I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7651 
To provide for methane emission detection and mitigation, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2024 
Mr. CASTEN (for himself, Mr. PETERS, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Mr. MULLIN, and 
Mr. BOWMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To provide for methane emission detection and mitigation, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Emissions 
Mitigation Research and Development Act’’. 
SEC. 2. METHANE EMISSION DETECTION AND MITIGATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle F of title IX of the En-
ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16291 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 969E. METHANE LEAK DETECTION AND MITIGATION. 
‘‘(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Secretary of Commerce, and 
the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, 
shall carry out a program of methane emissions de-
tection and mitigation research, development, and 
demonstration for technologies and methods that 
significantly detect, quantify, and mitigate methane 
emissions. In carrying out the program, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) enter into cooperative agreements 
with State or local governments, institutions of 
higher education, or for-profit entities to pro-
vide technical assistance to— 
‘‘(i) prevent or respond to methane re-
leases, including prediction, detection, miti-
gation, quantification, and identification of 
leaks, vents, and other outflows throughout 
the natural gas infrastructure (including 
natural gas storage, pipelines, and natural 
gas production sites); and 
‘‘(ii) protect public health in the event 
of a major methane release; 
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‘‘(B) in coordination with representatives 
from private sector entities, State and local gov-
ernments, and institutions of higher education, 
establish a publicly accessible resource for best 
practices in the design, construction, mainte-
nance, performance, monitoring, and incident 
response for— 
‘‘(i) pipeline systems, including com-
pressor stations; 
‘‘(ii) production wells; 
‘‘(iii) storage facilities; and 
‘‘(iv) other vulnerable infrastructure; 
‘‘(C) in coordination with representatives 
from private sector entities, State and local gov-
ernments, and institutions of higher education, 
establish a publicly accessible resource for best 
practices in evaluation and incorporation of 
emission reduction technologies, including— 
‘‘(i) metrics for performance evalua-
tion; and 
‘‘(ii) principles for selection and inte-
gration of emission reduction technologies 
that are best suited for the project or enti-
ty concerned; 
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‘‘(D) support research of technologies to 
more accurately quantify emissions, including— 
‘‘(i) the ability to accurately charac-
terize and measure methane emissions 
through various atmospheric conditions 
such as wind, rain, fog, and dust; 
‘‘(ii) improvements to data analytics 
and machine learning platforms; 
‘‘(iii) the ability to characterize tem-
poral patterns in emissions, such as 
through continuous monitoring or multi-
tiered system practices; 
‘‘(iv) improvements to high-resolution 
spectroscopic databases of methane; 
‘‘(v) the ability to remotely detect car-
bon and ethane isotopes to facilitate attri-
bution of sources of methane emissions; 
and 
‘‘(vi) improvements to Lidar detection 
technologies; 
‘‘(E) identify high-risk characteristics of 
pipelines, wells, storage facilities, and materials, 
geologic risk factors, or other key factors that 
increase the likelihood or intensity of methane 
emissions leaks; 
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‘‘(F) identify methane mitigation methods 
and technologies in coal mines; and 
‘‘(G) in collaboration with private sector 
entities and institutions of higher education, 
quantify and map significant geologic methane 
seeps and other sources of natural emissions 
across the United States. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the 
program under this section, the Secretary shall con-
sider the following: 
‘‘(A) Historical data of methane emissions. 
‘‘(B) Public health consequences. 
‘‘(C) Public safety. 
‘‘(D) Novel materials and designs for pipe-
lines, compressor stations, components, and 
wells (including casing, cement, and wellhead). 
‘‘(E) Regional geologic traits. 
‘‘(F) Induced and natural seismicity. 
‘‘(b) METHANE LEAK DETECTION CONSORTIUM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
Secretary shall establish and operate a Methane 
Emissions Measurement and Mitigation Research 
Consortium (in this section referred to as the ‘Con-
sortium’) for the purpose of supporting, to the max-
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imum extent practicable, data sharing, research 
prioritization, and researching cooperative leak de-
tection and repair strategies pertaining to methane 
emissions detection, quantification, and mitigation. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Con-
sortium shall be representatives from the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, other rel-
evant Federal agencies, National Laboratories, oil 
and gas operators and industry groups, vendors of 
methane detection and quantification technologies, 
institutions of higher education, community organi-
zations, relevant nongovernmental organizations, and 
other entities. 
‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Consortium shall 
develop and implement a multiyear plan that— 
‘‘(A) identifies technical goals and mile-
stones for the Consortium; and 
‘‘(B) facilitates data sharing for the pur-
poses of— 
‘‘(i) bettering the understanding of 
methane emissions from the oil and gas 
sector; 
‘‘(ii) improving emissions detection, 
measurement, and mitigation capabilities, 
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including assessing multi-tiered atmos-
pheric measurements; and 
‘‘(iii) improving the understanding of 
methane quantification data analytics and 
machine learning platforms, including for 
calibration of measurements. 
‘‘(4) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
report on the Consortium’s activities to the ap-
propriate congressional committees. 
‘‘(B) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this 
section, the Secretary shall submit to the appro-
priate congressional committees a report sum-
marizing the activities, findings, and progress 
of the program under this section. The report 
shall include the following: 
‘‘(i) A review of LDAR technologies 
available to the oil and gas sector for the 
purpose of methane emissions measure-
ment and mitigation. 
‘‘(ii) A summary of research gaps and 
priorities related to methane emissions de-
tection, measurement, and mitigation capa-
bilities. 
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‘‘(iii) A description of the data shar-
ing and cooperative activities that have 
been initiated pursuant to paragraph 
(3)(B). 
‘‘(C) ANNUAL
REPORT.—Not later than 
one year after the date on which the report 
under subparagraph (B) is submitted and an-
nually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a re-
port summarizing the activities, findings, and 
progress of the program under this section. The 
report shall include the following: 
‘‘(i) An updated review of LDAR 
technologies available to oil and gas opera-
tors for the purpose of methane emissions 
measurement and mitigation. 
‘‘(ii) A description of the state of 
methane emissions detection and measure-
ment capabilities. 
‘‘(iii) A summary of research prior-
ities relating to methane emissions detec-
tion, measurement, and mitigation. 
‘‘(iv) An update on the data sharing 
and cooperative activities undertaken by 
members of the Consortium. 
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‘‘(5) SUNSET; TERMINATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
provide support to the Consortium for a period 
of not more than ten years, subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations. 
‘‘(B) MERIT REVIEW.—Not later than five 
years after the date on which the Consortium is 
established, the Secretary shall conduct a re-
view to determine whether the Consortium has 
achieved the technical goals and milestones 
identified under paragraph (3)(A). 
‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(A) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM-
MITTEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional 
committees’ means the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate. 
‘‘(B) LDAR.—The term ‘LDAR’ means a 
technology, program, or activity that is intended 
to monitor, detect, measure, or repair methane 
leaks. 
‘‘(C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of Energy. 
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