特朗普政府周三宣布，将提议放宽对石油和天然气生产环节中甲烷排放的限制。美国环境保护署（EPA）在一份新闻稿中表示，未来几天将提出对拜登政府时期法规的修改建议。尽管尚未公布具体方案，但EPA称将调整拜登时期法规的多个方面，包括废除一项要求能源公司回应重大甲烷泄漏可靠报告的计划。EPA还表示，将提议修改针对一类产量低但排放高的油井和天然气井——即所谓“边际油井和天然气井”——的监管规定。
The Trump administration will propose to loosen restrictions that rein in methane from oil and gas production, it announced on Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Agency said in a press release that in the coming days, it will propose changes to Biden-era regulations. It did not release a specific proposal but said it would make changes to several aspects of the Biden-era rule, including the repeal of a program that would require energy companies to respond to credible reports of major methane leaks. The EPA also said it would propose to change regulations for a group of low-producing, high-emitting wells known as “marginal” oil and gas wells.
不过，EPA并未详细说明将如何修改这些井的监管要求，也未在《国会山报》提出请求后立即提供更多信息。
It did not detail what changes it will propose on regulations for these wells and did not immediately provide more information after a request from The Hill.
ProPublica上个月援引一份白宫正在审阅的草案报道称，新规将大幅放宽对边际油井和天然气井的泄漏检查及设备升级要求。据估计，这类井仅贡献美国石油和天然气产量的7%，却产生了约一半的甲烷排放。EPA周三表示，在拜登政府试图禁止新油井燃烧伴随开采出的多余天然气（即“火炬燃烧”）之后，将“重新审视”对此类多余天然气的处理方式。EPA并未说明具体拟议的修改内容，但表示将努力“在全国范围内确保合规可行，并采用合理的方法”。
ProPublica reported last month, citing a draft that was under White House review, that the rule would dramatically loosen requirements for leak inspections and equipment upgrades at marginal wells, which are estimated to produce just 7 percent of the nation’s oil and gas but about half of its methane emissions. The EPA said on Wednesday it would “revisit” its approach to excess gas that’s extracted alongside oil after the Biden administration sought to eliminate the burning off of this gas, known as flaring, at new oil wells. The EPA did not say what changes it was eyeing, but that it would seek to make “compliance possible all over the country and ensure a reasonable approach.”
EPA局长李·泽尔丁在书面声明中表示，这些举措预计可节省约450亿美元。泽尔丁说：“特朗普政府领导的EPA距离宣布石油和天然气法规重新审议的第二部分提案，已为期数日而非数周。这项提案将解决美国生产商和运营商向我们提出的许多问题。”
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, in a written statement, said that the moves could save an estimated $45 billion. “The Trump EPA is days not weeks away from announcing our proposal for the second part of the oil and gas reconsideration. This proposal takes on many of the problems American producers and operators have raised with us,” Zeldin said.
“这其中包括边缘油井和油气运营商普遍面临的负担、超级排放计划、伴生天然气以及控制设备要求，”他补充道。“美国人必须能够负担得起冬季的取暖费用，以及给汽车加油并开车上班。当能源生产者被不必要的负担压得喘不过气时，他们就无法做到这一点。”甲烷是一种加剧全球变暖的气体，其温室效应强度约为二氧化碳的28倍，占全球变暖原因的约25%。
“That includes the burden on marginal wells and oil and gas operators in general, the Super Emitter Program, associated gas, and control device requirements,” he added. “Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work. They can’t do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens.”Methane is a planet-warming gas that’s about 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about 25 percent of global warming.
甲烷主要来源于化石燃料的开采和运输，也来自畜牧业、其他农业活动以及垃圾填埋场中腐烂的废弃物。天然气主要由甲烷组成。2023年，拜登政府收紧了对油气行业的甲烷监管，并表示此举将在2024年至2038年间防止5800万吨甲烷进入大气——在气候影响上相当于将2800万辆燃油车停驶一年。环保倡导者批评了特朗普政府的最新公告。
It mainly comes from the production and transport of fossil fuels — as well as from livestock and other agriculture and decaying waste in landfills. Natural gas is primarily made up of methane. In 2023, the Biden administration tightened methane regulations for oil and gas, a move it said would prevent 58 million tons of methane from entering the atmosphere between 2024 and 2038 — the climate equivalent of taking 28 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year. Environmental advocates criticized the latest announcement from the Trump administration.
“特朗普时期的环保署正试图为油气行业中最恶劣的参与者开脱。许多公司早已遵守这些规定，但少数违规企业拒绝检查泄漏或充分监测其设备。这项措施实际上是在为这些不守规矩的企业提供庇护，”自然资源保护委员会的高级策略师戴维·多尼格在一份书面声明中表示。“甲烷泄漏是最愚蠢的污染形式，因为行业正在流失自己销售的产品。这正是这些标准如此具有成本效益的原因：检查泄漏意味着行业能卖出更多的天然气，”多尼格补充道。
“The Trump EPA is trying to give a free pass to the worst actors in the oil and gas industry. Many companies had already complied with these rules, but a few rogue actors refuse to check for leaks or monitor their equipment adequately. Those deadbeats would get bailed out by this action,” said David Doniger, senior strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a written statement. “Methane leaks are the dumbest kind of pollution because the industry is losing the very product it is selling. That’s what made the standards so cost effective: Checking for leaks means the industry has more gas to sell,” Doniger added.