I am writing in response to “National methane rule calls for 45% reduction” (Herald, Aug. 18), discussing the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to follow Colorado’s lead and finalize new methane pollution standards as part of efforts to mitigate climate change and significantly cut methane waste.
Currently, the methane released into the atmosphere by oil and gas operations each year is enough to heat nearly 6 million homes each winter. To put that in perspective, there are only 2.2 million homes in all of Colorado. And if that methane were captured and sold into the natural gas market, it would be worth between $1.8 and $2 billion. So this is not only bad for business, it also hurts American energy independence since every dollar wasted is another dollar of gas we’ll have to import.
Despite the fact that cost-effective, proven technology would stop the waste of this methane gas, only one percent of oil and gas producers nationwide have joined the EPA’s voluntary natural gas STAR program, which encourages companies to adopt practices designed to reduce methane emissions.
But Colorado is already beginning to see the benefits of its methane emissions regulations, and there are a number of companies based right in Colorado that stand at the ready to get to work reducing methane emissions in the state and throughout the country. Keeping more methane in the pipeline and out of the atmosphere is a win-win for both the domestic energy industry and the environment.
Patrick Von Bargen, Center for Methane Emissions Solutions
Washington, D.C.
