One of the last actions of the Biden EPA might be a regulatory first: a federal tax on methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
The levy was authorized two years ago this week as part of President Joe Biden’s signature climate law. It will be the last piece of the administration’s all-out assault on methane to cross the finish line, with EPA planning to finalize the fee in December, after the presidential election.
The administration has already finalized rules and incentives to directly curb the planet-warming gas, as well as tightened emissions reporting requirements. But the methane fee will take effect first.
That’s because the climate law dictates that the fee must be levied in 2025 based on methane leaked in 2024. And EPA’s proposal in January was that companies report their emissions and pay any relevant fees by March 31, 2025 — the day major emitters have long been required to report their greenhouse gases from the previous year.
