EPA Plans Permit 'Aggregation' Pilot Project To Resolve Activists' Suits

摘要

EPA is pledging to launch a pilot project to study and streamline determinations for when to "aggregate," or combine, emissions from nearby oil and gas drilling sources for permitting purposes, with the project aiming to settle activists' lawsuits challenging permits for which the agency declined to aggregate emissions from gas wells. One environmentalist says the project should provide information that activists can use to inform determinations on when to aggregate, and could set a higher bar for the data EPA and states with permitting authority have to collect before determining whether to aggregate sources such as gas wells — though EPA in the proposed settlement agreement cautions that its project will set no precedent and will not change any Clean Air Act legal determinations.