As expected, California officials on Thursday night passed what is considered the nation’s strictest rule aimed at curbing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the measure on a unanimous vote at a meeting in Riverside.

“The Trump administration has backed away from efforts to develop a federal rule to curb methane leaks from existing facilities — the nation’s largest source of methane pollution,” Mary Nichols, CARB chair, said in a statement immediately after the vote. “California’s regulations continue our leadership in fighting air pollutants and help meet our goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.”

The regulation is sweeping, covering oil and gas sites on land as well as offshore and would apply to private, state and federal property. Tribal land, however, would be exempt.


It would also cover storage sites such as the Aliso Canyon natural gas facility, site of a massive leak that forced thousands from their homes in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles County.

Methane is estimated to have 72 times more potential impact on global warming than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame. Advocates for the rule say 75,000 tons of methane go into the atmosphere in California through leaky equipment and venting from oil and gas producers.

The rule mandates regular inspections at facilities and promises to slash methane releases by as much as 45 percent over the next nine years. The regulation will go into effect in phases, starting Jan. 1, 2018.

CARB officials say California’s methane rule is expected to reduce methane leaks by the equivalent of taking 280,000 cars off the road for a year.


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Oil and gas trade groups said they support the state finding ways to reduce emissions but have expressed a number of concerns, including mandating inspections at facilities with good maintenance records and questioning how much difference the rule would really make.

The Western States Petroleum Association attributes just 4 percent of the state’s methane emissions to the oil and gas sector.

By CARB’s own estimates, oil and gas operations account for 15 percent of statewide methane emissions.


Les Clark, executive vice president at the Independent Oil Producers’ Agency, said on the eve of the vote the rule would hit small oil and gas producers in the state harder than big operators.

“Anything like this adds to the lifting costs,” Clark said. “Lifting costs is how much it costs to bring a barrel of oil out of the ground. These are regulations that are onerous to a certain extent for us because of our size.”

The vote by CARB comes in contrast to moves on Capitol Hill.

The Republican-majority in both houses of Congress is working on rolling back a methane rule finalized by the Obama administration 10 days after the election of Donald Trump that directed the Bureau of Land Management to clamp down on venting, flaring and leaks on federal and tribal land.


Under the Congressional Review Act, lawmakers can roll back recent executive actions if they are deemed too costly, exceed agency authority or are redundant.

Business


rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski