TAbLE OF CONTENTS
THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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II. WHY METHANE
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III. GETTING THE JOB DONE: U.S.ACTIONS TO REDUCE METHANEEMISSIONS
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A. Reducing Methane Emissions in the Oil and Gas Sector
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1. Updated Rules of the Road for New and Existing Oil and Gas Sources
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2. Reducing Venting, Flaring, and Well Leaks on Public Lands and Waters
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3. Boosting Safety of Gathering and Transmission Pipelines
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4. Regulatory, Disclosure, and Partnership Initiatives to Reduce Methane Leaks and Ruptures on Distribution Lines
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5. Plugging Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells to Reduce Methane Emissions
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B. Administration Actions to Reduce Methane Emissions fromLandfills
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1. Reducing Methane Emissions from Large Landfills
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2. Reducing Food Waste in Landfills
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C. Reducing Methane Emissions by Remediating AbandonedCoalMines
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D. Expanding Incentive-Based and Voluntary Partnership Efforts to Reduce Methane Emissions from
Agriculture
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1. Adopting Alternative Manure Management Systems and otherMethane-ReducingPractices
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2. Launching a Climate-Smart Partnership Initiative
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3. Promoting On-Farm Renewable Energy from Methane
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4. Increased Investments in Agricultural Methane Measurement and Innovations
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E. Other Methane Reduction Initiatives
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1. Reducing Methane Emissions in Industrial Applications
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2. Advancing Emerging Efforts to Reduce Methane Emissions in Buildings
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ENDNOTES
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I. ExECUTIvE SUMMARY
U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACTION PLAN
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The United States has a robust record of advancing commonsense technologies and techniques to reduce methane emissions as part of the fight against
climate change. However, in this decisive decade, those efforts must be redoubled—and ambition must be raised. This new set of actions rest on a deep
technical and scientific understanding of methane emissions, their sources, and mitigation opportunities. And they leverage growing momentum. In recent
years, federal, state, and local agencies as well as private sector leaders have initiated a number of commonsense regulatory and voluntary efforts to
reduce methane emissions, while supporting innovation in next-generation technologies to detect and reduce methane emissions across the economy.
The Biden-Harris Administration, through the National Climate Task Force, has launched an ambitious, whole-of-government initiative to significantly
redouble efforts and reduce emissions. Through these domestic actions, the United States is catalyzing similar actions around the world, working in
partnership with the European Union to lead a Global Methane Pledge—with signatories representing more than 60% of global GDP and many of the
largest emitters—to reduce overall methane emissions by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.
This U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan focuses on cutting pollution here at home from the largest sources of methane emissions in the United
States. It uses all available tools—commonsense regulations, catalytic financial incentives, transparency and disclosure of actionable data, and public
and private partnerships—to identify and reduce methane emissions. These cost-effective actions will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut
leaks, waste, and consumer costs, protect workers and communities, maintain and create high-quality, union-friendly jobs, and promote U.S. innovation
and manufacturing of critical new technologies.
The Action Plan includes a number of critical and commonsense steps to tackle methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, which currently represents
the largest source of industrial emissions of methane:
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing updated rules of the road for methane from new oil and gas sources and its first set of limits
on existing oil and gas sources. The proposal would reduce emissions from covered sources, equipment, and operations by about 75%.
• The Department of the Interior is focusing on opportunities to tackle the venting and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations and well closures
on public lands and waters.
• The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is implementing the bipartisan PIPES Act by
upgrading and expanding pipeline rules that will, among other things, require operators to cut methane leaks and excursions.
The Action Plan also takes aim at methane emissions from landfills—the second largest industrial source of methane:
• Building on efforts earlier this year to put in place an enforceable federal backstop plan to ensure emissions reductions from large municipal landfills,
EPA is ramping up an initiative to reduce the food loss and waste that serves as a major contributor to landfill methane emissions.
• EPA is also boosting its voluntary landfill methane outreach program to achieve a national goal of 70% methane emissions capture for all landfills
around the country.
In the agriculture sector, the Action Plan leverages and expands important and impactful incentive-based and voluntary partnership programs:
• The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has initiated an incentive-based “climate-smart” agriculture program that the President called for in an Executive
Order. The program will reward farmers and ranchers for reducing methane emissions (and sequestering carbon) across multiple USDA funding
programs.
• USDA is launching a Climate-Smart Partnership Initiative that is exploring the establishment of new markets for agricultural commodities based on the
application of climate friendly processes throughout the commodities’ supply chains.
• USDA is establishing an Interagency Biogas Opportunities Task Force to facilitate the collection and use of methane for on-farm renewable energy
applications.
• The Administration is bolstering the USDA’s climate-smart agriculture programs with a greenhouse gas measurement initiative that will identify, confirm,
and track methane and other greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration, with a special focus on those associated with climate-smart
agricultural practices.
The Action Plan includes efforts at a number of other agencies all with the same set of objectives – cutting pollution and consumer costs, while boosting
good-paying jobs and American competitiveness. For example:
• The Department of Energy (DOE) is advancing methane emissions reductions in heavy industry through its Industrial Assessment Centers and the
Hydrogen Shot initiative, which focuses on the accelerated deployment of affordable low-carbon hydrogen.
• DOE also recently launched an Initiative for Better Energy, Emissions, and Equity—a national research initiative focused on deploying clean and efficient
building heating and cooling systems.
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will undertake an equitable green building and electrification initiative for HUD-supported
buildings, aimed in part at reducing methane emissions.
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I. ExECUTIvE SUMMARY
THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICY
President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda would accelerate many of these methane emissions reduction efforts. The investment agenda would enable
the Department of the Interior to launch an aggressive program to plug hundreds of thousands of orphan oil and gas wells, including many that are still
venting methane, employing union workers across the country. Build Back Better would scale up the current Abandoned Mine Land program, funding
historic remediation efforts that would result in dramatic methane emissions reductions from thousands of currently leaking, abandoned coal mines. This
scaled up program would also enlist tens of thousands of skilled workers, especially in energy communities across the country. Finally, the investment
agenda would turbocharge existing USDA efforts, providing farmers and ranchers with more resources to tap the emissions reductions opportunities on
the lands and facilities that they manage.
Accelerating the pace with which we cut methane emissions in the United States will advance multiple aims.
First, reducing methane will generate substantial climate benefits. Although methane only represents 10% of U.S. greenhouse emissions, achieving
significant reductions will generate rapid and significant beneficial effects because methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas— and more short-lived—
than carbon dioxide.
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Second, the critical and commonsense steps laid out in the Action Plan will create thousands of high-quality, union-friendly jobs and spur innovative
solutions in industry and agriculture that will boost U.S. competitiveness around the world.
Third, this initiative will provide improved public health and local air quality for the many disadvantaged communities that have been living with the harmful
effects of methane and its frequent companions such as toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulates.
Finally, the Action Plan reinforces U.S. international leadership to address methane emissions on the global scale. As President Biden announced at the
Major Economies Forum, the United States and the European Union are committed to working with global partners to achieve aggressive global action
on methane, including through the ambitious Global Methane Pledge. The actions outlined in this plan will both inform and support this global effort in a
variety of ways. The emphasis on improving U.S. methane (and other greenhouse gases) measurement and monitoring efforts, for example, will facilitate
more accurate global tracking of methane emissions around the world. Likewise, by aggressively pursuing different mitigation approaches across multiple
sectors, the United States will gain valuable experience and expertise that can assist other countries in building and increasing their capacity to reduce
methane through initiatives like the Global Methane Initiative and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
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II. WHY METHANE
U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACTION PLAN
II. WHY METHANE
In the United States, methane accounts for approximately 10% of human-caused or anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
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However, methane is a
“short lived climate forcer” (SLCF), which makes it a particularly destructive greenhouse gas. As the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) recently explained, one ton of methane in the atmosphere has about 80 times the warming impact of a ton of CO
2
, and “[o]ver time scales
of 10 to 20 years, the global temperature response to a year’s worth of current [methane] emissions . . . is at least as large as that due to a year’s worth
of CO
2
emissions.”
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As a result, experts attribute approximately 30% of today’s anthropogenic climate change to methane emissions.
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In addition to its climate impacts, methane poses acute and chronic hazards to human health. Methane is flammable and explosive within certain ranges
and thus can present a safety hazard for individuals in areas with high methane concentrations including, for example, around oil and gas facilities, certain
agricultural settings, and coal mines. Methane gas intoxication can cause asphyxia and lung injury, and the explosive hazards posed by methane can be
deadly.
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Ruptures and other incidents on large-diameter, high-pressure natural gas pipelines can have potentially catastrophic consequences.
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Methane emissions also contribute to ozone formation,
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which is linked to a variety of serious public health effects, including reduced lung function,
asthma attacks, asthma development, emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and early death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes. A 50%
reduction in global methane concentrations would result in dramatically lower ozone concentrations, in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 ppb, and lead to 100,000
fewer premature respiratory deaths due to ozone exposure globally.
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Reducing 1 million tons of methane emissions has been estimated to lead to a
reduction of 240 to 590 premature deaths worldwide.
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Methane also typically is co-produced with other harmful air pollutants. The process to extract oil and gas, for example, also generates volatile organic
compounds, which are a key ingredient in ground-level ozone (smog) and air toxics such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. Smog is a
dangerous pollutant that can harm respiratory systems, aggravating lung diseases like asthma and acute cardiovascular effects, and air toxics are known
or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health effects.
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A recent study found that ultra-fine particulate matter emitted from fossil fuel combustion
is responsible for 1 in 5 premature deaths worldwide, including more than 300,000 deaths a year in the United States.
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Given these facts, it should come as no surprise that communities located near areas of high methane production often face impacts from methane and
other pollutants that result in poor health outcomes, reductions in property values, and decreases in quality of life. More than 50 million Americans, for
example, live in counties with oil and gas production facilities and where federal air quality standards are not being met.
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These impacts are not felt equally;
communities of color bear the brunt.
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In San Juan County, New Mexico, for example, over half the Native American population lives within one half mile of
an oil and gas production facility.
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The county, which includes Navajo Nation lands, has the second highest methane emissions levels in the state, and sits
under an ozone cloud estimated to comprise 10% of the country’s methane emissions.
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Source: C. W. Tessum et al. 2021. PM2.5 polluters disproportionately and systemically affect people of color in the United States.
Sci. Adv. 7 (18). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf4491.
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II. WHY METHANE
THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICY
Despite the potential dangers associated with methane emissions, the trends are heading in the wrong direction. Absent additional action, global methane
emissions are projected to increase through at least 2040.
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Global mean methane amount, 1984–2019, parts per billion
[Source: Ed Dlugokencky, NOAA/ESRL (www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends_ch4/)]
Despite the daunting trend line, some positive developments in recent years provide a source of optimism and, more importantly, a robust basis on which
to build methane reduction efforts.
Because methane is a super-pollutant that disproportionately impacts climate change in the near term, the benefits of near-term reductions also are
commensurately large. That is, reducing methane emissions today can generate near-immediate climate benefits, providing room for the longer-term
transition to a clean energy economy, as illustrated in the chart below.
Source: Oxford Martin School Briefing Memo, 2017
Significant advances in data collection and technology over the past few years have greatly increased our ability to detect and quantify methane releases
due to leaks in pipelines or other infrastructure, intentional or unintentional venting, or other sources. These recent technological innovations are improving
our ability to detect and quantify methane from a wide range of sources and to reduce or eliminate methane sources that otherwise might go undetected,
potentially for years. With respect to methane sources in the oil and gas sector, for example, we also have learned that a relatively few “super emitters” are
responsible for a disproportionate share of overall methane emissions—providing opportunities for more efficient, targeted emissions reduction strategies
and, in many cases, an economic incentive to quickly repair leaks.
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For example, in 2023, the non-profit Carbon Mapper, in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is launching prototype satellites to track
methane emissions at individual facilities.
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This and related efforts are yielding high-resolution images capable of identifying previously undetectable
sources of methane, with the data being made accessible to all interested users and empowering key decisionmakers in the public and private sectors.
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II. WHY METHANE
U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACTION PLAN
A methane plume detected by NASA’s AVIRIS-NG in summer 2020 indicates a leaking gas line in oil field in California.
The operator subsequently confirmed and repaired the leak.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Importantly, scientific and technological advances, many of which were spurred in part by federal investments, have enabled more effective measurement of
methane, and cost-effective tools for mitigating those sources of emissions. Innovation and cost declines in everything from emissions-sensing equipment
to zero-emissions pneumatic equipment means that industries can now capture greater economic benefits while reducing harmful methane pollution.
Finally, system-wide and full life-cycle methane emissions reduction can create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs across the country.
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The
new leak detection technology discussed above, for example, is creating significant new employment opportunities for thousands of new leak detection
and repair workers. The methane emissions mitigation industry is rapidly growing, along with the jobs associated with this field. Over 225 U.S. companies
across the country are manufacturing the technologies and providing services to reduce oil and gas leaks across 47 states. Methane emissions reductions
will increasingly employ welders, pipeline workers, electricians, inspectors, engineers, and a broad range of construction and building trades workers. The
median wage in the methane mitigation sector is nearly $31 an hour, which is 60% higher than the U.S. average.
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Many jurisdictions have already enacted
strong methane mitigation measures, with positive economic and employment effects. Methane leak detection and repair should incorporate contractor
and workforce standards to ensure high-quality work and effective emissions reductions.
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III. GETTING THE JOb DONE: U.S. ACTIONS TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS
THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICY
III. GETTING THE JOB DONE:
U.S.ACTIONS TO REDUCE
METHANEEMISSIONS
The Action Plan is geared toward reducing methane emissions for the United States’ sources: oil and gas sector; landfills; agriculture; and coal mining.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2021). Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019
A. REDUCING METHANE EMISSIONS IN THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR
The oil and gas sector is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States, responsible for approximately 30% of total methane
emissions.
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That is why on January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13990, which directed the EPA to issue regulations under the
Clean Air Act to reduce the oil and gas industry’s methane emissions.
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This is a foundational element of a whole-of-government effort, which will generate
substantial health and safety benefits, while creating thousands of new jobs to detect and repair leaking equipment and remove and/or replace old and
dangerous gas infrastructure that is past its rated lifetime.
1. UPDATED RULES OF THE ROAD FOR NEW AND EXISTING OIL AND GAS SOURCES
EPA is proposing emissions guidelines and new source performance standards under the Clean Air Act that would significantly reduce methane emissions
and other harmful pollutants from the oil and gas sector. There are three primary components to EPA’s proposal:
• EPA’s proposal would update and strengthen current requirements for new sources, broaden the types of sources covered by those standards, and
encourage the development and deployment of cost-effective technologies to further reduce pollution from oil and natural gas sources. The proposal
also would regulate additional types of sources for the first time, including well liquids unloading, natural gas-driven intermittent vent pneumatic
controllers, and oil wells with associated gas.
• EPA’s proposal defines guidelines for states to follow in their programs to reduce emissions from existing oil and gas facilities. This will be the first such
rule covering methane emissions from existing sources in the oil and gas sector. The proposal, which covers many of the same types of facilities and
operations covered in the new source rule, will require, among other things, rigorous leak detection and repair at well sites and compressor stations,
widespread conversion of pneumatic controllers to zero-emitting technologies, and the elimination of associated gas venting.
Natural Gas
and Petroleum
Systems
30%
Enteric
Fermentation
27%
2019 U.S. Methane Emissions, By Source
Manure
Management
10%
Coal
Mining
7%
Other
9%
Landfills
17%
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III. GETTING THE JOb DONE: U.S. ACTIONS TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS
U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACTION PLAN
• EPA is also seeking information that may help the agency identify cost-effective ways to make important, additional reductions in methane and VOC
emissions from the oil and natural gas industry, which the agency intends to address in a supplemental proposal in 2022. This includes several types
of sources that are not currently regulated, including abandoned and unplugged wells, pipeline pigging and related blowdown activities, and tank truck
loading operations. The agency is also seeking information to empower local communities to address local emission concerns by defining roles that
communities can play in identifying large leaks and alerting companies to help ensure they are fixed.
Overall, the proposed requirements would reduce by approximately 75% emissions from the sources, equipment, and operations that the proposal covers.
Those reductions would total 41 million cumulative tons of methane between 2023 and 2035, the equivalent of 920 million metric tons of CO
2
. The
proposal would also reduce 12 million tons of smog-forming VOCs along with 480,000 tons of reductions in air toxics as a co-benefit of reducing VOCs. If
EPA ultimately finalizes some of the ideas that the agency is taking comment on for a supplemental proposal, these pollution reduction totals could increase.
By limiting methane emissions leaks from multiple sources in the oil and gas sector, EPA’s critical and commonsense steps would result in the capture of
gas that otherwise would be lost, conserving finite natural gas resources, while reducing air pollution. At the same time, the industry’s new obligations to
detect and repair methane leaks will create new, good-paying jobs.
2. REDUCING VENTING, FLARING, AND WELL LEAKS ON PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have the responsibility to manage
oil and gas operations that take place on public lands and in federal offshore waters. Both bureaus are taking steps to reduce methane emissions from
industry activities on public lands and waters. They are focusing on the wasteful venting and flaring of gas during drilling operations, and on poorly-
performed well closures, which can result in continuing releases of methane.
• The BLM is planning a regulation under the Mineral Leasing Act to disincentivize excessive venting or flaring of gas by requiring oil and gas operators
to pay royalties to the federal government for vented or flared gas. BLM estimates that in 2019, approximately 150 billion cubic feet of methane were
flared from operations that would be subject to the BLM regulation—more than the entire yearly natural gas consumption of residential consumers
in the state of Wisconsin.
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Also, recent research indicates that the level of un-combusted methane in flares is higher than expected,
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meaning that
flaring operations involve some direct venting of methane into the atmosphere.
• The BLM and BOEM are planning to strengthen financial assurance requirements for oil and gas operators, which will ensure that wells are properly
plugged and reclaimed, preventing long-term leaks of methane or other contaminants.
3. BOOSTING SAFETY OF GATHERING AND TRANSMISSION PIPELINES
The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has substantial authority to protect people and the
environment by reducing or eliminating leaks or ruptures of oil and gas pipelines, at underground natural gas storage facilities, and from liquified natural
gas (LNG) operations. PHMSA’s jurisdiction extends to approximately 3 million miles of oil and gas pipelines and hundreds of underground gas storage and
LNG facilities that emit large quantities of methane.
As part of implementing the bipartisan PIPES Act, PHMSA is advancing a commonsense regulatory agenda that has the potential to provide annual methane
reductions of as much as 20 MMT of CO
2
e in methane emissions per year—a spur for new jobs for pipeline workers, welders, electricians, and other
trades. The reductions will be achieved by reducing leaks throughout the gas pipeline system and by reducing the frequency and scope of ruptures. In
addition to being a major safety hazard, ruptures are a particularly large source of pipeline methane emissions. More than 1,000 metric tons of methane
are lost, on average, with each pipeline rupture. A single rupture from a large, high-pressure gas pipeline can release more than 1,300 metric tons of
methane emissions.
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In the coming months, PHMSA anticipates finalizing three critical and commonsense rules to advance its ambitious environmental and safety agenda:
• Gas Gathering Pipeline Safety Rule. This rule proposes to impose new requirements on more than 400,000 additional miles of previously unregulated
pipelines, including new safety requirements for a substantial portion of these lines, which will result in significant reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions associated with leaks and incidents.
• Automatic Shut-off Valve Rule. This rule, which is also known as the Valve Installation and Minimum Rupture Detection Standards rule, proposes
to require operators of newly constructed and entirely replaced large diameter pipelines to install rupture mitigation valves or alternative equivalent
technologies, and will establish minimum performance standards for those valves’ operation. The rule also will likely address requirements for rupture-
mitigation maintenance, inspection, and risk analysis.
• Gas Transmission Pipelines Safety Rule. This rule proposes to reduce the frequency of leaks and ruptures on more than 300,000 miles of gas
transmission lines by addressing integrity management provisions, management of change processes, gas transmission pipeline corrosion control
requirements, requirements for inspections following extreme events, strengthened integrity management assessments, and repair criteria for high
consequence (heavily populated) areas.
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III. GETTING THE JOb DONE: U.S. ACTIONS TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS
THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICY
PHMSA also will be proposing a rule next year to strengthen standards for LNG facilities:
• LNG Facilities Rule. This planned new rule would strengthen standards for LNG facilities, particularly from large scale incidents and storage tanks,
which are a major source of methane emissions. The proposed rule would seek to prevent large-scale incidents like the 2014 LNG incident in Plymouth,
Washington, which emitted 3,246 metric tons of methane. It also would reduce the risk of low probability/high consequence incidents, such as an LNG
storage tank failure. Such tanks can contain as much as 69,000 metric tons of methane.
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4. REGULATORY, DISCLOSURE, AND PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES TO REDUCE METHANE LEAKS AND
RUPTURES ON DISTRIBUTION LINES
There are an estimated 2.3 million miles of gas distribution pipelines that extend into cities and towns throughout the United States. Many of these pipelines
are old, leaking, and susceptible to rupturing.
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For example, the chart below from testing in Washington, D.C. illustrates chronic leakage problems in gas
distribution pipelines.
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Another recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reinforces concerns about gas leakage. The study monitored
methane emissions in the Boston area between 2012 and 2020, and found that an average of 49,000 tons of methane leaked into the air each year. That
accounts to an estimated 2.5% of all gas delivered to the metro area and is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from roughly a quarter-million cars
operating for a year.
In addition to on-going leaks, gas distribution pipelines can fail and generate enormous emissions. A single catastrophic incident in 2018 in Merrimack
Valley, for example, released an estimated 13 metric tons of methane.
29
Despite this challenging fact pattern, when aging or damaged gas distribution pipelines are repaired or replaced, methane emissions can be cut by up
to 90%.
30
These improvements are good for consumers, safety, and the climate. That is why the Biden-Harris Administration is confronting the serious
environmental and safety issues associated with methane emissions and ruptures in distribution pipelines:
• Next year, PHMSA will be proposing a new Gas Distribution Pipelines Safety Rule to substantially upgrade pipeline safety practices for gas distribution
pipelines. This planned new rule would achieve methane reductions through reduced ruptures, incidents, and response times.
• Next year, PHMSA will also be proposing a Methane Leak Detection Repair Rule that would establish standards for leak detection technologies and
practices and require repair of all leaks. PHMSA estimates that these amendments would reduce methane emissions by 294,269 to 832,467 metric
tons of CO
2
e each year, depending on the assumed leakage rates for cast iron and plastic distribution pipelines.
• The Administration will also work with local governments, community leaders, labor unions, NGOs, and other stakeholders to set up monitoring systems
for methane and other greenhouse gases to identify and publicly post methane leaks in municipal distribution systems. The Administration also will
challenge members of the U.S. Climate Alliance and Climate Mayors to prioritize the abandonment or replacement of gas distribution pipelines across
America. All of these efforts will result in new work for pipeline and construction workers across America.
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U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACTION PLAN
Crude oil and natural gas industry: Where EPA and DOT methane emissions rulemakings would apply
Illustration of regulatory coverage of methane emissions from the oil and gas supply chain
5. PLUGGING ABANDONED OIL AND GAS WELLS TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS
Methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells are a significant source of U.S. climate pollution. The EPA estimates that the United States has
around 2.7 million abandoned oil wells and 600,000 abandoned gas wells, of which approximately 40% (1.6 million oil wells and 380,000 gas wells) are
unplugged and may be continuously emitting methane.
31
EPA has estimated that these abandoned oil and gas wells, including those that are orphaned or
idle,
32
emitted 263,000 metric tons of methane (6.6 million metric tons of CO
2
e) in 2019.
33
In addition to emitting methane, unplugged or poorly plugged
wells also can allow petroleum products to leach into underground aquifers, release hazardous air pollutants that can lead to increased levels of ground-
level ozone, and cause methane to concentrate inside homes and buildings, creating a risk of explosion. This is of particular concern to the estimated 9
million Americans who live within a mile of the documented 81,000 orphan wells—which are inactive, unplugged, and have no solvent owner of record.
34
People of color and low-income individuals are more likely to be included in this population, making this an important environmental justice issue.
35
President Biden has proposed an aggressive program to plug orphan oil and gas wells as a key part of his Build Back Better agenda. The Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) includes a $4.7 billion well plugging program that, if enacted, will commission the Department of the Interior to direct
well plugging activities on federal, state, private, and Tribal lands. In doing so, priority will be given to the identification and plugging of super-emitters
to maximize methane reductions that will be achieved under the program. The Department also may pursue opportunities to stretch program funds by
enabling other entities to monetize the capture and destruction of methane from select wells, with receipts then applied to the plugging of additional wells.
B. ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS
FROMLANDFILLS
1. REDUCING METHANE EMISSIONS FROM LARGE LANDFILLS
The EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act to reduce methane emissions from landfills—a major source of methane emissions that is responsible
for 17% of overall U.S. methane emissions.
36
In 2016, EPA issued revised guidelines to reduce emissions of landfill gas, including methane, from large
landfills.
37
It lowered the emissions threshold for installation of a gas collection and control system, thereby requiring landfills to collect and control their
emissions earlier. The 2016 rule set a series of near-term deadlines for states to develop plans for implementing the guidelines and for the EPA to approve
or disapprove them. If states fail to submit adequate plans on a timely basis, the Clean Air Act requires that EPA regulate existing landfills through a federal
plan.
The Biden-Harris Administration has started to build on this foundation. It finalized a new federal plan in May 2021, establishing revised standards for
landfills in areas without a state or Tribal implementation plan, and ensuring that existing large municipal landfills in the United States will be required to
significantly reduce their methane emissions. An estimated 1,500 landfills are covered by the final federal plan.
38
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As a complement to EPA’s updated landfill regulations, EPA’s voluntary Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) supports development of landfill
gas energy projects by providing technical support at regulated landfills and helping smaller, unregulated landfills collect and direct methane gas into
the renewable gas energy marketplace.
39
This support includes connecting landfill owners and operators with LMOP Partners experienced in project
development, providing technical tools and resources to facilitate project development.
The Biden-Harris Administration is putting a new emphasis on LMOP as a key part of an overall strategy to achieve a gas capture and flare rate for all
landfills—including both unregulated smaller landfills and landfills subject to regulatory collection and combustion—of 70% nationally, a 12% increase
from the current rate.
2. REDUCING FOOD WASTE IN LANDFILLS
An estimated 30%-40% of the food produced in the United States is lost or wasted. Excess methane emissions are among the many negative impacts
associated with America’s food waste problem. In particular, food is the most common material found in landfills, constituting an estimated 24% of the
material in our landfills. As it decomposes, food waste generates large quantities of methane emissions that are not being fully captured.
Past administrations have recognized that food waste presents environmental issues in addition to economic and equity issues. In 2015, for example, EPA
and USDA set a national goal to reduce food loss and waste by 50% by 2030 through a collaborative approach both domestically and internationally. The
agencies subsequently formed joint programs and pursued food loss and waste actions such as education and outreach, research, community investments,
voluntary programs, and public-private partnerships.
40
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA, EPA, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are working more closely than ever to make the goal
of 50% reduced food loss and waste by 2030 a reality. The Administration’s vision for reducing food loss and waste seeks to improve food security and
nutrition, increase farmer income and rural prosperity, reduce pressure on natural resources, and meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
C. REDUCING METHANE EMISSIONS BY REMEDIATING
ABANDONEDCOALMINES
Abandoned coal mines are a significant source of methane emissions that are estimated to be producing 237,000 metric tons of methane (5.9 MMT CO
2
e)
on an annual basis.
41
As with orphan oil and gas wells, President Biden has proposed an aggressive program to remediate abandoned coal mines as a
key part of his Build Back Better agenda. Congress responded by providing $11.3 billion in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the Abandoned
Mine Land (AML) grant program, which will allow for the remediation of most of the currently known coal AML sites throughout the country and potentially
additional mining sites, creating jobs and helping to reduce methane emissions from unremediated, abandoned underground mines and spurring economic
revitalization. Further, the Build Back Better agenda would prioritize grants to reclamation projects that employ dislocated energy workers, and encourage
meaningful engagement with communities about projects.
These funds build upon the existing AML grant program, through which the Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSMRE) has already provided more than $8 billion. OSMRE also manages the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grant
program, which provides grants—including $115 million in fiscal year 2021—to the six states and three Tribes with the greatest amount of unfunded AML
problems for projects that support both reclamation and local economic development.
42
These investments are supported by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic
Revitalization, which was established to provide federal leadership in partnership with coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities to create good-paying
union jobs, spur economic revitalization, remediate environmental degradation, and support energy workers. To date, the Interagency Working Group has
engaged thousands of state, local, and Tribal officials, labor unions, business leaders, environmental justice organizations, and community groups in key
energy communities to inform the working group’s efforts to further coordinate federal resources.
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D. EXPANDING INCENTIVE-BASED AND VOLUNTARY PARTNERSHIP EFFORTS TO
REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS FROM AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is a major source of methane emissions in the United States. The three largest sources of emissions from agriculture include manure
management, enteric fermentation from domestic livestock, and rice cultivation.
43
U.S. Methane Emission Sources, 2019 (Million Metric Tons of CO
2
e)
Source: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019, EPA
From day one, President Biden has recognized that America can recruit farmers and ranchers to implement “climate-smart” practices that will reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, enhance carbon sequestration, and grow biofuels to substitute for fossil fuels. In his early Executive Order on “Tackling the
Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” the President called on USDA to work with farmers and ranchers to identify voluntary, incentive-based approaches that
will advance climate goals.
44
In response, the USDA is pursuing multiple workstreams to reduce methane emissions from the agricultural sector, including
(1) the adoption of alternative manure management systems and other methane-reducing practices; (2) the expansion of on-farm generation and use of
renewable energy; (3) the development of a climate-smart agricultural commodities partnership initiative; and (4) increased investments in agricultural
methane quantification and related innovations.
45
1. ADOPTING ALTERNATIVE MANURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND OTHERMETHANE-
REDUCINGPRACTICES
The USDA is leveraging its authority under a variety of existing programs to encourage farmers and ranchers to install or upgrade equipment and/or adopt
new practices that improve manure management and can substantially reduce methane emissions, in a way that also advances environmental justice.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), for example, will provide incentives and technical assistance through Farm Bill programs such as
the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) to upgrade existing anaerobic lagoons by installing
covers and collecting methane for use or destruction; installing anaerobic methane digesters that collect methane for use or destruction; install solid
separators that reduce methane-producing slurries; providing conservation assistance for transitions to alternative manure management systems, such as
deep pits, composting, transitions to pasture, or other practices that have a lower greenhouse gas profile; and supporting rice management that reduces
methane emissions, such as alternate wetting and drying.
Several other USDA programs will support methane reducing practices and projects, including the Rural Business Cooperative Service (RBCS), which can
provide grants, guaranteed loans, and technical assistance to support anaerobic digester (AD) projects; the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased
Product Manufacturing (Section 9003) Program; the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA); and the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). EPA also
works closely with USDA in administering these programs to reduce methane emissions through its voluntary AgSTAR Program.
Over time, these programs have made progress in providing financial incentives to reduce methane emissions from manure management and other
methane-producing agricultural practices. Now, the Biden-Harris Administration is redoubling efforts and raising ambition on “climate-smart” agriculture.
It is expanding existing programs, and launching new initiatives that will generate major additional reductions in methane emissions from the agricultural
sector.
The FY 21 budget provides an initial window into the level of its ambition. For example, over a ten-year period (FY 10-FY 20), RBCS supported $117 million
in loans and grants to support methane-reducing anaerobic digester projects. In FY 2021, it upped its support for loans and grants for these purposes
to $240 million. Likewise, the USDA introduced a $10 million EQIP Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry pilot sign-up in FY 21 that specifically targets
anaerobic digesters and select rice practices to reduce methane emissions. In FY 22, this program will be scaled up nationwide to support additional
prioritization of methane reductions.
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The Build Back Better agenda provides additional evidence of its high level of ambition to reduce methane emissions in agricultural operations. The
Administration has proposed funding that, cumulatively, would enable methane emissions reductions from manure, rice, and enteric sources by as much
as 26 million metric tons in 2030 and a cumulative total of approximately 130 million metric tons CO
2
e from 2030-2035.
To put these goals into context, reducing methane emissions from manure management systems at these levels is the equivalent of 500 farms installing
anaerobic digesters; 1,200 farms installing lagoon covers with flares; and 250 farms installing solids separators.
2. LAUNCHING A CLIMATE-SMART PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE
As a key part of its overall climate-smart agricultural strategy, the USDA is developing a partnership initiative that is seeking to establish new markets for
agricultural commodities based on the climate benefits of agricultural products.
46
The backbone of the initiative is the identification, confirmation, and
tracking of climate-smart agricultural practices and their climate benefits—including practices that reduce methane emissions. Pilots and demonstrations
will finance the deployment of climate-smart agriculture practices like prescribed grazing on rangeland, anerobic digesters, and enhanced efficiency or
reduced fertilizer use. The initiative aims to establish new metrics and procedures to ensure reliability, effectiveness, and transparency in certifying climate-
benefitting practices and tracing them through commodity supply chains.
If successful, the program could build a stable platform for sustained climate action by hard-wiring significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and
increased carbon capture in soils and other vegetation for large volumes of commodity agricultural products.
3. PROMOTING ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY FROM METHANE
To help reduce methane emissions and scale up on-farm generation and use of renewable energy, USDA will be launching a new public-private partnership
to promote biogas policies, programs, and research. Plans under evaluation include:
• Establishing an Interagency Biogas Opportunities Task Force that will provide recommendations to Congress on policy and technological opportunities
to expand the biogas industry.
• Deepening USDA’s engagement in the AgSTAR Program to develop detailed, technical outreach and training materials tailored to developers and
agricultural producers, including workshops and contracts with institutions of higher education and trade associations.
• Launching an advisory committee to identify barriers to developing biogas recovery systems and areas in which more research is needed to expand
the industry.
• Developing a communications strategy dedicated to highlighting the success of biogas recovery systems funded through USDA Rural Development
Programs.
4. INCREASED INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL METHANE MEASUREMENT AND INNOVATIONS
To ensure the credibility of the Administration’s climate-smart agricultural practices, the Administration will track emissions and removals from all sectors
and sources, including agriculture. The initiative will bring together land management and science agencies to deploy validated, science-based greenhouse
gas estimation methods, tools, and measurements for tracking greenhouse gas fluxes associated with agricultural, forestry, and other land-based practices.
Within the measurement and verification program, the USDA will take the lead in addressing agricultural methane quantification and reporting at the farm,
program, and national scales. In particular, USDA’s research agencies will conduct and sponsor research to assess the efficacy of methane reduction
technologies, including feed additives and manure management systems. USDA also will improve and expand on conservation and farming practice
surveys to better track changes in adoption rates over time. USDA will build and improve farm-scale decision support tools to help farmers quantify their
greenhouse footprint and estimate the benefits of taking actions.
More generally, USDA will pursue a methane innovation agenda through its Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS’s) formation of a Climate Change Center
of Excellence, which will build a research pipeline for methane reduction and other climate-smart farming technologies by establishing standardized
research methodologies. The ARS’s work will be complemented by the USDA’s Economic Research Service, which will examine the proportions of different
greenhouse gases emitted by stages of the food system supply chain, and assess the effectiveness of approaches to encourage the adoption of methane
reducing technologies and practices. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture also will continue to invest in manure management and methane-related
research, education, and extension projects, including offering competitively-funded grants on a wide range of topics including innovative approaches
to manure management, feed formulation or use of novel alternative feedstuffs, rumen microbiology, and managing emissions to the atmosphere
and hydrosphere in various animal production systems. USDA will continue to work collaboratively with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and Dairy
Management Inc. to improve the environmental footprint of the U.S. dairy industry, particularly with regard to reducing methane emissions.
Beyond USDA, the Department of Energy is also supporting innovative technologies for methane measurement across farming operations. DOE’s Advanced
Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is funding projects to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon dynamics at the field level, through
its SMARTFARM program (Systems for Monitoring and Analytics for Renewable Transportation Fuels from Agricultural Resources and Management).
47
SMARTFARM will continue to promote development of technologies to measure methane and other emissions from agricultural fields.
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E. OTHER METHANE REDUCTION INITIATIVES
1. REDUCING METHANE EMISSIONS IN INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Natural gas use in the power sector and other industries has expanded rapidly in recent years. Limited data are available regarding potential losses of
methane emissions in connection with these industrial uses of gas, but they undoubtedly are occurring.
The Administration is making robust investments to scale clean alternatives to methane-emitting technologies in the industrial sector, like efficiency, direct
electrification, clean hydrogen, and carbon capture and permanent storage. Making these technologies widely available and affordable will reduce the need
to rely on methane-emitting techniques in the industrial sector. In addition, the Administration will work with manufacturers to better understand existing
reliance and inefficiencies associated with the use of gas.
Among other available tools, the Administration will deploy the Department of Energy’s university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) through
its Advanced Manufacturing Office to provide no-cost energy assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturers across the country that can
identify opportunities to improve productivity and competitiveness, reduce waste, and save energy. To date, nearly 20,000 IAC assessments have been
conducted.
48
IACs can and should work with companies and universities to identify opportunities to address methane emissions that are associated with
the use of natural gas in manufacturing processes. Investments like this make American businesses more competitive in the global marketplace, meaning
more job growth right here in America.
The Administration also has announced a clean Hydrogen Shot to accelerate the deployment of affordable low-carbon hydrogen, which can be used to help
decarbonize the industrial sector.
49
And the Administration’s technology-inclusive approach to decarbonization of the power sector includes support for a
number of zero-carbon, dispatchable, firm power options, including nuclear, geothermal, and carbon capture and permanent sequestration.
2. ADVANCING EMERGING EFFORTS TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS IN BUILDINGS
New evidence indicates that methane emissions from commercial and residential buildings that rely on gas for heating can be significant due to leakage,
venting prior to ignition and—like gas flaring—burner malfunctions, and/or incomplete combustion. These methane emissions, spread over the tens of
millions of structures that are hooked up to gas lines, may be cumulatively significant in terms of climate damage.
50
They also pose safety and potentially
serious health risks due primarily to the substantial quantities of nitrogen oxides (NO
x
).
51
For example, gas-fired space and water heaters in the United
States emitted over 320,000 tons of NO
x
in 2017—more than twice the amount attributable to gas-fired power plants in that year.
52
Building electrification provides one potential strategy to avoid these methane emissions. DOE recently launched the Initiative for Better Energy, Emissions,
and Equity, a national research initiative focused on deploying clean and efficient building heating and cooling systems.
53
DOE is also launching new
appliance and equipment standards to advance heat pump technology and induction stoves. Additionally, HUD continues to partner with DOE on green
building and building decarbonization initiatives, including the Better Buildings Challenge.
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ENDNOTES
1 Importance of Methane | US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane
2 EPA. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019 (Apr. 2021). https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019.
3 However, the IPCC AR6 assessment cautioned that “The effects of the SLCFs decay rapidly over the first few decades after pulse emission.
Consequently, on time scales longer than about 30 years, the net long-term temperature effects of sectors and regions are dominated by CO
2
.”
4 Methane and its byproduct were responsible for 0.97 W/m2 of radiative forcing in 2011. Source: IPCC, Fifth Assessment Report, Working
Group I (AR5 WGI, Chapter 8, Table 8.SM.6)
4
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/; see also https://www.unep.org/resources/report/
global-methane-assessment-benefits-and-costs-mitigating-methane-emissions?__cf_chl_managed_tk__=pmd_klV7g0qro37Br.
pft6AALmDD6BPb42BQ0lkG2SuFfGk-1632076284-0-gqNtZGzNA2WjcnBszQc9
5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3617131/
6 For example, one of the deadliest gas transmission pipeline incidents in U.S. history occurred when a 30-inch transmission line ruptured near
Carlsbad, New Mexico, on August 19, 2000. That incident killed 12 individuals who had been camping 675 feet from the rupture site.
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR0301.pdf
7 West, J.J., and Fiore, A.M. 2005. Management of tropospheric ozone by reducing methane emissions. Environ. Sci. Technol., 39, 4685 -4691.
Global anthropogenic methane emissions are estimated to contribute 5 ppb to annual mean ozone surface concentrations, a meaningful amount
for human health. Jaffe et al., 2018. https://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/article/doi/10.1525/elementa.309/112835/Scientific-assessment-of-
background-ozone-over-the
8 https://www.ccacoalition.org/en/resources/global-methane-assessment-full-report
9 Sarofim, M.C., Waldhoff, S.T. & Anenberg, S.C. Valuing the Ozone-Related Health Benefits of Methane Emission Controls. Environ Resource Econ 66,
45–63 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-015-9937-6
10 Final Rules and Draft Information Collection Request Fact Sheet and Presentation: https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/epas-
actions-reduce-methane-and-volatile-organic-compound-voc; Federal Register: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-06-03/pdf/2016-
11971.pdf
11 Fossil fuels cause one-fifth of premature deaths worldwide (pri.org). https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-05-26/fossil-fuels-cause-1-5-premature-
deaths-worldwide-study-says
12 https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/content/methane_rule_health_fact_sheet_reboot_final_no_citations.pdf
13 https://www.epa.gov/haps
14 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/methane-cloud-sitting-over-u-s-southwest-threatens-indigenous-residents/
15 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/huge-methane-hotspot-american-southwest - :~:text=A%20team%20of%20scientists%20scrambles%20
to%20better%20understand,United%20States.%20But%20its%20origins%20remain%20a%20mystery.
16 United Nations Environment Programme and Climate and Clean Air Coalition. Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating
Methane Emissions (2021). https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-methane-assessment-benefits-and-costs-mitigating-methane-
emissions.
17 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Study Identifies Methane ‘Super-Emitters’ in Largest US Oilfield (June 2, 2021). https://climate.nasa.gov/
news/3087/study-identifies-methane-super-emitters-in-largest-us-oilfield/.
18 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-built-instrument-will-help-to-spot-greenhouse-gas-super-emitters
19 https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/content/FindMeasureFixReport2021.pdf
20 Ibid
21 EPA. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019 (Apr. 2021). https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019.
22 Executive Order 13990. Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis (Jan. 20, 2021). 86 FR
7037. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01765/protecting-public-health-and-the-environment-and-restoring-science-
to-tackle-the-climate-crisis.
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23 https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_cons_sum_a_EPG0_vrs_mmcf_a.htm
24 https://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default/files/Session%201.4%20-%20Kort_0.pdf
25 PHMSA. Distribution, Transmission & Gathering, LNG, and Liquid Accident and Incident Data (Oct. 2021). https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-
statistics/pipeline/distribution-transmission-gathering-lng-and-liquid-accident-and-incident-data.
26 Id.
27 PHMSA. Cast and Wrought Iron Inventory (2021). https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline-replacement/cast-and-wrought-iron-
inventory.
28 Robert B. Jackson et al. Natural Gas Pipeline Leaks Across Washington, DC. Environmental Science & Technology (2014). https://doi.org/10.1021/
es404474x.
29 Id.
30 Morgan E. Gallagher et al. Natural Gas Pipeline Replacement Programs Reduce Methane Leaks and Improve Consumer Safety. Environmental
Science & Technology Letters (2015). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5b00213.
31 EPA. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019 (Apr. 2021). https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019.
32 Oil and gas companies that own idle or abandoned oil and gas wells have a responsibility to address leakage and safety issues associated with
those well. Orphaned oil and gas wells are the focus of taxpayer-financed plugging activity.
33 Id.
34 Environmental Defense Fund. Documenting Orphan Wells Across the United States (Oct. 2021). https://www.edf.org/orphanwellmap.
35 Srebotnjak, T, and Rotkin-Ellman, M. 2014. Drilling in California: Who’s at Risk? Natural Resources Defense Council. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/
default/files/california-fracking-risks-report.pdf.
36 EPA. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019 (Apr. 2021). https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019.
37 81 FR 59276. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/29/2016-17700/emission-guidelines-and-compliance-times-for-municipal-
solid-waste-landfills.
38 Ellen Gilmer. Court Orders EPA to Address Landfill Emissions. Scientific American (May 7, 2019). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/court-
orders-epa-to-address-landfill-emissions/.
39 86 FR 27756. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/05/21/2021-10109/federal-plan-requirements-for-municipal-solid-waste-
landfills-that-commenced-construction-on-or.
40 United States Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions | US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-food-loss-and-
waste-2030-champions
41 EPA. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019 (Apr. 2021). https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019.
42 U.S. Department of the Interior. Interior Investing Over $260 Million to Help Create Jobs and Revitalize Land in Coal Communities (Mar. 3, 2021).
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-investing-over-260-million-help-create-jobs-and-revitalize-land-coal.
43 EPA. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019 (Apr. 2021). https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019.
44 Executive Order 14008. Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (Jan. 27, 2021). 86 FR 7619. https://www.federalregister.gov/
documents/2021/02/01/2021-02177/tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad.
45 USDA. Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Strategy: 90-Day Progress Report (May 2021). https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
climate-smart-ag-forestry-strategy-90-day-progress-report.pdf.
46 https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/09/29/usda-announces-3-billion-investment-agriculture-animal-health-and
47 ARPA-E. Systems for Monitoring and Analytics for Renewable Transportation Fuels from Agricultural Resources and Management. https://arpa-e.
energy.gov/technologies/programs/smartfarm.
48 DOE. Industrial Assessment Centers (IACS) (2021). https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/industrial-assessment-centers-iacs.
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49 DOE. Hydrogen Shot. https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-shot.
50 Patricia M. B. Saint Vincent & Natalie J. Pekney. Beyond-the-Meter: Unaccounted Sources of Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Distribution
Sector. Environmental Science & Technology (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04657. See also: Zachary Merrin & Paul W. Francisco.
Unburned Methane Emissions from Residential Natural Gas Appliances. Environmental Science & Technology (2019). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.
est.9b04657.
51 EPA’s Integrated Science Assessments have demonstrated exposure to NO
x
to be causally related to respiratory health effects, including the
development of asthma in children. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur Ecological Criteria https://cfpub.epa.gov/
ncea/isa/recordisplay.cfm?deid=201485. According to Garcia-Algar et al., “Depending on geographical location, season, other sources of NO
x
, and
household characteristics, homes with gas cooking appliances have approximately 50% to over 400% higher NO
x
concentrations than homes with
electric cooking appliances. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur Ecological Criteria https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/
isa/recordisplay.cfm?deid=201485
52 RMI & Sierra Club, Fact Sheet: Why EPA Must Address Appliance Pollution 1 (2021), https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/rmi_factsheet_
appliance_pollution.pdf.
53 DOE. Energy, Emissions and Equity (E3). https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/energy-emissions-and-equity-e3-initiative.´
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U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACTION PLAN
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