Title: Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019
This bill addresses methane emissions from oil and gas operations. (Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil.)
The bill provides statutory authority for the Environmental Protection Agency rule titled Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources, published on June 3, 2016.
The bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish specified requirements for
All such requirements shall include consistent enforcement mechanisms for any operations not in compliance with them.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2711 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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. Lujan) 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Methane Waste Prevention Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF FINAL RULE.

    The amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations made pursuant to 
the final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency, titled ``Oil and 
Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and 
Modified Sources'' and published in the Federal Register on June 3, 
2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 35824), shall have the same force and effect of law 
as if such amendments had been enacted by an Act of Congress, except 
that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may 
revise such regulations, as provided for under the Clean Air Act, if 
such revision would result in a reduction in gas release.

SEC. 3. GAS WASTE REDUCTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF GAS MEASURING AND 
              REPORTING.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 
Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 118. GAS WASTE REDUCTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF GAS MEASURING AND 
              REPORTING.

    ``(a) Regulations for Preventing and Reducing Waste of Gas Via 
Venting, Flaring, and Fugitive Releases.--
            ``(1) Requirement to issue regulations.--Not later than 2 
        years after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste 
        Prevention Act of 2019, the Secretary shall issue regulations 
        pursuant to the Secretary's authority under the Mineral Leasing 
        Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the 
        Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938, and other statutes 
        authorizing the Secretary to regulate oil and gas activities on 
        Federal land and Indian lands, that establish requirements for 
        reducing and preventing the waste of gas, including by venting, 
        flaring, and fugitive releases, from covered operations.
            ``(2) Content of regulations.--The regulations shall, with 
        respect to covered operations--
                    ``(A) require that, beginning not later than 3 
                years after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste 
                Prevention Act of 2019, each operator captures at least 
                85 percent of all gas produced in each year from each 
                onshore well that is subject to a mineral leasing law;
                    ``(B) require that, beginning not later than 5 
                years after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste 
                Prevention Act of 2019, each operator captures at least 
                99 percent of all gas produced in each year from each 
                onshore well that is subject to a mineral leasing law;
                    ``(C) require flaring of gas, rather than venting, 
                in all instances in which gas is not captured;
                    ``(D) require that every application for a permit 
                to drill a production well--
                            ``(i) demonstrate sufficient infrastructure 
                        and capacity is in place to capture the 
                        expected quantity of produced gas from the 
                        well; and
                            ``(ii) be published with an opportunity for 
                        a public comment period of at least 30 days;
                    ``(E) beginning not later than 2 years after the 
                date of enactment of the Methane Waste Prevention Act 
                of 2019, prohibit all new and refractured production 
                wells from flaring;
                    ``(F) require the operator of any covered operation 
                that routinely flares gas before the effective date of 
                a regulation prohibiting flaring issued pursuant to 
                subparagraph (E) to submit a gas capture plan to the 
                Secretary not later than 180 days before such effective 
                date that ensures that such operator will meet the 
                requirements described in subparagraphs (A) and (B);
                    ``(G) set performance standards for newly installed 
                equipment based on modern equipment that minimize gas 
                loss from--
                            ``(i) storage tanks;
                            ``(ii) dehydrators;
                            ``(iii) compressors;
                            ``(iv) open-ended valves or lines;
                            ``(v) pumps; and
                            ``(vi) such other equipment as the 
                        Secretary determines appropriate to reduce and 
                        prevent gas release;
                    ``(H) require that operators replace existing 
                equipment within one year of the publication date of 
                performance standards established under subsection (G);
                    ``(I) require the replacement of all high-bleed 
                gas-actuated pneumatic devices with low-bleed or no-
                bleed devices not later than 180 days after the date of 
                issuance of the regulation enacted under subparagraph 
                (A);
                    ``(J) set performance standards based on modern 
                procedures and equipment that minimize gas loss from--
                            ``(i) downhole maintenance;
                            ``(ii) liquids unloading;
                            ``(iii) well completion; and
                            ``(iv) such other procedures as the 
                        Secretary determines appropriate to reduce and 
                        prevent gas release;
                    ``(K) require all operators to have leak detection 
                programs with regularly scheduled inspections that 
                assess the entire covered operation using an infrared 
                camera or other equipment with methods that provide 
                overall at least equivalent sensitivity and 
                effectiveness in detecting leaks on a timely basis;
                    ``(L) require any leaks found to be repaired 
                promptly, and in any case not later than 4 weeks after 
                the discovery of the leak, except where exceptional 
                circumstances warrant an extension of not more than 8 
                additional weeks; and
                    ``(M) require recordkeeping for--
                            ``(i) equipment maintenance;
                            ``(ii) leak detection and repair;
                            ``(iii) venting events;
                            ``(iv) flaring events; and
                            ``(v) such other operations as the 
                        Secretary determines appropriate to reduce and 
                        prevent gas release.
    ``(b) Gas Measuring, Reporting, and Transparency Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, not later than one 
        year after the date of enactment of the Methane Waste 
        Prevention Act of 2019, issue regulations requiring each 
        operator to measure and report, with respect to all gas subject 
        to the mineral leasing laws, all such gas produced, consumed on 
        site, or lost through venting, flaring, or fugitive releases.
            ``(2) Measuring and reporting requirements.--To account for 
        all gas referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall issue 
        regulations requiring each operator to--
                    ``(A) measure all production and disposition of gas 
                with such accuracy that fugitive gas releases can be 
                calculated;
                    ``(B) install metering devices to measure all 
                flared gas; and
                    ``(C) report to the Secretary the volumes of gas 
                measured under the requirements described in 
                subparagraph (A), including--
                            ``(i) all new measured values for 
                        production and disposition, including vented 
                        and flared volumes; and
                            ``(ii) values for fugitive releases based 
                        on guidelines for their calculation established 
                        by the Secretary in such regulations.
            ``(3) Transparency.--The Secretary shall make all new data 
        produced under the requirements established by the Secretary 
        under this subsection, including calculated fugitive releases 
        and volumes of gas lost to venting and flaring, publicly 
        available through the internet--
                    ``(A) without a fee or other access charge;
                    ``(B) in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable 
                manner, to the extent technically possible; and
                    ``(C) as soon as technically practicable after the 
                report by the operator is filed.
    ``(c) Application.--Except as otherwise specified in this section, 
the requirements established by the Secretary under this section shall 
apply to--
            ``(1) the construction and operation of any covered 
        operation initiated, including the refracturing of existing 
        wells, on or after the date of the issuance of regulations 
        under this section; and
            ``(2) after the end of the 1-year period beginning on the 
        date of the issuance of such regulations, any covered operation 
        initiated before the date of the issuance of such regulations.
    ``(d) Enforcement Mechanisms.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall include in the 
        regulations issued under this section consistent enforcement 
        mechanisms for covered operations that are not in compliance 
        with the requirements established by the regulations.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The Secretary shall include in the 
        enforcement mechanisms described in paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) civil penalties for unauthorized venting and 
                flaring, which shall--
                            ``(i) apply in lieu of the penalties and 
                        related provisions under section 109; and
                            ``(ii) include production restrictions and 
                        civil monetary penalties equivalent to 3 times 
                        the market value of the vented or flared gas; 
                        and
                    ``(B) civil penalties that apply to noncompliance 
                with other new or existing procedures, which shall--
                            ``(i) apply in addition to or in lieu of 
                        the penalties and related provisions under 
                        section 109;
                            ``(ii) include production restrictions or 
                        monetary penalties, or both; and
                            ``(iii) in the case of monetary penalties, 
                        be proportional to market conditions.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Capture.--The term `capture' means the physical 
        containment of natural gas for transportation to market or 
        productive use of natural gas, and includes reinjection and 
        royalty-free on-site uses.
            ``(2) Covered operations.--The term `covered operations' 
        means all oil and gas operations that are subject to mineral 
        leasing law or title V of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act of 1976 (30 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), regardless of 
        size, including production, storage, gathering, processing, and 
        handling operations.
            ``(3) Flare and flaring.--The terms `flare' and `flaring' 
        mean the intentional and controlled burning of gas that occurs 
        in the course of oil and gas operations to limit release of gas 
        to the atmosphere.
            ``(4) Fugitive release.--The term `fugitive release' means 
        the unintentional and uncontrolled release of gas into the 
        atmosphere in the course of oil and gas operations.
            ``(5) Gas capture plan.--The term `gas capture plan' means 
        a plan that includes specific goals, including equipment and 
        timelines, for capturing, gathering, and processing gas 
        produced under an oil or gas lease.
            ``(6) Gas release.--The term `gas release' includes all gas 
        that is discharged to the atmosphere via venting or fugitive 
        release.
            ``(7) Vent and venting.--The terms `vent' and `venting' 
        mean the intentional and controlled release of gas into the 
        atmosphere in the course of oil and gas operations.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1 of such 
Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 117 the 
following:

``Sec. 118. Gas waste reduction and enhancement of gas measuring and 
                            reporting.''.
    (c) Updates.--The Secretary of the Interior shall update the 
regulations required by the amendments made by this section when the 
Secretary determines appropriate, but no less frequently than once 
every ten years, to reflect new information regarding gas waste, the 
impacts of that waste, and the availability of technologies and 
performance measures to reduce gas waste.
    (d) Application of Prior Rule.--The final rule entitled ``Waste 
Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource 
Conservation'', as published in the Federal Register November 18, 2016 
(81 Fed. Reg. 83008), is hereby reinstated, and each of its provisions 
shall apply unless and until the effective date of a subsequent final 
rule promulgated under the amendment made by subsection (a), or 
promulgated under another applicable authority, that replaces or 
repeals such provision.
    (e) Assessment of Venting, Flaring, and Fugitive Releases.--Not 
later than 180 days after the end of the 1-year period beginning on the 
date the Secretary of the Interior first receives data submitted under 
the requirements established under subsection (b) of section 118 of the 
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, as amended by this 
section, the Secretary shall--
            (1) submit a report to Congress describing--
                    (A) the volume of fugitive releases, and gas 
                consumed or lost by venting and flaring, from covered 
                operations (as those terms are used in such section); 
                and
                    (B) additional regulations the Secretary considers 
                would help further curtail venting, flaring, and 
                fugitive releases, or the rational basis for not 
                issuing such additional regulations if the Secretary 
                considers additional regulations would not be 
                appropriate to further curtail venting, flaring, and 
                fugitive releases; and
            (2) issue regulations described in the report required by 
        paragraph (1)(B) not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        submission of the report.
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