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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County encouraging the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to finalize a strong methane rule that closes the existing loophole for low-producing wells.
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Whereas, low producing wells (as defined by the Environmental Defense Fund as wells producing less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day) are responsible for more than half of the methane pollution from oil and gas sources, per the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association: Vol 70, No 10 (tandfonline.com); and
Whereas, in terms of greenhouse gas properties, methane is over 80 times more potent than carbon oxides in the first 20 years it is released into the atmosphere, according to the Environmental Defense Fund; and
Whereas, rapidly reducing methane emissions could potentially slow the rate of climate warming by as much as 30%, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (https://www.edf.org/media/study-cutting-methane-emissions-quickly-could-slow-climate-warming-rate-30), and is therefore critical to slowing climate change and planning for our future; and
Whereas, studies show that many wells that produce less than a barrel of oil equivalent per day leak methane into the atmosphere at more than 100 percent of their reported gas production, per the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association: Vol 70, No 10 (tandfonline.com); and
Whereas, methane is the primary component of natural gas and cutting emissions will allow companies to capture more product and create more revenue, according to data promulgated by the International Energy Agency (https://www.iea.org/reports/methane-tracker-2020/methane-abatement-options); and
Whereas, according to data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Pennsylvania is the second largest natural gas producing state, and it is therefore the judgment of Council that the Commonwealth has a responsibility to step up and be a national leader in reducing harmful methane and a...
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