Methane Emissions Research Act of 2022 Introduced

Significant data gaps exist regarding oil and gas sector methane emissions, and scientific research over the past decade has established that federal greenhouse gas inventories likely underestimate methane emissions from the oil and gas supply chain by substantial amounts due to the unique characteristics of methane leaks from oil and gas operations. To address this knowledge gap, House Science Committee Chair Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chair Don Beyer (D-VA) recently introduced legislation to empower the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure and quantify methane emissions from domestic oil and gas operations.
 
The Methane Emissions Research Act would create a pilot study as an initial one-time program while requiring the agency to consider how the lessons of the pilot could be used to inform a recurring methane emissions program on a national scale. EPA would provide an assessment of how the agency could utilize methane measurement and quantification activities to improve the quality of oil and gas sector methane data within federal greenhouse gas inventories and a description of any research gaps identified during the course of the pilot study.
 
A one-page summary of the bill is available here and the full text is available here.