Congress kills EPA methane emissions charge for oil and gas
H.J.Res. 35 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions". · Filed by August Pfluger (R-TX) · 19 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 4, 2025 · Signed
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What it does
This is a Congressional Review Act resolution that kills an EPA rule requiring oil and gas companies to pay charges on methane emissions from their operations, and to report those emissions transparently. The rule included procedures for companies to reduce their charges through emission-reduction credits and exemptions. By passing this resolution, Congress has eliminated the rule entirely, removing the financial penalty on methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas systems.
Why we flagged it
This is a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution that uses the fast-track CRA process to eliminate an EPA environmental rule without amendment or debate. The mechanism is straightforward (one-sentence operative text), but the effect is to strip away a regulatory cost on a major extractive industry.
What the text implies
- Eliminates not just the emissions charge itself, but also the compliance procedures, netting mechanisms, and exemption framework—removing administrative infrastructure that could have been refined rather than scrapped.
- Under the CRA, this disapproval also prevents the EPA from issuing a substantially similar rule without new congressional authorization, creating a legislative lock-in that may persist across administrations.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
petroleum and natural gas producers; oil and gas equipment manufacturers; natural gas pipeline operators