Congress kills EPA methane fee, handing oil and gas a climate win
S.J.Res. 12 — A joint resolution 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 John Hoeven (R-ND) · 26 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 4, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This is a Congressional Review Act resolution that would kill an EPA rule establishing a waste emissions charge (tax) on methane leaks from oil and gas operations. The rule, finalized in November 2024, created procedures for companies to comply with the charge, including netting and exemption options. If passed, the rule would be nullified and oil and gas companies would no longer face this federal methane emissions fee.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution targeting an EPA environmental rule. It uses the fast-track CRA process to eliminate a methane emissions charge without committee debate, exemplifying the use of CRA as a deregulatory tool.
What the text implies
- Disapproval under CRA is permanent: the EPA cannot reissue a substantially similar rule without new congressional authorization, effectively locking in deregulation for the remainder of this Congress and beyond.
- The rule's netting and exemption procedures are also voided, eliminating compliance flexibility that some operators may have relied on for planning.
- Methane emissions from oil and gas operations will likely increase absent the financial penalty, increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and climate forcing.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Eliminating the methane emissions charge removes a financial incentive for oil and gas operators to reduce methane leaks, which are potent greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. Citizens bear the climate and public-health costs of increased methane emissions; the bill transfers the cost of pollution control from industry to the public.
Who stands to gain
- petroleum and natural gas operators
- oil and gas exploration and production companies
- natural gas processors and distributors
Named in the bill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Senate, oil and gas industry, methane emissions, Congressional Review Act (CRA), 5 U.S.C. Chapter 8
Where it stands
26 cosponsors: 26 Republicans.
- Feb 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Feb 4, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works”
- Feb 20, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged, by petition, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 802(c)”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 7 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $55,360,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 32 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
John Hoeven, the sponsor, reported $269,275 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. — $54,660,000 on 3 filings
- Independent Petroleum Association of America — $500,000 on 2 filings
- Southern Environmental Law Center — $200,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,951 characters) on Jun 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress kills EPA methane fee, handing oil and gas a climate win” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/sjres12 Report an error
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