Response to California Air Resources Board New Methane Rules from Catherine Reheis-Boyd, WSPA President

March 23, 2017 — “California has the most stringent air quality regulations in the nation and the state’s oil producers continue to be committed to complying with these regulations. While we understand the concerns raised in regards to natural gas storage projects, we again want to point out there is an immense difference between oil and gas production and natural gas storage operations. Our total industry sector emission, which includes oil production and natural gas storage, is 4% of the state’s methane emissions. Of that, less than 1% is from oil production. From the beginning of the rule development process, WSPA has emphasized the importance of ensuring that the methane regulation recognizes existing control requirements and does not unnecessarily impose duplicative requirements on operations.

In general, WSPA supports many of ARB’s provisions in the rule but we’ll continue to urge ARB to address remaining issues. The rule also adds control requirements that do not acknowledge the success of mature pollution control measures such as the Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programs which have operated under local air agency authority for over 30 years. We firmly believe the strength of the existing LDAR programs is dependent upon the practices in the industry, and not the frequency of regulatory inspections.

WSPA and its member companies continue to be dedicated to ensuring that Americans have reliable access to petroleum and petroleum products through policies that are socially, economically, and environmentally responsible.”