{"id":22331,"date":"2023-02-22T16:29:31","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T21:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=22331"},"modified":"2023-02-22T16:29:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T21:29:31","slug":"trust-but-verify-how-colorado-must-lead-as-latest-methane-rulemaking-advances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2023\/02\/22\/trust-but-verify-how-colorado-must-lead-as-latest-methane-rulemaking-advances\/","title":{"rendered":"Trust, but verify: How Colorado must lead as latest methane rulemaking advances"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Nini Gu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s oil and gas regulators face an important decision that will determine whether the state can continue to successfully cut methane emissions and reach its statutory climate targets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Colorado\u2019s Air Quality Control Commission adopted a rule that limits how much greenhouse gas can be emitted per barrel of oil and gas produced. However, the 2021 GHG intensity rule left open the critical question of how oil and gas operators can demonstrate that their emissions comply with the new standard.<\/p>\n

Allowing companies to determine for themselves how to measure and report emissions without strong guidance and a requirement to use direct measurement data threatens to undermine the intensity standard and set a bad precedent for other jurisdictions \u2014 in the U.S. and abroad \u2014 that are looking to implement performance-based standards.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the Air Pollution Control Division is now undertaking a GHG Intensity Verification rulemaking<\/a> to address this glaring omission, offering the opportunity to create a program based on best-available science and grounded in real and meaningful outcomes.<\/p>\n

This GHG Intensity Verification Rule must be accurate, reliable and capable of directly quantifying the volume of real-world methane emissions so Colorado can make informed decisions to protect communities and the climate.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Getting the rule right<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proper use of direct measurement is crucial for the new rule. Current monitoring methods are able to detect emissions but cannot easily quantify the amount discharged, while emissions calculations using conventional bottom-up approaches routinely underestimate the volume of methane<\/a> released and rely too much on assumptions rather than real-world data.<\/p>\nTrust, but verify: How Colorado must lead as latest methane rulemaking advances <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

New and better technology and methods increasingly make it practical for producers, regulators and the public to form a more complete picture of oil and gas methane emissions in the state \u2014 one based on actual emissions detected, not outdated assumptions and estimates.<\/p>\n

It is not unlike the Reagan administration\u2019s famous approach to nuclear disarmament with the Soviet Union: Trust, but verify.<\/p>\n

The Polis administration can lead the nation and the world on this issue, but only by properly incorporating direct measurement into the GHG Intensity Verification Rule.<\/p>\n

For the rule to be successful, it must do the following:<\/p>\n