This letter provides comments in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule revising and replacing the Agency’s 2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification regulations1 (“2020 Rule”). As explained in more detail below, the 2020 Rule provided long-overdue clarification on the role of states and other certifying authorities under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA” or “the Act”). The proposed rule would eliminate the clarity and consistency that the 2020 Rule afforded project proponents and certifying authorities alike, while needlessly delaying nationally important projects or critical infrastructure such as those to modernize our nation’s means of generating and transporting energy, as well as our commitment to directing investment to the infrastructure needs of underserved communities.
Dear Senator:
We, the undersigned trade associations, representing hundreds of thousands of businesses across the nation that collectively employ millions of Americans, write to express our opposition to the inclusion of a tax on the financial statement income of certain businesses (“book tax”) in H.R. 5376, the “Inflation Reduction Act” reconciliation legislation.
Economic analyses demonstrate the harmful impact of this provision. The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that nearly 50% of the burden of this tax would fall on manufacturers. The National Association of Manufacturers found that in 2023 alone this would result in 218,108 fewer jobs, reduce real GDP by $68.45 billion and decrease total wages by $17.11 billion.
IPAA joined API and other oil industry groups in writing a letter to White House officials on how the EPA’s potential move to issue a nonattainment designation for parts of the Permian Basin could lead to “increased operating expenses, decreased federal leasing revenues, permitting delays and decreased oil and natural gas production in the nation’s most productive basin.
Letter to President Biden: Don’t Declare a Climate Emergency, Work with American Producers
Letters and Comments Jul 20, 2022IPAA joined the American Exploration & Production Council and other industry trade groups in writing to President Biden opposing the declaration of a climate emergency that would advance false climate solutions. The groups urge him to reject ill-conceived policies that would drive up energy costs and global emissions. Rather than declare a climate emergency with policies that reduce domestic oil and natural gas production, the letter calls on the president to work with American energy producers to meet the dual challenge of providing affordable and reliable energy to the world, while addressing global climate change.
Dear Mr. President,
On behalf of millions of Americans working in the U.S. oil and natural gas industry, we wish you every success on your upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia. But before you visit Riyadh, we invite you to visit Reynoldsville, Pa. It’s the heart of the Marcellus Shale in the state where you were born, one of the most prolific natural gas-producing regions in the world.
It’s also one of many places that America, the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, has a chance to assert new leadership in the face of today’s energy crisis. Before you board Air Force One for the Middle East, we hope you will consider taking another look at made-in-America energy. We would be honored to show you how our industry is involved in every step of the energy process, from fuel pumps to critical product delivery infrastructure to production zones across our vast nation.
First, come tour one of America’s refineries – currently operating at 94% of capacity, among the highest in the world – where the fuels are made to keep America’s 275 million registered vehicles running. America’s 125 refineries are producing more diesel (and renewable diesel), jet fuel, gasoline, and other refined product than at any point on average over the past five years.
Next, come visit Colonial Pipeline’s state-of-the-art command center, which controls the 5,500-mile critical infrastructure that safely carries millions of gallons of fuel products from Gulf Coast refineries through the South and up the East Coast every day.
Finally, join us in one of America’s major energy-producing areas – along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico; in Alaska, the Marcellus, the Permian or the Bakken basins; or even Kern County, Calif. – which together launched the American energy revolution that ended decades of U.S. energy scarcity and growing dependence on foreign governments. In the process, American energy has created millions of good-paying U.S. jobs, worked to shrink our environmental footprint, boosted economic growth, funded conservation in nearly every U.S. county, and transformed entire states – as the Marcellus did, turning Pennsylvania into a powerhouse of natural gas. …
Dear Secretary Granholm,
On behalf of a coalition of energy trade associations representing the full spectrum of the American energy industry, we request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss ways our companies can partner with you to lower energy costs for Americans, strengthen our domestic energy security, and assist our allies by solidifying their energy security as well.
Our coalition’s member companies work together to produce 90% of American natural gas and 83% of American oil. We represent over 770,000 energy workers who work all over the United States to produce this energy and the equipment to do so. We represent all aspects of the oil and natural gas industry, from small service and technology providers, to onshore and offshore independent producers of all sizes.
While our companies are responsible for a vast majority of domestic energy production, the effects of market and policy changes on our businesses are often magnified. Large international operators with a diverse portfolio can weather major policy changes and economic downturns, but our individual companies feel disproportionate impacts of these policy and market shifts. …
IPAA and Joint Trades Write Letter Urging Senate Leadership to Oppose Methane Fee
Letters and Comments Jun 14, 2022Dear Senators,
As the backbone of the American oil and natural gas industry, our respective organizations express our firm opposition to a methane emissions tax currently being considered in Congress as part of a potential budget reconciliation package.
Since 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated methane emissions via the Clean Air Act (CAA) New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) OOOO and OOOOa, primarily through storage tank vapor capture, pneumatic controllers, and leak detection and repair. The focus is to prevent emissions from new facilities, identify leaks as early as possible, quickly fix them, and remove the emissions from the atmosphere.
Last year, EPA released proposed revisions to its NSPS rules that would further tighten emission standards for all new sources and update guidelines for existing sources. These revisions are likely to be finalized within the next year. Because EPA tightly regulates methane, any new fee is unlikely to have a large-scale impact on overall emission levels and would merely be punitive in nature. Furthermore, the extreme impracticability of a proposed tax leads us to believe that the true intent, combined with other proposals from Congress and the Administration, is not to protect the environment but to regulate American oil and natural gas production out of existence. …
IPAA’s comments describe how the oil and natural gas production industry is uniquely affected by the SEC climate reporting proposal, and ultimately conclude that the SEC should withdraw its proposal:
“The SEC is stepping far too aggressively into a rapidly evolving arena too soon. Information on companies’ actions to address their ESG responsibilities is growing rapidly each year. At the same time the lack of a consistent framework for presenting information inhibits the value. Time is needed to allow these diverse processes to settle into a more straightforward format.
The SEC proposal does not enhance the process. It merely creates still another burden. Moreover, by adding the materials as part of an SEC filing, it creates inappropriate liability for essentially speculative information.”
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In addition to these comments, IPAA supports comments filed by the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute, the Western Energy Alliance and the American Exploration and Production Council.
IPAA, NOIA, API, LMOGA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Consumer Energy Alliance, and 81 other groups wrote to President Biden and called on the administration to release the next Five Year Program for offshore oil and gas leasing as quickly as possible. The diverse group of trades represent energy producers and service companies, manufacturers, retailers, and small businesses. The trades write:
For the U.S. to continue to be an energy leader into the future, smart and effective energy policies are needed today. However, your administration’s policies have often hindered domestic producers’ ability to deliver on this growing demand. Oil and natural gas leasing on Federal lands and waters has essentially stopped, despite court orders, and while DOI has taken steps to complete and implement the next 5-year Program, there will be an unprecedented gap between the current and next 5-year Program.
Coalition Comments Re: Notice of Virtual Public and Tribal Meetings Regarding the Review of Nationwide Permit 12
Letters and Comments May 27, 2022As emphasized in the 2017 NWPs rulemaking, “[t]he utility line activities authorized by NWP 12 will continue to be needed by society, including the goods and services transported by those utility lines.”2 This remains true in 2022 with NWP 12‐ authorized activities remaining essential to the construction, operation, and maintenance of efficient oil and gas facilities which in turn help meet the energy needs of the nation.3 NWP 12 serves as a strong motivator for the regulated industry to design projects In a way that reduces environmental impacts. The regulatory certainty provided by the orderly cycle of NWP issuance allows private companies to secure the investments that make private operation of this important public infrastructure system reliable.
To assure regulatory certainty, we urge the USACE to not reopen NWP 12 at this time, and instead allow NWP 12 to continue to be authorized and reissued as part of the current cycle of the NWPS set to expire on March 14, 2026.
We strenuously object to any “potential off‐ramps” that go beyond the statutory requirements and the underlying intent of NWPs to lessen administrative burdens. We object to any additional triggers mandating individual reviews of permits.