Scranton Times-Tribune ed board: Look to Colorado on methane rules

The chorus calling for Pennsylvania to address methane emissions from the natural gas sector continues to grow. Last week, the editorial board of the Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal said that stopping methane leakage should be a critical focus of the Wolf and Corbett campaigns -- and both candidates were asked about the issue in last week's final gubernatorial debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

This week, the Scranton Times-Tribune's editorial board weighed in and said Colorado should be a model for Pennsylvania:

...Colorado is the only major gas-drilling state to regulate against methane emissions. Its rules, implemented earlier this year, were crafted by a coalition of energy companies and environmental groups and should become a model for Pennsylvania. Several other gas-producing states, including Ohio, have begun to consider regulations based on the Colorado model.

The Colorado regulations require companies to find and repair methane leaks, processes for which technology already exists. Four of the biggest producers and processors in Colorado — Encana, Anadarko, Noble Energy and DCP Midstream Denver — worked on the new regulatory regime with the Environmental Defense Fund, Conservation Colorado, Earthjustice, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, WildEarth Guardians and Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project.

The companies say compliance will cost the industry about $20 million a year, but opponents of the new model say it could cost up to $100 million. Some of the cost will be offset because the companies will sell the methane they capture. According to Colorado government estimates, the new system will recover about 65,000 tons of methane a year that otherwise would have escaped. The same system also will capture another 90,000 tons of smog-causing volatile organic compounds, the state estimated.

For gas to fulfill its potential as a “bridge” fuel, methane emissions must be controlled. Pennsylvania should adopt the Colorado model.

Andrew Sharp is PennFuture's director of outreach and is based in Philadelphia. He tweets at @RexBainbridge.