I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2801 

To establish a durable framework for achieving long-term reductions in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector through advanced detection, 

measurement, and abatement technologies and practices, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2021 

Mr. PETERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs, 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 establish a durable framework for achieving long-term 

reductions in methane emissions from the oil and gas 

sector through advanced detection, measurement, and 

abatement technologies and practices, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Emissions 

5 Technology to Help Achieve Net-zero Emissions Act of 

6 2021’’ or the ‘‘METHANE Act of 2021’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2801 IH

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ5 mental Protection Agency. 

6 (2) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

7 facility’’ means a facility on the list in effect under 

8 section 3(a). 

9 (3) EMISSIONS REDUCTION TARGET.—The term 

10 ‘‘emissions reduction target’’ means the aggregate 

11 level of methane intensity of the regulated segments 

12 corresponding to a reduction of total methane emis13 sions by 90 percent by 2030, relative to 2015 levels. 

14 (4) METHANE INTENSITY.—The term ‘‘methane 

15 intensity’’ means the unitless ratio of methane emis16 sions to the methane content of natural gas through17 put. 

18 (5) REGULATED SEGMENT.—The term ‘‘regu19 lated segment’’ means each of the segments de20 scribed in section 98.230(a) of title 40, Code of Fed21 eral Regulations, as in effect on the date of enact22 ment of this Act. 

23 (6) ROUTINE FLARING.—The term ‘‘routine 

24 flaring’’— 

25 (A) means flaring of natural gas during 

26 normal oil and natural gas production operVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2801 IH

1 ations in the absence of sufficient facilities to 

2 reinject the produced gas, utilize it onsite, or 

3 dispatch it to a market; and 

4 (B) excludes flaring of natural gas that is 

5 required to ensure safe operation of the covered 

6 facility due to an unforeseen condition. 

7 SEC. 3. METHANE INTENSITY STANDARDS. 

8 (a) LIST OF COVERED FACILITIES.— 

9 (1) INITIAL LIST.—Not later than 2 years after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

11 shall list the facilities that are subject to this Act, 

12 which shall include, at a minimum, the facilities that 

13 are subject to the requirements of section 98.230(a) 

14 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect 

15 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (2) REVIEW AND REVISION.—The Adminis17 trator shall periodically review and revise the list of 

18 covered facilities under this subsection as necessary 

19 to ensure sufficient coverage of methane emissions 

20 from the regulated segments to meet the emissions 

21 reduction target. 

22 (b) CATEGORIZATION OF COVERED FACILITIES AND

23 REGULATED EMISSIONS.—For purposes of establishing 

24 methane intensity standards under this section, the Ad25 ministrator shall— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2801 IH

1 (1) group the types of covered facilities within 

2 a regulated segment into categories; and 

3 (2) base the standards on the types of methane 

4 emissions at the category of covered facility, includ5 ing vented emissions, fugitive emissions, and emis6 sions from incomplete combustion. 

7 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es9 tablish methane intensity standards for covered fa10 cilities in each of the regulated segments. 

11 (2) INITIAL STANDARDS.—Not later than 4 

12 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

13 Administrator shall establish the initial methane in14 tensity standards required by paragraph (1). Such 

15 initial standards for each category of covered facili16 ties shall— 

17 (A) be equal to the top quartile of methane 

18 intensity performance in the applicable regu19 lated segment, as determined by the Adminis20 trator, taking into account the findings of the 

21 studies under section 7(a)(1); 

22 (B) ensure that the aggregate methane in23 tensity from the regulated segments does not 

24 exceed the emissions reduction target; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2801 IH

1 (C) use the methodologies for calculating 

2 methane intensity for each regulated segment 

3 described in the ‘‘Natural Gas Sustainability 

4 Initiative Protocol’’, version 1.0, dated Feb5 ruary 2021, with such revisions as the Adminis6 trator determines are necessary due to the find7 ings of the studies under section 7(a). 

8 (3) COMPLIANCE PERIOD.—The initial and sub9 sequent methane intensity standards required by 

10 paragraph (1) shall each apply for a three-year pe11 riod. 

12 (4) INCREASINGLY STRINGENT STANDARDS.— 

13 The methane intensity standards under this section 

14 shall— 

15 (A) be increasingly stringent in each suc16 cessive three-year period, consistent with ensur17 ing that aggregate methane intensity of the reg18 ulated segments does not exceed the emissions 

19 reduction target; and 

20 (B) be more stringent for each successive 

21 three-year period, as appropriate based on ad22 vancements in methane-related monitoring, de23 tection, repair, or abatement methodologies. 

24 (d) NEW AND EXISTING COVERED FACILITIES.—In 

25 establishing standards under this section, the AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2801.IH H2801

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2801 IH

1 trator may subcategorize new and existing covered facili2 ties. 

3 (e) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.—On an an4 nual basis, the Administrator shall determine each covered 

5 facility’s compliance with the applicable methane intensity 

6 standard under this section. 

7 SEC. 4. CONTROLLING UNNECESSARY FLARING. 

8 As part of the process of establishing methane inten9 sity standards under section 3, the Administrator shall es10 tablish regulations that prohibit routine flaring of natural 

11 gas from covered facilities such that— 

12 (1) greenhouse gas emissions from nationwide 

13 routine flaring shall be reduced by at least 80 per14 cent below 2017 levels not later than the end of cal15 endar year 2028; and 

16 (2) greenhouse gas emissions from nationwide 

17 routine gas flaring shall be reduced by 100 percent 

18 below 2017 levels not later than the end of calendar 

19 year 2030. 

20 SEC. 5. EMISSION DETECTION, MEASUREMENT, AND RE21 PORTING. 

22 (a) LEAK DETECTION AND REPAIR PLANS.—The 

23 Administrator shall require the owner or operator of each 

24 covered facility to submit to the Administrator a plan for 

25 methane leak detection and repair, which shall specify— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2801 IH

1 (1) the leak detection technology or technologies 

2 to be used; 

3 (2) the frequency of inspections; 

4 (3) the repair schedule for all detected leaks; 

5 and 

6 (4) the procedures for biannual review for the 

7 plan to ensure the plan incorporates advancements 

8 in leak detection and repair technologies and prac9 tices. 

10 (b) EMISSIONS MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RE11 QUIREMENTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es13 tablish requirements for covered facilities for the 

14 measurement and reporting of methane emissions. 

15 (2) EMISSION FACTORS AND ACTIVITY DATA.— 

16 In determining the requirements related to emission 

17 factors, activity data, and other estimation meth18 odologies, the Administrator shall consider the stud19 ies completed under section 7(a)(2). 

20 (c) ALTERNATIVE EMISSIONS MEASUREMENT METH21 ODOLOGIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ap23 prove an alternative emissions measurement method24 ology for a covered facility if the owner or operator 

25 of the facility demonstrates that such alternative 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2801 IH

1 methodology will improve the accuracy of measure2 ments, including through more frequent measure3 ments and application of more sensitive emission de4 tection technologies. 

5 (2) FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION.—The Ad6 ministrator shall establish a clear, transparent, and 

7 scientifically rigorous framework for evaluating the 

8 accuracy of proposed alternative methodologies, 

9 which shall include detailed guidance on— 

10 (A) field testing and empirical data re11 quirements for establishing the accuracy of any 

12 proposed emission factors or activity data; 

13 (B) computer simulation and modeling re14 quirements; and 

15 (C) procedures for submitting and obtain16 ing approval of an alternative methodology. 

17 (3) SCOPE OF APPROVAL.—If the Administrator 

18 approves an alternative methodology for a covered 

19 facility, other covered facilities in the same category 

20 may use the methodology. 

21 (d) REVIEW.—At least every 3 years, the Adminis22 trator shall review and, as appropriate, revise the require23 ments established under this section, taking into account 

24 advancements in technologies and practices. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2801 IH

1 SEC. 6. CONDITIONAL TRADABLE CREDITS PROGRAM. 

2 (a) DETERMINATION OF SUFFICIENCY OF MONI3 TORING, DETECTION, AND MEASUREMENT TECH4 NOLOGIES.—In establishing, reviewing, and revising the 

5 methane intensity standards under section 3, the Adminis6 trator shall determine whether commercially available de7 tection and measurement technologies are sufficiently ro8 bust to provide the frequency and accuracy of methane 

9 missions monitoring, detection, and measurement to sup10 port a tradable methane intensity credit program de11 scribed in subsection (b). 

12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRADABLE CREDITS PRO13 GRAM.—If the Administrator makes a positive determina14 tion under subsection (a), the Administrator shall estab15 lish a tradable methane intensity credit program under 

16 which— 

17 (1) the Administrator shall issue tradable cred18 its to the owner or operator of a covered facility that 

19 has a methane intensity lower than the applicable 

20 methane intensity standard under section 3; and 

21 (2) the owner or operator of a covered facility 

22 may obtain and surrender such tradable credits to 

23 meet its compliance obligation under section 3(e), 

24 and such tradable credits shall not constitute nor 

25 confer property rights on the holder of such credits. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2801 IH

1 (c) MONITORING, DETECTION, MEASUREMENT, RE2 PORTING, AND VERIFICATION.—The Administrator shall 

3 establish such requirements for monitoring, detection, 

4 measurement, reporting, and verification that the Admin5 istrator determines are necessary for the program under 

6 subsection (b). 

7 SEC. 7. STUDIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina9 tion with the Secretary of Energy, shall enter into an 

10 agreement with one or more research institutions to con11 duct— 

12 (1) a study to identify the top quartile of meth13 ane intensity performance for a statistically rep14 resentative sample of covered facilities in each regu15 lated segment; 

16 (2) a study of the accuracy of component-level 

17 emission factors, activity data, and estimation meth18 odologies; and 

19 (3) a study to integrate and reconcile top-down 

20 and bottom-up measurements of methane emissions 

21 from a statistically representative sample of covered 

22 facilities in each regulated segment. 

23 (b) ADVANCING DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT

24 TECHNOLOGIES.—The Administrator, in coordination 

25 with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish measurement 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2801 IH

1 and testing protocols for assessing the performance of new 

2 emission detection technologies, such as stationary remote 

3 sensing devices, vehicle-based sensors, drones, aircraft, 

4 handheld equipment, and satellites in order to facilitate 

5 the development, evaluation, and deployment of such tech6 nologies. 

7 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT. 

8 The Administrator shall have the same authorities for 

9 enforcement of this Act as the Administrator has under 

10 section 113 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7413) for 

11 enforcement of requirements established under section 

12 111 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7411), including the same cal13 culation of monetary penalties. 

14 SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—A petition for review of action by 

16 the Administrator in promulgating any nationally-applica17 ble requirements under this Act may be filed only in the 

18 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. 

19 (b) TIMING OF FILING.—Any petition for review 

20 under this section shall be filed within 60 days from the 

21 date of publishing such requirements as a final regulation 

22 in the Federal Register, except that if such petition is 

23 based solely on grounds arising after such 60-day period, 

24 then such petition shall be filed within 60 days after such 

25 grounds arise. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2801 IH

1 SEC. 10. REGISTRY, EMISSION DATABASE, AND DATA 

2 VERIFICATION. 

3 (a) REGISTRY.—The Administrator shall establish a 

4 registry that makes it possible to calculate the aggregate 

5 methane emissions intensity of deliveries of natural gas 

6 or natural gas products to end-users or exporters of lique7 fied natural gas. 

8 (b) EMISSIONS DATABASE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es10 tablish a national methane emissions database based 

11 on the data collected from the studies described in 

12 section 7(a) and the monitoring, detection, repair, 

13 and reporting activities undertaken by the owners or 

14 operators of covered facilities pursuant to the re15 quirements of this Act. 

16 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA; LIMITA17 TION.—All data collected pursuant to this subsection 

18 shall be compiled and made available to the public 

19 in a manner that does not identify the covered facil20 ity or the owner or operator providing such data. 

21 (c) DATA VERIFICATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es23 tablish robust procedures to ensure the accuracy, 

24 transparency, consistency, and completeness of all 

25 methane emissions and methane emissions reduction 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2801 IH

1 data collected, reported, and verified pursuant to 

2 this Act. 

3 (2) CONSISTENCY.—The procedures under 

4 paragraph (1) shall be consistent with, but may be 

5 more stringent than, International Organization for 

6 Standardization Standard 14064–2. 

7 SEC. 11. INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION. 

8 The Administrator shall engage with the Environ9 mental Protection Agency’s counterpart environmental 

10 agencies in other countries to coordinate a collective effort 

11 to reduce methane emissions from the global oil and nat12 ural gas supply chain. 

13 SEC. 12. RELATION TO OTHER STANDARDS. 

14 If the Administrator promulgates requirements under 

15 this Act for a covered facility, the Administrator may not 

16 enforce methane emission performance standards for such 

17 facility, or stationary sources within that facility, under 

18 section 111(b) and 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 7411(b) and (d)). 

20 SEC. 13. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

21 Nothing in this Act— 

22 (1) subject to section 12, exempts covered facili23 ties from limits on their emissions of air pollutants, 

24 as such term is defined in section 302(g) of the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2801 IH

1 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7602(g)), including vola2 tile organic compounds and carbon dioxide; or 

3 (2) preempts the authority of State, local, or 

4 Tribal governments to establish limitations on meth5 ane emissions from covered facilities. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS