{"id":14595,"date":"2016-12-21T11:45:44","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T17:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=14595"},"modified":"2016-12-21T12:15:21","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T18:15:21","slug":"why-pennsylvania-is-moving-forward-to-reduce-methane-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2016\/12\/21\/why-pennsylvania-is-moving-forward-to-reduce-methane-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Pennsylvania is moving forward to reduce methane pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Oil
Oil and gas methane emissions in Pennsylvania. Image source: Environmental Protection Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) took \u00a0an important first step<\/a> to implement new requirements aimed at reducing methane emissions from new oil and gas operations.<\/p>\n

Methane is the main component of natural gas \u2013 51% of Pennsylvania households depend on it to fuel their homes. The more methane is wasted, the less there is to deliver to the PA communities that depend on it.<\/p>\n

Methane pollution is a focus for Governor Wolf and the DEP for a number of reasons. Scientists estimate that methane is responsible for 25% of the man-made climate impact we experience today. The majority of methane emissions come from the oil and gas industry. As the second largest producer of natural gas in the nation, Pennsylvania has a duty to operate in a responsible and efficient manner by reducing its waste of this valuable domestic resource. In the Keystone State alone, oil and gas companies waste an appalling 100,000 tons of methane every year<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When less methane is delivered to the pipeline, that means lost revenue and less benefit to local economies. Last year alone Pennsylvania\u2019s oil and gas producers allowed some $14 million worth of a valuable domestic energy resource to escape into the atmosphere, despite the fact that numerous analyses have shown industry can reduce up to 40% of methane emissions by implementing cost-effective technologies on the market today.<\/p>\n

Besides contributing to climate change and resulting in massive energy waste, industry\u2019s methane emissions have other implications for Pennsylvania communities. Air pollution from oil and gas facilities can contain toxic air pollutants like benzene \u2013 a known carcinogen \u2013 and other volatile organic compounds that exacerbate an already hazardous smog problem<\/a> in many parts of the state.<\/p>\n