Press Releases

This week, Rep. Jodey C. Arrington (TX-19) introduced H.R. 5991, the “Science-Based Emissions Standards Act of 2021,” legislation to protect small and independent producers from onerous and arbitrary regulations from the Biden administration. 

“Instead of emission standards based on science provided by the Department of Energy, President Biden made a rash and arbitrary decision to appease climate alarmists departing from longstanding cost-benefit analysis which protect smaller, independent energy producers from burdensome regulation,” said Rep. Arrington. “The Science-Based Emissions Standards Act of 2021 will force the EPA to slow down a rushed process and ensure the best and most current data available is considered when developing methane regulations that have a major impact on American energy.”

Background: 

Last month, Rep. Arrington sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the need to postpone any rulemaking regarding emissions guidelines for the oil and gas industry until the Department of Energy releases its federally funded study on emissions from marginal wells. The EPA proposed these new methane emissions guidelines for both the existing source and new source methane rules on November 2, 2021. The rule was proposed before Department of Energy’s study was completed and therefore it will not be able to be taken into consideration during the public comment period. 

Proposing guidelines to meet an arbitrary political deadline while disregarding important new scientific information is inappropriate. In response, Rep. Arrington is introducing legislation to:

• Bar finalization of any replacement rule until the Secretary of Energy publishes the results of the quantification study
• Require EPA to provide at least 90 days for public comment from when the study is published to allow consideration by the public
• Instruct the EPA to take the results into consideration in the final rule

Joining Rep. Arrington in introducing this legislation were Rep. Jake Ellzey (TX-06), Rep. Roger Williams (TX-25), Rep. Ron Estes (KS-04), Rep. Ronny Jackson (TX-13), Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04), Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14), Rep. Liz Cheney (WY-AL), Rep. Chris Stewart (UT-02), and Brian Babin (TX-36). 

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Congressman Jodey Arrington is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives serving the Nineteenth Congressional District of Texas. He serves as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.