GPA Midstream filed a Petition for Review on the Waste Emission Charge (WEC) in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit. The association also filed a concurrent Petition for Reconsideration of the rule before the Environmental Protection Agency.

Throughout the process of the Biden administration's implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, Environmental Committee members in the WEC Work Group drafted comments raising concerns with the draft rule and shared information with EPA and the Office of Management and Budget in multiple meetings while the draft rule was under consideration.

Since initial development of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program in 2009, GPA Midstream has participated in every rulemaking on Subpart C “General Stationary Fuel Combustion Sources” and Subpart W “Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems.” Because of various changes to these provisions made concurrently with the drafting of the WEC, GPA Midstream was unable to comment on several new changes made between the draft and final rule.

While we remain hopeful for productive conversation with the new administration and EPA staff, there are still serious concerns with the final rule. In the Petition for Reconsideration, we outlined issues with EPA’s use of non-waste emissions in calculating the WEC, a lack of true facility netting as intended by Congress, and an unworkable compliance exemption process. These are some of the issues EPA can fix administratively.  

On July 12, 2024 GPA Midstream also filed petitions for Review and Reconsideration on new rules for Subpart W. Both court cases may be heard later this year.

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