: 

EFlare,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions from flaring of increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation, mt CH4. 

EFlare,i,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions from flaring of increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation for each associated flare, 

i, as determined using equation C–8A of 

this section, mt CH4. 

M = Total number of flares that received an 

increased volume of gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation. 

(9) You must quantify equipment leak 

methane emissions from components 

involved in the useful purpose or 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation at 

the WEC applicable facility in 

accordance with the methods in 

paragraphs (c)(9)(i) through (iii) of this 

section. You must use the same 

calculation method for equipment leaks 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(q) or (r) of 

this chapter in the part 98 report 

associated with the components 

involved in the useful purpose or 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation at 

the WEC applicable facility. 


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(Eq. C-8A) 

(Eq. C-8B) 
91184 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

(i) If equipment leak surveys and 

measurement were used to quantify 

methane emissions from components 

involved in the useful purpose or 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation 

and reported pursuant to § 98.236(q) of 

this chapter in the part 98 report for a 

WEC applicable facility, you must 

calculate the methane emissions (i.e., 

EMeasured Leak, CH4) for each leak in 

accordance with equation C–9A of this 

section. The sum of the quantified 

methane emissions from components 

involved in the useful purpose or 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation 

calculated in accordance with equation 

C–9A of this section shall be considered 

‘‘ELeaks-Use, CH4’’ and ‘‘ELeaks-Reinject, CH4’’ 

in Equations C–6 and C–7 of this 

section, as applicable. 

Where: 

EMeasured Leak,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to a measured leak 

emissions from components involved in 

the useful purpose or reinjection of the 

increased volume of natural gas resulting 

from methane emissions mitigation 

implementation, mt CH4.

p = Component type as reported in 

accordance with § 98.236(q) of this 

chapter, as applicable. 

z = An individual component involved in the 

useful purpose or reinjection of type ‘‘p’’ 

detected as leaking and measured any 

leak survey during the year. 

Qp,z = Volumetric flow rate of the natural gas 

leak for component ‘‘z’’ of component 

type ‘‘p’’ converted to standard 

conditions according to § 98.233(q)(3)(iii) 

of this chapter, scf whole gas/hour/ 

component, as applicable. 

MCH4 = The mole fraction of CH4 in produced 

gas for the well. For onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production wells, use the 

mole fraction of CH4 in produced gas for 

the sub-basin associated with the well, as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) 

of this chapter, unitless. For RY2024, if 

multiple sub-basins were impacted by 

the unreasonable delay, use the flowweighted average mole fraction. 

Tp,z = The total time the surveyed component 

‘‘z’’ of component type ‘‘p’’ was assumed 

to be leaking. If one leak detection 

survey is conducted in the calendar year, 

assume the component was leaking from 

the beginning of the delay period as 

determined in accordance with 

§ 99.32(a)(1) until the date the delay 

ended as determined in accordance with 

§ 99.32(a)(2), days. If multiple leak 

detection surveys are conducted in the 

calendar year, assume a component 

found leaking in the first survey was 

leaking since the beginning of the year 

until the date of the survey; assume a 

component found leaking in the last 

survey of the year was leaking from the 

preceding survey through the date the 

delay ended as determined in 

accordance with § 99.32(a)(2), days; 

assume a component found leaking in a 

survey between the first and last surveys 

of the year was leaking since the 

preceding survey until the date of the 

survey, days; and sum times for all 

leaking periods. For each leaking 

component, account for time the 

component was not operational (i.e., not 

operating under pressure) using an 

engineering estimate based on best 

available data. 

k = The factor to adjust for undetected leaks 

by respective leak detection method. For 

reporting year 2024, k equals 1. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, k equals 

1.25 for the methods in § 98.234(a)(1), (3) 

and (5) of this chapter; k equals 1.55 for 

the method in § 98.234(a)(2)(i) of this 

chapter; and k equals 1.27 for the 

method in § 98.234(a)(2)(ii) of this 

chapter. Select the factor for the leak 

detection method used for the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well, 

unitless. 

rCH4 = Density of methane, 0.0192 mt/Mscf. 

10¥3 = Conversion factor from scf to Mscf. 

(ii) If equipment leak surveys were 

used to quantify methane emissions 

from components involved in the useful 

purpose or reinjection of the increased 

volume of natural gas resulting from 

methane emissions mitigation 

implementation and reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(q) of this chapter in the part 

98 report for a WEC applicable facility, 

equation C–9B of this section must be 

used to calculate ELeaks,CH4. 

Where: 

ELeaks,CH4 = The annual quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to components 

involved in the useful purpose or 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(q) of this 

chapter for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

p = Component type as specified in 

§ 98.233(q)(2)(iii) of this chapter. 

Np = The number of component types with 

detected leaks involved in the useful 

purpose or reinjection. 

EFp = The leaker emission factor for 

component ‘‘p’’ as specified in 

§ 98.233(q)(2)(iii) of this chapter, scf 

whole gas/hour/component. 

24 = Conversion from days to hours. 

MCH4 = The mole fraction of CH4 in produced 

gas for the sub-basin in which the useful 

purpose or reinjection occurred, as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) 

of this chapter, unitless. For RY2024, if 

multiple sub-basins were impacted by 

the unreasonable delay, use the flowweighted average mole fraction. 

xp = The total number of specific components 

involved in the useful purpose or 

reinjection of type ‘‘p’’ detected as 

leaking during the year. A component 

found leaking in two or more surveys 

during the year is counted as one leaking 

component. 

Tp,z = The total time the surveyed component 

‘‘z’’ of component type ‘‘p’’ was assumed 

to be leaking. If one leak detection 

survey is conducted in the calendar year, 

assume the component was leaking from 

the beginning of the delay period as 

determined in accordance with 

§ 99.32(a)(1) until the date the delay 

ended as determined in accordance with 

§ 99.32(a)(2), days. If multiple leak 

detection surveys are conducted in the 

calendar year, assume a component 

found leaking in the first survey was 

leaking since the beginning of the year 

until the date of the survey; assume a 

component found leaking in the last 

survey of the year was leaking from the 

preceding survey through the date the 

delay ended as determined in 

accordance with § 99.32(a)(2), days; 

assume a component found leaking in a 

survey between the first and last surveys 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.021</GPH> ER18NO24.022</GPH>

EMeasuredLeak,CH4 = Qp,z X Tp,z X Mcs4 X k X Pcs4 X 10-

3 (Eq. C-9A) 

Np 

Eua/a,CII, = I ( EFP X t(Tp,, X 24)) X Mm, X k XpCII, x 10-

3 (Eq_ C-9B) 

p=l 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91185 

of the year was leaking since the 

preceding survey until the date of the 

survey, days; and sum times for all 

leaking periods. For each leaking 

component, account for time the 

component was not operational (i.e., not 

operating under pressure) using an 

engineering estimate based on best 

available data. 

k = The factor to adjust for undetected leaks 

by respective leak detection method. For 

reporting year 2024, k equals 1. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, k equals 

1.25 for the methods in § 98.234(a)(1), (3) 

and (5) of this chapter; k equals 1.55 for 

the method in § 98.234(a)(2)(i) of this 

chapter; and k equals 1.27 for the 

method in § 98.234(a)(2)(ii) of this 

chapter. Select the factor for the leak 

detection method used for the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well, 

unitless. 

rCH4 = Density of methane, 0.0192 mt/ 

Mscf. 

10¥3 = Conversion factor from scf to Mscf. 

(iii) If equipment leaks by population 

count were used to quantify methane 

emission from components involved in 

the useful purpose or reinjection of the 

increased volume of natural gas 

resulting from methane emissions 

mitigation implementation and reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(r) of this chapter in 

the part 98 report for a WEC applicable 

facility, equation C–9C of this section 

must be used to calculate ELeaks,CH4. 

Where: 

ELeaks,CH4 = The annual quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to components 

involved in the useful purpose or 

reinjection of the increased volume of 

natural gas resulting from methane 

emissions mitigation implementation as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(r) of this 

chapter for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

Countp = For each component type, ‘‘p’’, 

listed in § 98.233(r)(2) of this chapter 

that was involved in the useful purpose 

or reinjection, count the number of 

components of that type. 

EFp = The population emission factor for the 

component type, ‘‘p’’, as listed in 

§ 98.233(r)(2) of this chapter. 

MCH4 = The mole fraction of CH4 in produced 

gas for the sub-basin in which the useful 

purpose or reinjection occurred, as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) 

of this chapter, unitless. For RY2024, if 

multiple sub-basins were impacted by 

the unreasonable delay, use the flowweighted average mole fraction. 

T = The time period of the eligible delay 

within the reporting year, as determined 

in accordance with § 99.32(a), days. 

24 = Conversion from days to hours. 

RCH4 = Density of methane, 0.0192 mt/Mscf. 

10¥3 = Conversion factor from scf to Mscf. 

§ 99.33 What are the recordkeeping 

requirements for methane emissions 

caused by an unreasonable delay in 

environmental permitting of gathering or 

transmission infrastructure? 

(a) If the WEC obligated party, or its 

subsidiaries, is the entity seeking the 

environmental permit, for each 

communication the entity seeking the 

environmental permit has had with the 

permitting authority regarding the 

permit application: 

(1) The date and type of 

communication. 

(2) The date of the facility’s response 

to the communication. 

(3) Information on whether the 

facility’s response included 

modification to the permit application. 

(b) Records of values used and any 

information relied upon in the 

calculation of the emissions attributable 

to the unreasonable delay in § 99.32(c). 

(c) For any volumes of gas determined 

under § 99.32(b) that were not directly 

measured, an explanation of how 

company records, engineering 

estimation, and/or best available 

information were used to determine the 

gas volume. 

(d) A list of all applicable local, State, 

and Federal regulations the WEC 

obligated party certified compliance 

with, as required in § 99.31(b)(11), 

regarding emissions from the activities 

listed in § 99.30(d) that occurred as a 

result of a delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure. 

Subpart D—Regulatory Compliance 

Exemption 

§ 99.40 When is the regulatory compliance 

exemption available, and under what 

conditions does the exemption cease to be 

available? 

(a) The requirements of this subpart 

only apply to a WEC applicable facility 

when the total facility applicable 

emissions for that WEC applicable 

facility as calculated in accordance with 

§ 99.21(a) exceed 0 mt CH4. 

(b) The requirements of § 99.41 shall 

only be available when the conditions of 

paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this 

section are met. The Administrator shall 

make the determinations referenced in 

conditions (b)(1) and (2) of this section 

simultaneously for each individual State 

or Tribal lands in a single 

administrative action. 

(1) A determination has been made by 

the Administrator that methane 

emissions standards and plans pursuant 

to subsections (b) and (d) of section 111 

of the CAA have been approved and are 

in effect in all the State(s) or Tribal 

lands in which the WEC applicable 

facility is located; and 

(2) A determination has been made by 

the Administrator that the emissions 

reductions achieved by compliance with 

the requirements described in paragraph 

(b)(1) of this section will result in 

equivalent or greater emissions 

reductions as would be achieved by the 

proposed rule of the Administrator 

entitled ‘Standards of Performance for 

New, Reconstructed, and Modified 

Sources and Emissions Guidelines for 

Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas 

Sector Climate Review’ (86 FR 63110; 

November 15, 2021), if such rule had 

been finalized and implemented. For 

purposes of this equivalency 

determination, the comparison will be 

made between the emissions reductions 

that would have been achieved if the 

proposed rule was finalized and 

implemented in each State or Tribal 

lands as proposed, and the emissions 

reductions that will be achieved when 

the final standards and plans are 

actually implemented in each State. 

(3) The final compliance date, which 

is the date at which all affected facilities 

and all designated facilities become 

subject to all of the final methane 

emissions standards established 

pursuant to CAA section 111(b) or (d), 

as applicable, has passed in the State(s) 

or Tribal lands in which the WEC 

applicable facility is located. 

(c) At such time that the conditions 

specified in paragraphs (b)(1) through 

(3) of this section are met, the reporting 

requirements of § 99.42 shall come into 

effect beginning with the WEC filing 

due on the date specified in § 99.5 for 

the calendar year following the calendar 

year in which all of the conditions were 

met. Imposition of the waste emission 

charge shall not be made on the 

emissions from an applicable facility 

meeting the requirements for regulatory 

compliance exemption and electing to 

claim such exemption for methane 

emissions that occurred during the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.023</GPH>

Np 

ELeaks,cH4 = L ( Countp X EFP) X Mcs4 X TX 24 X Pcs4 X 10-3 

p=l 

(Eq. C-9C) 
91186 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

calendar year during which the 

conditions of paragraphs (b)(1) through 

(3) of this section are met. 

(d) If any of the conditions in 

paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section 

cease to apply after the Administrator 

has made the determinations in 

paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section 

for the State(s) or Tribal lands in which 

the WEC applicable facility is located, 

the reporting requirements of § 99.42 

shall cease to be in effect for the WEC 

applicable facility beginning with the 

WEC filing due on the date specified in 

§ 99.5 for the calendar year during 

which either of the conditions were no 

longer met. The reporting requirements 

of § 99.42 shall cease to be in effect until 

the conditions of paragraph (e) of this 

section are met. 

(e) The reporting requirements of 

§ 99.42 will again come into effect at 

such time that a subsequent 

determination is made by the 

Administrator that the conditions in 

paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section 

apply for the State(s) or Tribal lands in 

which the WEC applicable facility is 

located, and after the final compliance 

date specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this 

section. The reporting requirements of 

§ 99.42 will again come into effect in 

accordance with the timing specified in 

paragraph (c) of this section until such 

time the conditions of paragraph (d) of 

this section apply. 

§ 99.41 Which facilities qualify for the 

exemption for regulatory compliance? 

(a) The total facility applicable 

emissions for the WEC applicable 

facility as calculated in accordance with 

§ 99.21(a) must exceed 0 mt. 

(b) The WEC applicable facility must 

be located in a State(s) or Tribal lands 

for which the conditions specified in 

§ 99.40 were met for the reporting year. 

For WEC applicable facilities in the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production or onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segments, as those industry 

segment terms are defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter, a WEC applicable facility 

is considered to be located in each State 

or Tribal lands within which a well-pad 

site or gathering and boosting site, as 

applicable, was reported pursuant to 

§§ 98.236(aa)(1)(iv)(C) or (aa)(10)(v)(E) 

of this chapter, as applicable, for the 

reporting year. For WEC applicable 

facilities that are located in more than 

one State or Tribal lands, the conditions 

specified in § 99.40 must be met for 

each State or Tribal lands. 

(c) The WEC applicable facility must 

contain one or more affected facilities or 

one or more designated facilities. 

(d) For WEC applicable facilities 

meeting the eligibility criteria of 

paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section 

for which the WEC obligated party 

elects to claim for exemption any 

emissions related to regulatory 

compliance, the quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to regulatory 

compliance must be determined 

pursuant to § 99.43. To qualify for 

exemption of all emissions under the 

regulatory compliance exemption all 

affected facilities and all designated 

facilities that are located at the WEC 

applicable facility (or the well-pad site 

or gathering and boosting site, if 

applicable) must meet the conditions 

specified in paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) of 

this section during each calendar 

quarter (i.e., January 1–March 31) of the 

reporting year for which the exemption 

is being claimed. 

(1) For all affected facilities and all 

designated facilities located at the WEC 

applicable facility (or the well-pad site 

or gathering and boosting site, if 

applicable) no deviations or violations 

of the monitoring requirements, 

emission limits or standards (or 

surrogate parameters), operating limits 

(including operating parameter limits), 

or work practice standards were 

identified in compliance reports of the 

methane emissions requirements of part 

60 of this chapter and the methane 

emissions requirements of an applicable 

approved State, Tribal, or Federal plan 

in part 62 of this chapter during the 

reporting year. 

(2) For all affected facilities and all 

designated facilities located at the WEC 

applicable facility (or the well-pad site 

or gathering and boosting site, if 

applicable) no violations, as determined 

either through an administrative action 

taken by the Administrator or delegated 

agency or through a judicial action, of 

any requirements of part 60 of this 

chapter and the methane emissions 

requirements of an applicable approved 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan in part 62 

of this chapter during the reporting year. 

(e) For purposes of this part, the 

phrase ‘‘affected facility(ies) or 

designated facility(ies) that are located 

at the WEC applicable facility’’ means 

the affected facility(ies) or designated 

facility(ies) that was (were) part of the 

WEC applicable facility as of December 

31 of the reporting year as well as any 

facility(ies) that was (were) 

decommissioned during the reporting 

year without being transferred to 

another facility. 

§ 99.42 What are the reporting 

requirements for the exemption for 

regulatory compliance? 

(a) Facilities that qualify to report. For 

a WEC applicable facility that meets 

each of the criteria described in 

§ 99.41(a) through (d) and elects to 

claim for exemption any emissions 

related to regulatory compliance, report 

the information as described in 

paragraphs (b) through (h) of this 

section, as applicable. The regulatory 

compliance exemption information 

shall be submitted as described in 

§ 99.7. 

(b) Submission of reports. For each 

WEC applicable facility report all of the 

information specified in paragraphs 

(b)(1) through (6) of this section, as 

applicable. 

(1) For each WEC applicable facility, 

the final compliance date as determined 

in accordance with § 99.40(b)(3) and a 

certification that the facility meets all of 

the eligibility criteria in § 99.41. 

(2) The ICIS–AIR ID (or Facility 

Registry Service (FRS) ID if the ICIS– 

AIR ID is not available) and the EPA 

Registry ID from CEDRI associated with 

each affected facility and designated 

facility that are located at the WEC 

applicable facility. For WEC applicable 

facilities in the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production or onshore 

petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting industry segments, as those 

industry segment terms are defined in 

§ 98.230 of this chapter, indicate the 

well-pad site ID(s) or gathering and 

boosting site ID(s), as reported to 

§ 98.236 of this chapter, that is/are part 

of each affected facility and/or 

designated facility. 

(3) If a report, or reports, prepared and 

submitted in accordance with part 60 of 

this chapter, or an applicable approved 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan under part 

62 of this chapter that implements the 

emission guidelines contained in part 

60 of this chapter, cover the complete 

reporting year (i.e., January 1 through 

December 31, inclusive), then submit as 

attachment(s) the applicable report(s). 

This report, or reports, must include all 

affected facilities or designated facilities 

that are located at the WEC applicable 

facility. 

(4) If a report, or reports, prepared and 

submitted in accordance with part 60 of 

this chapter, or an applicable approved 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan under part 

62 of this chapter that implements the 

emission guidelines contained in part 

60 of this chapter, does not cover the 

complete reporting year (i.e., January 1 

through December 31, inclusive), then 

submit as attachment(s) the applicable 

report(s). This report, or reports, must 

include all affected facilities or 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91187 

designated facilities that are located at 

the WEC applicable facility. 

(5) For each report submitted under 

this section, provide an indication of 

whether the report indicates that at least 

one of the affected facilities subject to 

the requirements of part 60 of this 

chapter or designated facilities subject 

to the requirements of an applicable 

approved State, Tribal, or Federal plan 

in part 62 of this chapter that is 

contained within the WEC applicable 

facility does not meet the conditions of 

§ 99.41(d)(1) or (2). 

(6) For each report submitted under 

this section, indicate if the report 

includes one or more affected facilities 

or designated facilities that are not 

located at the WEC applicable facility. If 

so, indicate each such affected facility 

or designated facility. For each affected 

facility or designated facility, indicate if 

the affected or designated facility was 

part of the WEC applicable facility for 

part of the reporting year and 

transferred to another facility prior to 

December 31 of the reporting year or if 

the affected or designated facility was 

not part of the WEC applicable at any 

time during the reporting year. 

(c) Submission of incomplete or 

partial year reports. If, pursuant to 

paragraph (b)(4) of this section, you are 

unable to provide an annual report 

covering the entire reporting year at the 

time of the initial submittal specified in 

§ 99.5 for each affected facility or 

designated facility at the WEC 

applicable facility, you must provide a 

certification of the compliance status for 

each such affected facility or designated 

facility for the duration of time not 

covered by a report submitted pursuant 

to paragraph (b)(4) of this section. 

Additionally, you must provide a 

revised WEC filing within 30 calendar 

days of the date that an annual report 

covering the entire reporting year is 

required to be submitted under the 

applicable requirements of part 60 of 

this chapter or an applicable approved 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan in part 62 

of this chapter. This requirement also 

applies in the case where the initial 

WEC filing contains an annual report 

covering only a portion of the reporting 

year. Within 30 calendar days of the 

date that an annual report is due under 

the applicable requirements of part 60 of 

this chapter or an applicable approved 

State, Tribal, or Federal plan in part 62 

of this chapter for the portion of the 

reporting year for which a previously 

submitted report does not cover, you 

must provide a revised WEC filing 

including the subsequent annual report. 

The resubmission of the revised WEC 

filing shall be considered timely under 

this paragraph (c) if it is made within 30 

calendar days of the date that the annual 

report is due under the applicable 

requirements of part 60 of this chapter 

or an applicable approved State, Tribal, 

or Federal plan in part 62 of this 

chapter. In such cases where a newly 

available report indicates that an 

affected facility or designated facility 

does not meet the conditions of 

§ 99.41(d)(1) or (2) that were not 

previously indicated in the WEC filing 

for the reporting year (i.e., the WEC 

applicable facility would no longer 

qualify for the regulatory compliance 

exemption for the given calendar 

quarter(s)), a WEC applicable facility 

would be required to complete the 

reporting requirements in § 99.42(d) and 

(e), as applicable, in the revised WEC 

filing and the emissions attributable to 

regulatory compliance exemption must 

be recalculated pursuant to § 99.43. The 

WEC obligated party must determine the 

WEC applicable emissions for the WEC 

applicable facility pursuant to subpart B 

of this part and follow the provisions of 

§ 99.7(e) regarding WEC filing revisions 

and § 99.8(d) regarding resubmittals that 

result in a change in WEC obligation. 

(d) For reports that indicate a 

deviation or violation. For each report 

submitted pursuant to paragraphs (b) 

and (c) of this section that indicates that 

at least one of the affected facilities 

subject to the requirements of part 60 of 

this chapter or designated facilities 

subject to the requirements of an 

applicable approved State, Tribal, or 

Federal plan in part 62 of this chapter 

that is contained within the WEC 

applicable facility does not meet the 

conditions for the exemption of all 

emissions in § 99.41(d)(1) and (2), report 

the following: 

(1) The ICIS–AIR ID (or FRS ID if the 

ICIS–AIR ID is not available) and the 

EPA Registry ID from CEDRI associated 

with each affected facility and 

designated facility in the report that 

indicated a deviation or violation. For 

WEC applicable facilities in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production or 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments, as those industry segment 

terms are defined in § 98.230 of this 

chapter, indicate the well-pad site ID(s) 

or gathering and boosting site ID(s), as 

reported to § 98.236 of this chapter, that 

is/are part of each affected facility and/ 

or designated facility in the report that 

indicated a deviation or violation. 

(2) For each calendar quarter during 

the reporting year report whether the 

conditions in § 99.41(d)(1) or (2) were 

met. For example, a report in which the 

only deviation indicated lasted from 

March 1 to April 30 in the reporting 

year would be reported as the first (i.e., 

January to March) and second (i.e., April 

to June) that the conditions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) or (2) were not met, and 

report for the third (i.e., July to 

September) and fourth (i.e., October to 

December) calendar quarters that the 

conditions were met. 

(e) Reporting for other large release 

events. For a WEC applicable facility 

that reported one or more other large 

release events pursuant to § 98.236(y) of 

this chapter in the reporting year that 

occurred within or overlapped with a 

calendar quarter in which a deviation or 

violation was reported pursuant to 

paragraph (d) of this section, for each 

other large release event that occurred 

within or overlapped a quarter in which 

the conditions in § 99.41(d)(1) or (2) 

were not met report the information 

specified in paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of 

this section. 

(1) The unique release event 

identification number associated with 

the release event as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(y)(2) of this chapter. 

(2) The duration of the release event, 

based upon the start date and duration 

reported to § 98.236(y)(4) of this 

chapter, that occurred during calendar 

quarters in which the conditions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) or (2) were not met for any 

affected or designated facilities located 

at the WEC applicable facility, in days. 

For example, for a release event that 

lasted from March 1 to April 14 (i.e., a 

total event duration of 45 days) at a 

WEC applicable facility in which there 

were reported deviations or violations 

in only the first calendar quarter 

(January through March, inclusive), the 

value reported under this paragraph 

would be 31 days. 

(f) Determination of compliance. A 

WEC applicable facility’s eligibility for 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

pursuant to this subpart does not 

constitute a determination of 

compliance for part 60 of this chapter, 

or an applicable approved State, Tribal, 

or Federal plan under part 62 of this 

chapter that implements the emission 

guidelines contained in part 60 of this 

chapter, for any affected facility or 

designated facility present at the 

applicable facility. 

(g) Administrator or delegated 

authority determination of noncompliance. A WEC applicable facility’s 

eligibility for the regulatory compliance 

exemption during a given reporting year 

does not preclude reassessment of 

applicable WEC obligation for that 

applicable facility upon any 

determination by the Administrator or a 

delegated authority of any 

noncompliance with respect to any 

applicable methane requirements 

pursuant to part 60 of this chapter, or 


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91188 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

an applicable approved State, Tribal, or 

Federal plan under part 62 of this 

chapter that implements the emission 

guidelines contained in part 60 of this 

chapter, for the affected facilities or 

designated facilities present at the 

applicable facility. 

(h) Reporting of quantification 

parameters. Report the following 

information used to quantify methane 

emissions to be exempted due to the 

regulatory compliance exemption as 

specified in § 99.43. 

(1) For a WEC applicable facility in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production or onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segment, as those industry 

segment terms are defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter, report: 

(i) The quantity of methane emissions 

at the WEC applicable facility qualifying 

for regulatory compliance exemption, in 

mt CH4, as determined using equation 

D–1A of § 99.43(b)(1) (ERCE,CH4) 

(ii) The total quantity of methane 

emissions that qualified for exemption 

under both the regulatory compliance 

exemption and another exemption, in 

mt CH4, as determined using equation 

D–2A of § 99.43(c)(1) (EOtherExempt) 

(iii) For each well-pad site or 

gathering and boosting site, as 

applicable, that was reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(aa)(1)(iv) or (aa)(10)(v) of 

this chapter, as applicable, for the 

reporting year, report: 

(A) The well-pad site ID(s) or 

gathering and boosting site ID(s), as 

reported to § 98.236(aa)(1)(iv)(A) or 

(aa)(10)(v)(A) of this chapter, as 

applicable. 

(B) An indication of whether any 

affected facilities or designated facilities 

at the site did not meet the conditions 

for the exemption of all emissions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) and (2) during the 

reporting year. 

(C) If you report to paragraph 

(h)(1)(iii)(B) of this section that there 

were periods of time during which any 

affected facilities or designated facilities 

at the site did not meet the conditions 

for the exemption of all emissions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) and (2), for each calendar 

quarter in the reporting year report 

whether the conditions for the 

exemption of all emissions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) and (2) were met. For 

example, if the only deviation for any 

affected facilities or designated facilities 

at the site lasted from March 1 to April 

30 report for the first (i.e., January to 

March) and second (i.e., April to June) 

that the conditions in § 99.41(d)(1) or (2) 

were not met, and report for the third 

(i.e., July to September) and fourth (i.e., 

October to December) calendar quarters 

that the conditions were met. 

(D) If there were multiple reports 

submitted pursuant to paragraphs (b)(3) 

and (4) of this section for an individual 

well-pad site (for the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production industry 

segment) or individual gathering and 

boosting site (for the onshore petroleum 

and natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segment), the calendar quarters 

reported pursuant to paragraph 

(h)(1)(iii)(C) of this section must reflect 

the periods of time in which the 

conditions in § 99.41(d)(1) or (2) were 

met for the well-pad site or gathering 

and boosting site, as applicable, in its 

entirety. For example, if two reports 

were submitted that together represent 

all of the affected and designated 

facilities at a well-pad site, and one 

report indicates deviation during only 

the first calendar quarter (i.e., January to 

March) while the other report indicates 

deviation during only the second 

calendar quarter (i.e., April to June), the 

information reported would be that for 

the first (i.e., January to March) and 

second (i.e., April to June) calendar 

quarters the conditions in § 99.41(d)(1) 

or (2) were not met, and for the third 

(i.e., July to September) and fourth (i.e., 

October to December) calendar quarters 

that the conditions were met. 

(2) For a WEC applicable facility in an 

industry segment other than the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production or 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting industry 

segment, as those industry segment 

terms are defined in § 98.230 of this 

chapter, report: 

(i) The quantity of methane emissions 

at the WEC applicable facility qualifying 

for regulatory compliance exemption, in 

mt CH4, as determined using equation 

D–1B of § 99.43(b)(2) (ERCE,CH4) 

(ii) The total quantity of methane 

emissions that qualified for exemption 

under both the regulatory compliance 

exemption and another exemption, in 

mt CH4, as determined using equation 

D–2B of § 99.43(c)(2) (EOtherExempt). 

(iii) An indication of whether any 

affected facilities or designated facilities 

at the facility did not meet the 

conditions for the exemption of all 

emissions in § 99.41(d)(1) and (2) during 

the reporting year. 

(iv) If you report to paragraph 

(h)(2)(iii) of this section that there were 

periods of time during which any 

affected facilities or designated facilities 

at the site did not meet the conditions 

for the exemption of all emissions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) and (2), for each calendar 

quarter in the reporting year report 

whether the conditions for the 

exemption of all emissions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) and (2) were met. For 

example, if the only deviation for any 

affected facilities or designated facilities 

at the facility lasted from March 1 to 

April 30 report for the first (i.e., January 

to March) and second (i.e., April to 

June) that the conditions in § 99.41(d)(1) 

or (2) were not met, and report for the 

third (i.e., July to September) and fourth 

(i.e., October to December) calendar 

quarters that the conditions were met. 

(v) If there were multiple reports 

submitted pursuant to paragraphs (b)(3) 

and (4) of this section for the WEC 

applicable facility, the calendar quarters 

reported pursuant to paragraph 

(h)(2)(iv)(C) must reflect the periods of 

time in which the conditions in 

§ 99.41(d)(1) or (2) were met for the 

WEC applicable facility in its entirety. 

For example, if two reports were 

submitted that together represent all of 

the affected and designated facilities at 

a well-pad site, and one report indicates 

deviation during only the first calendar 

quarter (i.e., January to March) while the 

other report indicates deviation during 

only the second calendar quarter (i.e., 

April to June), the information reported 

would be that for the first (i.e., January 

to March) and second (i.e., April to 

June) calendar quarters the conditions 

in § 99.41(d)(1) or (2) were not met, and 

for the third (i.e., July to September) and 

fourth (i.e., October to December) 

calendar quarters that the conditions 

were met. 

§ 99.43 How are the emissions qualifying 

for regulatory compliance exemption in the 

reporting year quantified? 

(a) If the WEC applicable facility 

qualified for regulatory compliance 

exemption pursuant to § 99.41(d) for the 

entire reporting year, the quantity of 

methane emissions attributable to the 

regulatory compliance (ERCE,CH4) is 

equal to the total facility applicable 

emissions calculated using equation B– 

6 of this part. For WEC applicable 

facilities in the onshore petroleum and 

natural gas production or onshore 

petroleum and natural gas gathering and 

boosting industry segments, as those 

industry segment terms are defined in 

§ 98.230 of this chapter, the WEC 

applicable facility shall be considered to 

have qualified for the regulatory 

compliance exemption pursuant to 

§ 99.41(d) for the entire reporting year if 

each well-pad site or gathering and 

boosting site, as applicable, located at 

the WEC applicable facility qualified for 

regulatory compliance exemption 

pursuant to § 99.41(d) for the entire 

reporting year. 

(b) If the WEC applicable facility 

qualified for regulatory compliance 

exemption pursuant to § 99.41(d) for 

only part of the reporting year or for 

only a portion of sites for WEC 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91189 

applicable facilities in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production or 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

gathering and boosting industry 

segments, as those industry segment 

terms are defined in § 98.230 of this 

chapter, calculate the qualifying 

emissions according to the method in 

paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section, as 

applicable. 

(1) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production or onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segment, as those industry 

segment terms are defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter, calculate the emissions 

qualifying for regulatory compliance 

exemption using equation D–1A of this 

section. If the result of equation D–1A 

of this section is less than 0 mt CH4, the 

emissions qualifying for regulatory 

compliance exemption are equal to 0 mt 

CH4. 

Where: 

ERCE,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions, as determined in subpart D of 

this part, at the WEC applicable facility 

qualifying for regulatory compliance 

exemption subject to the applicability 

provisions of § 99.41, mt CH4. 

ETFA,CH4 = The annual methane emissions 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for a WEC 

applicable facility prior to consideration 

of any applicable exemptions (i.e., total 

facility applicable emissions) as 

determined in equation B–6 of § 99.21, 

mt CH4. 

M = Total number of sites that did not qualify 

for regulatory compliance exemption for 

the entire calendar year. 

ENCS,i = The total methane emissions 

reported pursuant to § 99.7(b)(2)(ix) for 

the reporting year, excluding methane 

emissions from other large release events 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(y)(10) of 

this chapter, for each well-pad or 

gathering and boosting site that did not 

qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year, i, mt CH4.

Tj = Time that the site, i, qualified for 

regulatory compliance exemption as 

reported pursuant to § 99.42(h), in 

calendar quarters. 

4 = Number of calendar quarters per year. 

N = Total number of other large release 

events reported pursuant to § 99.42(e) for 

the reporting year for the well-pad or 

gathering and boosting site that did not 

qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year, i. 

ENCS–OLRE,j = The methane emissions from 

each other large release event that 

occurred during or overlapped with a 

calendar quarter in which the well-pad 

or gathering and boosting site that did 

not qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption, j, for each well-pad or 

gathering and boosting site that did not 

qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year, i, mt CH4

TOLRE–RCE,j = Duration of the other large 

release event, j, that occurred during 

periods of time in which the WEC 

applicable facility did not qualify for 

regulatory compliance exemption as 

reported pursuant to § 99.42(e), in days. 

TOLRE,j = Duration of the other large release 

event, j, based upon the value pursuant 

to § 98.236(y)(4) of this chapter, in days. 

For purposes of this part, the duration of 

the other large release event includes 

each calendar day during which the 

release occurred, inclusive. 

EOtherExempt = The total quantity of methane 

emissions that qualified for exemption 

under both the regulatory compliance 

exemption and another exemption, as 

determined using equation D–2A of this 

section, for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

(2) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

an industry segment other than the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production or onshore petroleum and 

natural gas gathering and boosting 

industry segment, as those industry 

segment terms are defined in § 98.230 of 

this chapter, calculate the emissions 

qualifying for regulatory compliance 

exemption using equation D–1B of this 

section. If the result of equation D–1B of 

this section is less than 0 mt CH4, the 

emissions qualifying for regulatory 

compliance exemption are equal to 0 mt 

CH4. 

Where: 

ERCE,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions, as determined in subpart D of 

this part, at the WEC applicable facility 

qualifying for regulatory compliance 

exemption subject to the applicability 

provisions of § 99.41, mt CH4. 

ETFA,CH4 = The annual methane emissions 

equal to, below, or exceeding the waste 

emissions threshold for a WEC 

applicable facility prior to consideration 

of any applicable exemptions (i.e., total 

facility applicable emissions) as 

determined in equation B–6 of § 99.21, 

mt CH4.

EWAF = The total methane emissions reported 

pursuant to § 99.7(b)(2)(ix) for the 

reporting year, excluding methane 

emissions from other large release events 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(y)(10) of 

this chapter, for the WEC applicable 

facility, mt CH4.

T = Time that the WEC applicable facility 

qualified for regulatory compliance 

exemption as reported pursuant to 

§ 99.42(h), in calendar quarters. 

N = Total number of other large release 

events reported pursuant to § 99.42(e) for 

the reporting year for the WEC 

applicable facility. 

EWAF–OLRE,j = The methane emissions from 

each other large release event that 

occurred during or overlapped with a 

calendar quarter in which the WEC 

applicable facility did not qualify for 

regulatory compliance exemption, j, for 

the reporting year for the WEC 

applicable facility, mt CH4. 

TOLRE–RCE,j = Duration of the other large 

release event, j, that occurred during 

periods of time in which the WEC 

applicable facility did not qualify for 

regulatory compliance exemption as 

reported pursuant to § 99.42(e), in days. 

TOLRE,j = Duration of the other large release 

event, j, based upon the value pursuant 

to § 98.236(y)(4) of this chapter, in days. 

For purposes of this part, the duration of 

the other large release event includes 

each calendar day during which the 

release occurred, inclusive. 

EOtherExempt = The total quantity of methane 

emissions that qualified for exemption 

under both the regulatory compliance 

exemption and another exemption, as 

determined using equation D–2B of this 

section, for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

(c) If the WEC applicable facility 

qualified for regulatory compliance 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.024</GPH> ER18NO24.025</GPH>

M II ERcE,CH4 = ErFA,CH4 - ( ENcS,i X 

( 4 -

4 

TJ 

) + I N (ENCS-OLREJ X 

T OLRE-RCEJ 

T. . ) l - EotherExempt 

J=I OLREJ 

(Eq. D-lA) 

i=I 

( (4 - T)) f ( TaLRE-RCEJ) ERCE,CH4 = ETFA,CH4 - EwAF X 4 - L EwAF-OLREJ X T . - EatherExempt 

j=l OLREJ 

(Eq. D-1B) 
91190 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

exemption pursuant to § 99.41(d) for 

only part of the reporting year and 

qualified to claim for exemption 

emissions under § 99.30 and/or § 99.50, 

the total quantity of methane emissions 

that qualified for exemption under both 

the regulatory compliance exemption 

and another exemption must be 

calculated according to the applicable 

method in paragraph (c)(1) or (2). 

(1) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production, as that industry segment 

term is defined in § 98.230 of this 

chapter, equation D–2A must be used to 

calculate the quantity of methane 

emissions that qualified for exemption 

under both the regulatory compliance 

exemption and another exemption. 

Where: 

EOtherExempt = The total quantity of methane 

emissions that qualified for exemption 

under both the regulatory compliance 

exemption and another exemption for 

the reporting year, mt CH4. 

M = Total number of well-pad sites that 

qualified for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire calendar year. 

EDelay,CS,i = The quantity of methane 

emissions exempted due to an 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure, as determined in equation 

C–4 of § 99.32(c), at the WEC applicable 

facility from a well-pad site, i, that 

qualified for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year, mt CH4. 

EPlug,CS,i = The quantity of methane emissions 

exempted due to wells that were 

permanently shut-in and plugged, as 

determined in equation E–7 of § 99.52(c), 

at the WEC applicable facility from a 

well-pad site, i, that qualified for 

regulatory compliance exemption for the 

entire year, mt CH4. 

N = Total number of well-pad sites that did 

not qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire calendar year. 

EPlug,NCS,j = The quantity of methane 

emissions exempted due to wells that 

were permanently shut-in and plugged, 

as determined in equation E–7 of 

§ 99.52(c), at the WEC applicable facility 

from a well-pad site, j, that did not 

qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year, mt CH4. 

Tj = Time that the site, j, at the WEC 

applicable facility qualified for 

regulatory compliance exemption as 

reported pursuant to § 99.42(h), in 

calendar quarters. 

EDelay,NCS,j = The quantity of methane 

emissions exempted due to an 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure, as determined in equation 

C–4 of § 99.32(c), at the WEC applicable 

facility from a well-pad site, j, that did 

not qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption for the entire year, mt CH4. 

TDelay-RCE,j = Duration of time during the 

reporting year that an eligible delay 

limited the offtake of increased volume 

associated with methane emissions 

mitigation activities that occurred during 

periods of time in which the well-pad 

site, j, at the WEC applicable facility 

qualified for regulatory compliance 

exemption, in days. Determine this value 

using the beginning and ending dates for 

the eligible delay as reported pursuant to 

§ 99.31(b)(8) and the calendar quarters 

that the well-pad site, j, at the WEC 

applicable facility qualified for 

regulatory compliance exemption as 

reported pursuant to § 99.42(d). 

TDelay = Duration of time during the reporting 

year that an eligible delay limited the 

offtake of increased volume associated 

with methane emissions mitigation 

activities, in days. Determine this value 

using the beginning and ending dates for 

the eligible delay as reported pursuant to 

§ 99.31(b)(8), inclusive. 

(2) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

an industry segment other than the 

onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production industry segment, as that 

industry segment term is defined in 

§ 98.230 of this chapter, equation D–2B 

must be used to calculate the quantity 

of methane emissions that qualified for 

exemption under both the regulatory 

compliance exemption and another 

exemption. 

Where: 

EOtherExempt = The total quantity of methane 

emissions that qualified for exemption 

under both the regulatory compliance 

exemption and another exemption for 

the reporting year, mt CH4. 

EPlug,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions, as determined in equation E– 

7 of § 99.52(c), at the WEC applicable 

facility attributable to all wells that were 

permanently shut-in and plugged during 

the reporting year meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.50, mt 

CH4. 

T = Time that the WEC applicable facility 

qualified for regulatory compliance 

exemption as reported pursuant to 

§ 99.42(d), in calendar quarters 

EDelay,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions exempted, as determined in 

equation C–1 of § 99.32(c), at the WEC 

applicable facility due to an 

unreasonable delay in environmental 

permitting of gathering or transmission 

infrastructure meeting the applicability 

provisions of § 99.30, mt CH4. 

TDelay-RCE = Duration of time during the 

reporting year that an eligible delay 

limited the offtake of increased volume 

associated with methane emissions 

mitigation activities that occurred during 

periods of time in which the WEC 

applicable facility qualified for 

regulatory compliance exemption, in 

days. Determine this value using the 

beginning and ending dates for the 

eligible delay as reported pursuant to 

§ 99.31(b)(8) and the calendar quarters 

that the WEC applicable facility qualified 

for regulatory compliance exemption as 

reported pursuant to § 99.42(d). 

TDelay,j = Duration of time during the 

reporting year that an eligible delay 

limited the offtake of increased volume 

associated with methane emissions 

mitigation activities, in days. Determine 

this value using the beginning and 

ending dates for the eligible delay as 

reported pursuant to § 99.31(b)(8), 

inclusive. 

(d) If the WEC applicable facility did 

not qualify for regulatory compliance 

exemption pursuant to § 99.41(d) for 

any portion of the reporting year, the 

quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to the regulatory 

compliance exemption (ERCE,CH4) is 

equal to 0. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.026</GPH> ER18NO24.027</GPH>

E - f(E + E ) LN [(E 1⁄2) ( Tnelay-RCEJ)] OtherExempt - L._. Delay,CS,i Plug,CS,i + Plug,NCSJ X 4 + EDelay,NCSj X T 

~] ~~ J=I 

(Eq. D-2A) 

E - (E X !\ + (E Tnelay-RCE) OtherExempt - Plug,CH4 4 j Delay,CH4 X T 

Delay 

(Eq. D-2B) 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91191 

Subpart E—Exemption for 

Permanently Shut-in and Plugged 

Wells 

§ 99.50 What facilities qualify for the 

exemption of emissions from permanently 

shut-in and plugged wells? 

(a) The total facility applicable 

emissions for the WEC applicable 

facility containing permanently shut-in 

and plugged wells must exceed 0 mt as 

calculated in accordance with 

§ 99.21(a). 

(b) This exemption is applicable to 

WEC applicable facilities in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production, 

offshore petroleum and natural gas 

production, or underground natural gas 

storage industry segments, as those 

industry segment terms are defined in 

§ 98.230 of this chapter, that 

permanently shut-in and plug one or 

more wells during the reporting year. 

(c) For the purposes of applying this 

exemption, a permanently shut-in and 

plugged well is one that has been 

permanently sealed, following all 

applicable local, State, or Federal 

regulations in the jurisdiction where the 

well is located, to prevent any potential 

future leakage of oil, gas, or formation 

water into shallow sources of potable 

water, onto the surface, or into the 

atmosphere. Site reclamation following 

placement of a metal plate or cap is not 

required to be completed for the well to 

be considered permanently shut-in and 

plugged for the purposes of this part. 

§ 99.51 What are the reporting 

requirements for the exemption for wells 

that were permanently shut-in and 

plugged? 

(a) For a WEC applicable facility 

meeting the applicability provisions of 

§ 99.50, you may elect to report 

information regarding an exemption for 

wells that were permanently shut-in and 

plugged. The exemption information to 

be reported is described in paragraph (b) 

of this section. The exemption 

information shall be submitted as 

described § 99.7. 

(b) Report the following information 

for each well meeting the applicability 

provisions of § 99.50 that was 

permanently shut-in and plugged in the 

reporting year. 

(1) Well ID number as reported in part 

98, subpart W of this chapter. If no well 

ID number is reported for the well to 

part 98, subpart W, report the well ID 

number as defined in this part. 

(2) Date the well was permanently 

shut-in and plugged, which for the 

purposes of this exemption, is the date 

when welding or cementing of a metal 

plate or cap onto the casing end was 

completed. 

(3) The statutory citation for each 

applicable State, local, and Federal 

regulation stipulating requirements that 

were applicable to the closure of the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well. 

(4) A certification that the 

requirements in each of the applicable 

State, local, and Federal regulations 

identified in paragraph (b)(3) of this 

section were followed. 

(5) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production or underground natural gas 

storage industry segment and the WEC 

obligated party calculated methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

wellhead equipment leaks using the 

methods in § 99.52(b)(5) of this section, 

you must indicate the method used to 

calculate equipment leak emissions 

attributable to the well (i.e., 

§ 99.52(b)(5)(i), (ii), or (iii)). For a WEC 

applicable facility in the underground 

natural gas storage industry segment, 

you must also report the information 

specified in paragraphs (b)(5)(i) through 

(iv) of this section, as applicable. For a 

WEC applicable facility in the onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

industry segment, you must also report 

the information specified in paragraphs 

(b)(5)(i) through (iii) of this section, as 

applicable. All WEC applicable facilities 

must report the information specified in 

paragraph (b)(5)(v). 

(i) If the method in § 99.52(b)(5)(i) is 

used to calculate equipment leak 

emissions attributable to the well, you 

must report the following information 

for each leak: the leak detection survey 

method used, the component type as 

reported in § 98.236(q) of this chapter, 

the volumetric flow rate of the natural 

gas leak in standard cubic feet per hour 

and the duration of the measured leak 

as determined in accordance 

§ 99.52(b)(5)(i), in hours. 

(ii) If the method in § 99.52(b)(5)(ii) is 

used to calculate equipment leak 

emissions attributable to the well, you 

must report the following information 

for each component identified as 

leaking: the leak detection survey 

method used, the component type as 

specified in § 98.233(q)(2)(iii) or (vii) of 

this chapter, as applicable, and the time 

the surveyed component is assumed to 

be leaking and operational as 

determined in accordance 

§ 99.52(b)(5)(ii), in hours. 

(iii) If the method in § 99.52(b)(5)(iii) 

is used to calculate equipment leak 

emissions attributable to the well, you 

must report the counts of each 

component type listed in § 98.233(r)(3) 

of this chapter that are associated with 

the well, as applicable. 

(iv) Indicate whether you used the 

default concentration of CH4 (0.975) or 

a facility-specific CH4 concentration in 

the total hydrocarbon of the feed natural 

gas. If you used the facility-specific CH4

concentration in the total hydrocarbon 

of the feed natural gas, report the value. 

(v) The quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to the well from wellhead 

equipment leaks as calculated in 

accordance with § 99.52(b)(5)(i), 

(b)(5)(ii), or (b)(5)(iii), as applicable, for 

the reporting year, in metric tons CH4. 

(6) If the WEC applicable facility is in 

the onshore petroleum and natural gas 

production and calculated methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

associated gas flaring and completions 

and workovers without hydraulic 

fracturing and with flaring using 

equation E–6 of this section, you must 

report the information specified in 

paragraphs (b)(6)(i) and (ii) of this 

section. 

(i) The volume of gas sent to the flare 

from the plugged well, in thousand scf. 

(ii) The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

associated gas flaring and from 

completions and workovers without 

hydraulic fracturing and with flaring as 

calculated in accordance with 

§ 99.52(b)(6), as applicable, in metric 

tons CH4. 

(7) The emissions attributable to the 

well calculated using equation E–1, E– 

2, E–3, or E–4 in § 99.52(b), as 

applicable, in metric tons CH4. 

(c) The total quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to all wells that 

were permanently shut-in and plugged 

at a WEC applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.50 

during the reporting year, calculated 

using equation E–7 in § 99.52(c), in 

metric tons CH4. 

§ 99.52 How are the net emissions 

attributable to all wells at a WEC applicable 

facility that were permanently shut-in and 

plugged in the reporting year quantified? 

(a) For the purposes of this section, 

the following source types (as specified 

in part 98, subpart W of this chapter) 

constitute emissions directly 

attributable to an onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production, offshore 

petroleum and natural gas production, 

or underground natural gas storage well, 

as applicable: 

(1) Wellhead equipment leaks. 

(2) Liquids unloading. 

(3) Completions and workovers with 

hydraulic fracturing. 

(4) Completions and workovers 

without hydraulic fracturing. 

(5) Associated natural gas venting and 

flaring. 

(6) Well testing. 

(7) Drilling mud degassing. 

(b) Calculate the annual emissions 

attributable to each well that was 


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91192 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

permanently shut-in and plugged during 

the reporting year and included in the 

submittal pursuant to § 99.51 using 

equations E–1, E–2, E–3, or E–4 of this 

section, as applicable. 

(1) For onshore petroleum and natural 

gas production wells that are part of a 

WEC applicable facility that are 

permanently shut-in and plugged in 

reporting years 2025 and later, equation 

E–1 of this section must be used to 

quantify the methane emissions directly 

attributable to each permanently shut-in 

and plugged well. 

Where: 

EPW,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

directly attributable to an individual 

well that was permanently shut-in and 

plugged during the reporting year at a 

WEC applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.50, mt 

CH4. 

ELeaks,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

wellhead equipment leaks as calculated 

in accordance with paragraphs (b)(5)(i), 

(b)(5)(ii), or (b)(5)(iii) of this section, as 

applicable, for the reporting year, mt 

CH4. 

ELU,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to the well from liquids 

unloading as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(f)(1)(x) or (f)(2)(viii) of this 

chapter, as applicable, for the reporting 

year, mt CH4. 

ECWwHF,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

completions and workovers with 

hydraulic fracturing as reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(g)(9) of this chapter for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

ECWwoHF,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

completions and workovers without 

hydraulic fracturing and without flaring 

as reported pursuant to § 98.236(h)(1)(vi) 

and (h)(3)(iv) of this chapter for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

EAGV,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

associated gas venting as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(m)(7)(viii) of this 

chapter for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

EF,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to the well from associated 

gas flaring and from completions and 

workovers without hydraulic fracturing 

and with flaring as calculated in 

accordance with paragraph (b)(6) of this 

section, as applicable, mt CH4. 

EWT,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

well testing as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(l)(1)(vii), (l)(2)(vii), (l)(3)(vi), 

and (l)(4)(vi) of this chapter, as 

applicable, for the reporting year, mt 

CH4. 

EDMD,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

drilling mud degassing as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(dd)(1)(viii), 

(dd)(2)(iv), or (dd)(3)(iv) of this chapter, 

as applicable, for the reporting year, mt 

CH4. 

(2) For onshore petroleum and natural 

gas production wells that are part of a 

WEC applicable facility that are 

permanently shut-in and plugged in 

reporting year 2024, equation E–2 of this 

section must be used to quantify the 

methane emissions attributable to the 

well: 

Where: 

EPW,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to an individual well that 

was permanently shut-in and plugged 

during the reporting at a WEC applicable 

facility meeting the applicability 

provisions of § 99.50, mt CH4. 

ELkQ,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility total 

quantity of methane emissions from 

equipment leaks reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(q)(2)(ix) of this chapter for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

ELkR,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility total 

quantity of methane emissions from 

equipment leaks reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(r)(1)(v) of this chapter for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

ELU,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility total 

quantity of methane emissions from 

liquids unloading as reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(f)(1)(x) and (f)(2)(viii) of this 

chapter for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

ECWwHF,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

total quantity of methane emissions from 

completions and workovers with 

hydraulic fracturing as reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(g)(9) of this chapter for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

ECWwoHF,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

total quantity of methane emissions from 

completions and workovers without 

hydraulic fracturing as reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(h)(1)(vi), (h)(2)(vi), (h)(3)(iv) 

and (h)(4)(iv) of this chapter for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

EAGV,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

associated gas venting as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(m)(7)(iv) of this 

chapter for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

EAGF,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility 

quantity of methane emissions from 

associated gas flaring as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(m)(8)(iii) of this 

chapter for the reporting year, mt CH4. 

EWT,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility total 

quantity of methane emissions from well 

testing as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(l)(1)(vii), (l)(2)(vii), (l)(3)(vi), 

and (l)(4)(vi) of this chapter, as 

applicable, for the reporting year, mt 

CH4. 

Qng,PW = The total annual quantity of natural 

gas that is produced and sent to sale 

from the well in the reporting year, as 

reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(iii)(C) of this chapter, in 

thousand standard cubic feet. 

6 = Conversion factor from thousand 

standard cubic feet of natural gas to 

barrel of oil equivalent. 

Qoil,PW = The total quantity of crude oil and 

condensate that is produced and sent to 

sale from the well in the reporting year, 

as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(iii)(D)of this chapter, in 

barrels. 

Qng,WAF = The total quantity of natural gas 

that is produced and sent to sale from 

the WEC applicable facility in the 

reporting year, as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(i)(B) of this chapter, in 

thousand standard cubic feet. 

Qoil,WAF = The total quantity of crude oil and 

condensate that is produced and sent to 

sale from the WEC applicable facility in 

the reporting year, as reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(aa)(1)(i)(C) of this chapter, in 

barrels. 

(3) For offshore petroleum and natural 

gas production wells that are part of a 

WEC applicable facility that are 

permanently shut-in and plugged in any 

reporting year, equation E–3 of this 

section must be used to quantify the 

methane emissions attributable to the 

well. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.028</GPH> ER18NO24.029</GPH>

( Qng,WAF) 

--6- +Qoil,WAF (Eq. E-2) 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91193 

Where: 

EPW,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

attributable to an individual well that 

was permanently shut-in and plugged 

during the reporting year at a WEC 

applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.50, mt 

CH4. 

ELeaks,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility total 

quantity of methane emissions from noncompressor component level fugitives 

(i.e., equipment leaks), mt CH4. For 

reporting year 2024, use the value 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(s)(2) of this 

chapter for the reporting year. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

value reported to § 98.236(s)(3)(ii) of this 

chapter for the reporting year. 

EDMD,CH4 = The WEC applicable facility total 

annual quantity of methane emissions 

from drilling mud degassing, mt CH4. For 

reporting year 2024, use the value 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(s)(2) of this 

chapter for the reporting year. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, use the 

value reported to § 98.236(s)(3)(ii) of this 

chapter for the reporting year. 

Qng,PW = The total quantity of natural gas that 

is produced and sent to sale from the 

well in the reporting year as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(2)(iii) of this 

chapter, in thousand scf. 

6 = Conversion factor from thousand 

standard cubic feet of natural gas to 

barrel of oil equivalent. 

Qoil,PW = The total quantity of crude oil and 

condensate that is produced and sent to 

sale from the well in the reporting year, 

as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(2)(iv) of this chapter, in 

barrels. 

Qng,WAF = The total quantity of natural gas 

that is produced and sent to sale from 

the WEC applicable facility in the 

reporting year, as reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(aa)(2)(i) of this chapter, in 

thousand scf. 

Qoil,WAF = The total quantity of crude oil and 

condensate that is produced and sent to 

sale from the WEC applicable facility in 

the reporting year, as reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(aa)(2)(ii) of this chapter, in 

barrels. 

(4) For underground natural gas 

storage wells that are part of a WEC 

applicable facility that are permanently 

shut-in and plugged in any reporting 

year, equation E–4 of this section must 

be used to quantify the methane 

emissions attributable to the well. 

Where: 

EPW,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

directly attributable to an individual 

well that was permanently shut-in and 

plugged during the reporting year at a 

WEC applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.50, mt 

CH4. 

ELeaks,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

storage wellhead equipment leaks in 

accordance with paragraphs (b)(5)(i), 

(b)(5)(ii) or (b)(5)(iii) of this section, as 

applicable, for the reporting year, mt 

CH4. 

(5) You must quantify equipment leak 

methane emissions from the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well 

at the WEC applicable facility in 

accordance with the methods in (b)(5)(i) 

through (iii) of this section. You must 

use the same calculation method for 

equipment leaks reported pursuant to 

§ 98.236(q) or (r) of this chapter in the 

part 98 report for the well-pad site or 

facility, as applicable, which is 

associated with the permanently shut-in 

and plugged well. 

(i) If equipment leak surveys and 

measurement were used to quantify 

methane emissions from the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well 

and reported pursuant to § 98.236(q) of 

this chapter in the part 98 report for a 

WEC applicable facility, you must 

calculate the methane emissions (i.e., 

EMeasured Leak, CH4) for each measured 

wellhead leak in accordance with 

equation E–5A. The sum of the 

quantified methane emissions from each 

measured wellhead leak at the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well 

calculated in accordance with equation 

E–5A shall be considered ‘‘ELeaks, CH4’’ 

in Equations E–1 and E–4 of this 

section, as applicable. 

Where: 

EMeasured Leak,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to a measured leak 

from a wellhead leak component at the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well, 

mt CH4.

p = Component type as reported in 

accordance with § 98.236(q) of this 

chapter, as applicable. 

z = An individual component of type ‘‘p’’ 

detected as leaking and measured at the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well in 

any leak survey during the year. 

Qp,z = Volumetric flow rate of the natural gas 

leak for component ‘‘z’’ of component 

type ‘‘p’’ converted to standard 

conditions according to § 98.233(q)(3)(iii) 

of this chapter, scf whole gas/hour/ 

component, as applicable. 

MCH4 = The mole fraction of CH4 in produced 

gas for the well. For onshore petroleum 

and natural gas production wells, use the 

mole fraction of CH4 in produced gas for 

the sub-basin associated with the well, as 

reported pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) 

of this chapter, unitless. For 

underground natural gas wellheads, use 

0.975 or the concentration of CH4 in the 

total hydrocarbon of the feed natural gas, 

unitless. 

Tp,z = The total time the surveyed and 

measured component ‘‘z’’ of component 

type ‘‘p’’ was assumed to be leaking and 

operational, in hours. If one leak 

detection survey is conducted in the 

calendar year, assume the component 

was leaking for the entire calendar year, 

hours. If multiple leak detection surveys 

are conducted in the calendar year, 

assume a component found leaking in 

the first survey was leaking since the 

beginning of the year until the date of the 

survey, hours; assume a component 

found leaking in the last survey of the 

year was leaking from the preceding 

survey through the end of the year, 

hours; assume a component found 

leaking in a survey between the first and 

last surveys of the year was leaking since 

the preceding survey until the date of the 

survey, hours; and sum times for all 

leaking periods. For each leaking 

component, account for time the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.030</GPH> ER18NO24.031</GPH> ER18NO24.032</GPH>

( Qng,PW) + Q 6 oil,PW 

(Eq. E-3) 

(Eq. E-4) 

(Eq. E-SA) 
91194 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

component was not operational (i.e., not 

operating under pressure) using the same 

estimates and available data used for 

calculating the total time the surveyed 

and measured components were leaking 

and operational in accordance with 

§ 98.233(q)(3)(ii) of this chapter. 

k = The factor to adjust for undetected leaks 

by respective leak detection method. For 

reporting year 2024, k equals 1. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, k equals 

1.25 for the methods in § 98.234 (a)(1), 

(3) and (5) of this chapter; k equals 1.55 

for the method in § 98.234(a)(2)(i) of this 

chapter; and k equals 1.27 for the 

method in § 98.234(a)(2)(ii) of this 

chapter. Select the factor for the leak 

detection method used for the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well, 

unitless. 

rCH4 = Density of methane, 0.0192 mt/Mscf. 

10¥3 = Conversion factor from scf to Mscf. 

(ii) If equipment leak surveys and 

leaker emission factors were used to 

quantify methane emissions from the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well 

and reported pursuant to § 98.236(q) of 

this chapter in the part 98 report for a 

WEC applicable facility, equation E–5B 

of this section must be used to calculate 

ELeaks,CH4. 

Where: 

ELeaks,CH4 = The quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

wellhead equipment leaks as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(q) of this chapter for 

the reporting year, mt CH4. 

p = Component type as specified in 

§ 98.233(q)(2)(iii) and (vii) of this 

chapter, as applicable. 

Np = The number of component types 

reported pursuant to § 98.233(q)(2)(ii) of 

this chapter for which there were 

detected leaks at the well reported 

pursuant to § 98.233(q)(2)(iii) or (vii) of 

this chapter, as applicable. 

EFp = The leaker emission factor for 

component ‘‘p’’ as specified in 

§ 98.233(q)(2)(iii) or (vii) of this chapter, 

scf whole gas/hour/component, as 

applicable. 

MCH4 = For onshore petroleum and natural 

gas production wells, the mole fraction 

of CH4 in produced gas for the sub-basin 

associated with the well, as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) of this 

chapter, unitless. For underground 

natural gas wellheads, the mole fraction 

of CH4 equals 0.975 for CH4 or 

concentration of CH4, in the total 

hydrocarbon of the feed natural gas. 

xp = The total number of specific components 

of type ‘‘p’’ detected as leaking at the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well in 

any leak survey during the year. A 

component found leaking in two or more 

surveys during the year is counted as one 

leaking component. 

Tp,z = The total time the surveyed component 

‘‘z’’ of component type ‘‘p’’ was assumed 

to be leaking and operational, in hours. 

If one leak detection survey is conducted 

in the calendar year, assume the 

component was leaking for the entire 

calendar year, hours. If multiple leak 

detection surveys are conducted in the 

calendar year, assume a component 

found leaking in the first survey was 

leaking since the beginning of the year 

until the date of the survey, hours; 

assume a component found leaking in 

the last survey of the year was leaking 

from the preceding survey through the 

end of the year, hours; assume a 

component found leaking in a survey 

between the first and last surveys of the 

year was leaking since the preceding 

survey until the date of the survey, 

hours; and sum times for all leaking 

periods. For each leaking component, 

account for time the component was not 

operational (i.e., not operating under 

pressure) using the same estimates and 

available data used for calculating the 

total time the surveyed components were 

leaking and operational in accordance 

with § 98.233(q)(2) of this chapter. 

k = The factor to adjust for undetected leaks 

by respective leak detection method. For 

reporting year 2024, k equals 1. For 

reporting year 2025 and later, k equals 

1.25 for the methods in § 98.234 (a)(1), 

(3) and (5) of this chapter; k equals 1.55 

for the method in § 98.234(a)(2)(i) of this 

chapter; and k equals 1.27 for the 

method in § 98.234(a)(2)(ii) of this 

chapter. Select the factor for the leak 

detection method used for the 

permanently shut-in and plugged well, 

unitless. 

rCH4 = Density of methane, 0.0192 mt/Mscf. 

10¥3 = Conversion factor from scf to Mscf. 

(iii) If equipment leaks by population 

count were used to quantify methane 

emission from the permanently shut-in 

and plugged well and reported pursuant 

to § 98.236(r) of this chapter in the part 

98 report for a WEC applicable facility, 

equation E–5C of this section must be 

used to calculate ELeaks,CH4.

Where: 

ELeaks,CH4 = The annual quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to the well from 

wellhead equipment leaks as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(r) of this chapter for 

the reporting year, mt CH4. 

Countwh = Underground natural gas storage 

facilities must count each component at 

the storage wellhead listed in 

§ 98.233(r)(3) of this chapter. Onshore 

petroleum and natural gas production 

must use a value of 1 wellhead. 

EFwh = The population emission factor for 

wellheads, as listed in § 98.233(r)(2) and 

(3) of this chapter, as applicable. 

MCH4 = For onshore petroleum and natural 

gas production wells, the mole fraction 

of CH4 in produced gas for the sub-basin 

associated with the well as reported 

pursuant to § 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) of this 

chapter, unitless. For underground 

natural gas wellheads, the mole fraction 

of CH4 equals 0.975 for CH4 or 

concentration of CH4, in the total 

hydrocarbon of the feed natural gas. 

T = The total time that has elapsed from the 

beginning of the reporting year until the 

date the well was plugged in accordance 

with § 99.51(b)(2), hours. 

RCH4 = Density of methane, 0.0192 mt/Mscf. 

10¥3 = Conversion factor from scf to Mscf. 

(6) For onshore petroleum and natural 

gas production wells that are part of a 

WEC applicable facility that are 

permanently shut-in and plugged in 

reporting years 2025 and later, equation 

E–6 of this section must be used to 

quantify the methane emissions 

attributable to the well from associated 

gas flaring and completions and 

workovers without hydraulic fracturing 

and with flaring: 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.033</GPH> ER18NO24.034</GPH>

Np 

E,£a1s,cH, = I ( EFP x t Tp,,) x McH, x k x PcH, x 10-3 

p=l 

(Eq. E-5B) 

(Eq. E-5C) 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 222 / Monday, November 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 91195 

Where: 

EF,CH4 = The quantity of methane emissions 

from associated gas flaring and from 

completions and workovers without 

hydraulic fracturing and with flaring 

attributable to the plugged well for the 

reporting year, mt CH4. 

VPW = The volume of gas sent to the flare 

from the plugged well, scf. If flow for 

each stream to the flare is measured or 

determined in accordance with 

§ 98.233(n)(3)(ii) of this chapter and that 

stream contains only the flow from the 

plugged well, use the flow for that 

individual stream as reported to 

§ 98.236(n)(11) of this chapter. If flow is 

measured at the inlet to the flare in 

accordance with § 98.233(n)(3)(i) of this 

chapter or the stream flow measured or 

determined in accordance with 

§ 98.233(n)(3)(ii) of this chapter includes 

flow from other sources, use an 

engineering estimate based upon best 

available information of the portion of 

flow from the plugged well. 

XCH4 = Annual average mole fraction of CH4

in the gas sent to the flare from the 

plugged well. If you determine 

composition of each stream routed to the 

flare as specified in § 98.233(n)(4)(iii) of 

this chapter and that stream contains 

only the flow from the plugged well, use 

the mole fraction for the individual 

stream as reported to § 98.236(n)(14) of 

this chapter. Otherwise, use the average 

mole fraction of CH4 in produced gas for 

the sub-basin in which the plugged well 

is located as reported to 

§ 98.236(aa)(1)(ii)(I) of this chapter. 

hD = Flare destruction efficiency, as reported 

to § 98.236(n)(13) of this chapter. 

ZL = Fraction of the feed gas sent to the 

burning flare, equal to 1¥ ZU. 

ZU = Fraction of the feed gas sent to the flare 

when it is un-lit, as reported to 

§ 98.236(n)(12) of this chapter. 

rCH4 = Density of methane at 60 °F and 14.7 

psia. Use 0.0192 kg/ft3. 

10¥3 = Conversion from kilograms to metric 

tons. 

(c) Calculate the total emissions 

attributable to all wells included in the 

submittal received pursuant to § 99.51 

using equation E–7 of this section: 

Where: 

EPlug,CH4 = The total quantity of methane 

emissions, as determined in subpart E of 

this part, at the WEC applicable facility 

attributable to all wells that were 

permanently shut-in and plugged during 

the reporting year meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.50, mt 

CH4. 

EPW,j,CH4 = The annual quantity of methane 

emissions attributable to a well ‘‘j’’ that 

was permanently shut-in and plugged 

during the reporting year at a WEC 

applicable facility meeting the 

applicability provisions of § 99.50 

calculated using equation E–1, E–2, E–3, 

or E–4 of this section, as applicable. 

N = Total number of wells that were 

permanently shut-in and plugged during 

the reporting year in accordance with all 

applicable closure requirements at a 

WEC applicable facility. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26643 Filed 11–15–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES5ER18NO24.035</GPH> ER18NO24.036</GPH>

N 

EP!ug,CH4 = L Epwj,CH4 

j=l 

(Eq. E-6) 

(Eq.E-7)