On Wednesday, January 11, Ángel Esparza, the principal technical and policy advisor for GHGSat, testified at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) public hearing on its Supplemental Proposal to Reduce Pollution from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry to Fight the Climate Crisis and Protect Public Health.
Esparza highlighted GHGSat’s technology and global leadership in the industry and applauded the EPA’s intention to embrace a broader range of technologies to monitor of greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and natural gas sector, which is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States. Esparza argued that EPA’s Supplemental Proposal is an important step in the right direction, but it must be strengthened to ensure that it provides the necessary protections for public health and the environment.
A key recommendation was for the EPA to consider revising its proposed matrix approach with respect to detection levels. He suggested a reorganization with detection thresholds and monitoring frequencies that would be more operationally effective. Also, establishing a bridge between the current proposed detection thresholds and the proposed super emitter program, the recommendation provides a mechanism that accounts for the combination of technologies that, when working in tandem, can achieve the methane reduction equivalent to a single solution. He also pointed out the need for clarity who will bear the cost of monitoring and detecting super emitter events, since the current wording of the proposed rule explicitly rules out operators.
Dr. Esparza will follow this oral testimony with a more detailed written submission.
As the global leader in satellite monitoring of facility-level methane emissions, GHGSat has worked with operators to help understand how this proposal could affect them and how GHGSat can work with them to identify their big leaks fast and ultimately comply with these rules.
