Pittsburgh, PA and Washington, DC
FNREL Mineral and Energy Law Newsletter
Pennsylvania – Oil & Gas
(By Joseph Reinhart, Sean McGovern, Gina Buchman and Matthew Wood)
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) provided an update on its OOOOc Final State Plan at the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee Meeting on August 6, 2026.
As detailed in previous editions of this Newsletter, on March 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its rule targeting methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector (the Methane Rule), which established New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for facilities built, modified, or reconstructed after December 6, 2022 (OOOOb), as well as Emissions Guidelines (EG) (or model rule) for states to follow in designing and executing state plans for existing sources (OOOOc). 89 Fed. Reg. 16,820 (Mar. 8, 2024) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 60); see Vol. 42, No. 3 (2025) and Vol. 41, No. 4 (2024) of this Newsletter. The Methane Rule applies to oil and gas facilities involved in production and processing (including equipment and processes at well sites, storage tank batteries, gathering and boosting compressor stations, and natural gas processing plants) and natural gas transmission and storage (including compressor stations and storage tank batteries). The Methane Rule requires frequent monitoring and repair of methane leaks at well sites, centralized production facilities, and compressor stations using established inspection technologies or, at an operator’s selection, novel advanced detection technologies. OOOOb applies to affected facilities that begin construction, reconstruction, or modification after December 6, 2022, while OOOOc (as implemented by state programs) will apply to sources existing as of that date. The main differences between OOOOb and OOOOc are the timeframes for compliance and the additional requirements for new wells, particularly relating to flaring and well completions.
PADEP is required to submit a State Plan based on the OOOOc model rule. The original deadline under the Methane Rule to submit a state plan was March 8, 2026, two years after the publication of the final rule. This deadline was, however, extended until January 22, 2027, by an interim final rule published by EPA on July 31, 2025. 90 Fed. Reg. 35,966 (July 31, 2025).
The State Plan must include an inventory of designated facilities and their emissions, compliance schedules for each designated facility or logical grouping, standards of performance (which must be at least as stringent as the model rule except as determined when examining remaining useful life and other factors), enforceability mechanisms, provisions for progress reports to EPA, and a demonstration of the Commonwealth’s authority to promulgate the plan. The State Plan must also document meaningful engagement, which includes input from PADEP advisory bodies, environmental justice communities, stakeholder outreach and discussion, and public hearings.
PADEP presented a draft State Plan in late 2024 which proposed a General Permit approach for OOOOc enforceability, which would be proposed and developed after the public comment period, which began on May 31, 2025, and ended on July 30, 2025. PADEP received more than 10,000 comments on the proposal. A summary of the comments can be found in PADEP’s presentation of the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee. See PowerPoint Presentation, PADEP, “40 CFR Part 60 Subpart OOOOc Final State Plan” (Aug. 2026).
After the close of the comment period, however, the Pennsylvania legislature passed Act 45 of 2025, which appended section 6.1(g) of the Air Pollution Control Act, 35 Pa. Stat. § 4006.1(g). This new provision mandates that PADEP review general permit applications within 30 days. As a result, PADEP had determined that developing a General Permit as the enforcement mechanism for the OOOOc State Plan is untenable. PADEP will instead propose a rulemaking process under the Air Pollution Control Act.
PADEP plans to submit a State Plan to EPA by January 22, 2027, for conditional approval and will also conduct an information request for equipment inventories from conventional well site and centralized production facilities and review this information to determine performance standards. PADEP will then draft and provide opportunity for public engagement on the proposed rule and submit it to the Environmental Quality Board. As detailed in the most recent regulatory agenda published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on July 25, 2026, PADEP plans to promulgate separate rules for conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas sites in the second quarter of 2027. 56 Pa. Bull. 4485 (July 25, 2026). Further updates will be provided in subsequent editions of this Newsletter as the rulemaking progresses.
Copyright © 2026, The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, Westminster, Colorado
