Illustration: Rae Cook/Axios
The Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with a proposed methane fee as required by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Why it matters: Brace for the next war over how to charge for emitting methane, an ultra-potent greenhouse gas.
Driving the news: EPA announced Friday afternoon it was proposing language implementing the methane waste emissions charge mandated in the IRA. It charges oil and gas companies at least $900 per ton of methane starting this year.
- The charge, which applies to methane emissions that exceed statutorily required levels, gradually increases in the succeeding years.
- EPA said facilities that comply with recently-finalized regulations on methane will be exempt from the fee.
What they're saying: "For too long it has been cheaper for oil and gas operators to waste methane rather than make the necessary upgrades to prevent leaks and flaring," Frank Pallone, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's ranking Democrat, said in an EPA news release.
