I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2711 

To amend the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue 

regulations to reduce and prevent gas waste and to enhance gas measuring and reporting, to codify a final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding certain emission standards for the oil and natural 

gas sector, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2019 

Ms. DEGETTE (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. HAALAND, 

and Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 

Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management 

Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to require the 

Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to reduce 

and prevent gas waste and to enhance gas measuring 

and reporting, to codify a final rule of the Environmental 

Protection Agency regarding certain emission standards 

for the oil and natural gas sector, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Waste Pre3 vention Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF FINAL RULE. 

5 The amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations 

6 made pursuant to the final rule of the Environmental Pro7 tection Agency, titled ‘‘Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emis8 sion Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified 

9 Sources’’ and published in the Federal Register on June 

10 3, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 35824), shall have the same force 

11 and effect of law as if such amendments had been enacted 

12 by an Act of Congress, except that the Administrator of 

13 the Environmental Protection Agency may revise such reg14 ulations, as provided for under the Clean Air Act, if such 

15 revision would result in a reduction in gas release. 

16 SEC. 3. GAS WASTE REDUCTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF 

17 GAS MEASURING AND REPORTING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Federal Oil and Gas 

19 Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711 et 

20 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 118. GAS WASTE REDUCTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF 

22 GAS MEASURING AND REPORTING. 

23 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS FOR PREVENTING AND REDUC24 ING WASTE OF GAS VIA VENTING, FLARING, AND FUGI25 TIVE RELEASES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.— 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

3 of the Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019, the 

4 Secretary shall issue regulations pursuant to the 

5 Secretary’s authority under the Mineral Leasing 

6 Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

7 of 1976, the Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938, 

8 and other statutes authorizing the Secretary to regu9 late oil and gas activities on Federal land and In10 dian lands, that establish requirements for reducing 

11 and preventing the waste of gas, including by vent12 ing, flaring, and fugitive releases, from covered oper13 ations. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—The regula15 tions shall, with respect to covered operations— 

16 ‘‘(A) require that, beginning not later than 

17 3 years after the date of enactment of the 

18 Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019, each 

19 operator captures at least 85 percent of all gas 

20 produced in each year from each onshore well 

21 that is subject to a mineral leasing law; 

22 ‘‘(B) require that, beginning not later than 

23 5 years after the date of enactment of the 

24 Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019, each 

25 operator captures at least 99 percent of all gas 


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1 produced in each year from each onshore well 

2 that is subject to a mineral leasing law; 

3 ‘‘(C) require flaring of gas, rather than 

4 venting, in all instances in which gas is not cap5 tured; 

6 ‘‘(D) require that every application for a 

7 permit to drill a production well— 

8 ‘‘(i) demonstrate sufficient infrastruc9 ture and capacity is in place to capture the 

10 expected quantity of produced gas from the 

11 well; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) be published with an opportunity 

13 for a public comment period of at least 30 

14 days; 

15 ‘‘(E) beginning not later than 2 years after 

16 the date of enactment of the Methane Waste 

17 Prevention Act of 2019, prohibit all new and 

18 refractured production wells from flaring; 

19 ‘‘(F) require the operator of any covered 

20 operation that routinely flares gas before the ef21 fective date of a regulation prohibiting flaring 

22 issued pursuant to subparagraph (E) to submit 

23 a gas capture plan to the Secretary not later 

24 than 180 days before such effective date that 

25 ensures that such operator will meet the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2711.IH H2711

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1 quirements described in subparagraphs (A) and 

2 (B); 

3 ‘‘(G) set performance standards for newly 

4 installed equipment based on modern equipment 

5 that minimize gas loss from— 

6 ‘‘(i) storage tanks; 

7 ‘‘(ii) dehydrators; 

8 ‘‘(iii) compressors; 

9 ‘‘(iv) open-ended valves or lines; 

10 ‘‘(v) pumps; and 

11 ‘‘(vi) such other equipment as the 

12 Secretary determines appropriate to reduce 

13 and prevent gas release; 

14 ‘‘(H) require that operators replace exist15 ing equipment within one year of the publica16 tion date of performance standards established 

17 under subsection (G); 

18 ‘‘(I) require the replacement of all high19 bleed gas-actuated pneumatic devices with low20 bleed or no-bleed devices not later than 180 

21 days after the date of issuance of the regulation 

22 enacted under subparagraph (A); 

23 ‘‘(J) set performance standards based on 

24 modern procedures and equipment that mini25 mize gas loss from— 


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1 ‘‘(i) downhole maintenance; 

2 ‘‘(ii) liquids unloading; 

3 ‘‘(iii) well completion; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) such other procedures as the 

5 Secretary determines appropriate to reduce 

6 and prevent gas release; 

7 ‘‘(K) require all operators to have leak de8 tection programs with regularly scheduled in9 spections that assess the entire covered oper10 ation using an infrared camera or other equip11 ment with methods that provide overall at least 

12 equivalent sensitivity and effectiveness in de13 tecting leaks on a timely basis; 

14 ‘‘(L) require any leaks found to be re15 paired promptly, and in any case not later than 

16 4 weeks after the discovery of the leak, except 

17 where exceptional circumstances warrant an ex18 tension of not more than 8 additional weeks; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(M) require recordkeeping for— 

21 ‘‘(i) equipment maintenance; 

22 ‘‘(ii) leak detection and repair; 

23 ‘‘(iii) venting events; 

24 ‘‘(iv) flaring events; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) such other operations as the Sec2 retary determines appropriate to reduce 

3 and prevent gas release. 

4 ‘‘(b) GAS MEASURING, REPORTING, AND TRANS5 PARENCY REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, not 

7 later than one year after the date of enactment of 

8 the Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019, issue 

9 regulations requiring each operator to measure and 

10 report, with respect to all gas subject to the mineral 

11 leasing laws, all such gas produced, consumed on 

12 site, or lost through venting, flaring, or fugitive re13 leases. 

14 ‘‘(2) MEASURING AND REPORTING REQUIRE15 MENTS.—To account for all gas referred to in para16 graph (1), the Secretary shall issue regulations re17 quiring each operator to— 

18 ‘‘(A) measure all production and disposi19 tion of gas with such accuracy that fugitive gas 

20 releases can be calculated; 

21 ‘‘(B) install metering devices to measure 

22 all flared gas; and 

23 ‘‘(C) report to the Secretary the volumes of 

24 gas measured under the requirements described 

25 in subparagraph (A), including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) all new measured values for pro2 duction and disposition, including vented 

3 and flared volumes; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) values for fugitive releases based 

5 on guidelines for their calculation estab6 lished by the Secretary in such regulations. 

7 ‘‘(3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary shall 

8 make all new data produced under the requirements 

9 established by the Secretary under this subsection, 

10 including calculated fugitive releases and volumes of 

11 gas lost to venting and flaring, publicly available 

12 through the internet— 

13 ‘‘(A) without a fee or other access charge; 

14 ‘‘(B) in a searchable, sortable, and 

15 downloadable manner, to the extent technically 

16 possible; and 

17 ‘‘(C) as soon as technically practicable 

18 after the report by the operator is filed. 

19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Except as otherwise specified in 

20 this section, the requirements established by the Secretary 

21 under this section shall apply to— 

22 ‘‘(1) the construction and operation of any cov23 ered operation initiated, including the refracturing of 

24 existing wells, on or after the date of the issuance 

25 of regulations under this section; and 


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1 existing wells, on or after the date of the issuance 

2 of regulations under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(2) after the end of the 1-year period begin4 ning on the date of the issuance of such regulations, 

5 any covered operation initiated before the date of the 

6 issuance of such regulations. 

7 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall include 

9 in the regulations issued under this section con10 sistent enforcement mechanisms for covered oper11 ations that are not in compliance with the require12 ments established by the regulations. 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall in14 clude in the enforcement mechanisms described in 

15 paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) civil penalties for unauthorized vent17 ing and flaring, which shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) apply in lieu of the penalties and 

19 related provisions under section 109; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) include production restrictions 

21 and civil monetary penalties equivalent to 

22 3 times the market value of the vented or 

23 flared gas; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) civil penalties that apply to non2 compliance with other new or existing proce3 dures, which shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) apply in addition to or in lieu of 

5 the penalties and related provisions under 

6 section 109; 

7 ‘‘(ii) include production restrictions or 

8 monetary penalties, or both; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) in the case of monetary pen10 alties, be proportional to market condi11 tions. 

12 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) CAPTURE.—The term ‘capture’ means the 

14 physical containment of natural gas for transpor15 tation to market or productive use of natural gas, 

16 and includes reinjection and royalty-free on-site 

17 uses. 

18 ‘‘(2) COVERED OPERATIONS.—The term ‘cov19 ered operations’ means all oil and gas operations 

20 that are subject to mineral leasing law or title V of 

21 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

22 1976 (30 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), regardless of size, in23 cluding production, storage, gathering, processing, 

24 and handling operations. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FLARE AND FLARING.—The terms ‘flare’ 

2 and ‘flaring’ mean the intentional and controlled 

3 burning of gas that occurs in the course of oil and 

4 gas operations to limit release of gas to the atmos5 phere. 

6 ‘‘(4) FUGITIVE RELEASE.—The term ‘fugitive 

7 release’ means the unintentional and uncontrolled 

8 release of gas into the atmosphere in the course of 

9 oil and gas operations. 

10 ‘‘(5) GAS CAPTURE PLAN.—The term ‘gas cap11 ture plan’ means a plan that includes specific goals, 

12 including equipment and timelines, for capturing, 

13 gathering, and processing gas produced under an oil 

14 or gas lease. 

15 ‘‘(6) GAS RELEASE.—The term ‘gas release’ in16 cludes all gas that is discharged to the atmosphere 

17 via venting or fugitive release. 

18 ‘‘(7) VENT AND VENTING.—The terms ‘vent’ 

19 and ‘venting’ mean the intentional and controlled re20 lease of gas into the atmosphere in the course of oil 

21 and gas operations.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

23 in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting after the 

24 item relating to section 117 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 118. Gas waste reduction and enhancement of gas measuring and reporting.’’. 


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1 (c) UPDATES.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

2 update the regulations required by the amendments made 

3 by this section when the Secretary determines appropriate, 

4 but no less frequently than once every ten years, to reflect 

5 new information regarding gas waste, the impacts of that 

6 waste, and the availability of technologies and perform7 ance measures to reduce gas waste. 

8 (d) APPLICATION OF PRIOR RULE.—The final rule 

9 entitled ‘‘Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royal10 ties, and Resource Conservation’’, as published in the Fed11 eral Register November 18, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 83008), 

12 is hereby reinstated, and each of its provisions shall apply 

13 unless and until the effective date of a subsequent final 

14 rule promulgated under the amendment made by sub15 section (a), or promulgated under another applicable au16 thority, that replaces or repeals such provision. 

17 (e) ASSESSMENT OF VENTING, FLARING, AND FUGI18 TIVE RELEASES.—Not later than 180 days after the end 

19 of the 1-year period beginning on the date the Secretary 

20 of the Interior first receives data submitted under the re21 quirements established under subsection (b) of section 118 

22 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 

23 1982, as amended by this section, the Secretary shall— 

24 (1) submit a report to Congress describing— 


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1 (A) the volume of fugitive releases, and gas 

2 consumed or lost by venting and flaring, from 

3 covered operations (as those terms are used in 

4 such section); and 

5 (B) additional regulations the Secretary 

6 considers would help further curtail venting, 

7 flaring, and fugitive releases, or the rational 

8 basis for not issuing such additional regulations 

9 if the Secretary considers additional regulations 

10 would not be appropriate to further curtail 

11 venting, flaring, and fugitive releases; and 

12 (2) issue regulations described in the report re13 quired by paragraph (1)(B) not later than 1 year 

14 after the date of the submission of the report. 

Æ 


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