H.R. 8990, Environmental Deregulation / Oil & Gas Exemption. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a net cost — and names who bears it.
H.R. 8990 · Net cost
What it does
This bill exempts 'marginal wells'—oil and gas wells producing 15 barrels of oil per day or less (or equivalent natural gas)—from Clean Air Act emissions standards, monitoring, reporting, and leak-detection requirements. It also terminates any pending EPA enforcement actions against marginal wells for violating these standards.
The analysis names independent oil and gas producers — and 3 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The cost
Marginal wells, while individually small, collectively represent millions of barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of natural gas annually in the U.S.; exempting them from leak detection and fugitive-emission standards may result in significant unmonitored methane releases, undermining federal climate commitments.
The analysis put a high warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 75%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by August Pfluger. Cosponsored by Craig Goldman, Dan Crenshaw, Derek Schmidt and Frank Lucas.