There is an editorial today in the NY Times about these new rules in Colorado.
The thrust of the rules is concern over C02 and VOC's on air pollution and climate change (warming).
This is
the link to that editorial, entitled: "
Fracking’s Achilles’ Heel"
LA Times
Neela Banerjee
November 18, 2013
Colorado proposes reducing methane leaks from energy production
Quote:
Colorado proposed new rules Monday to reduce methane leaks from oil and gas operations,
the first effort in the country to address emissions of the greenhouse gas that is a byproduct
of the domestic fossil fuel boom.
Carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels is the main driver of climate change, but while
less methane is emitted overall, it is an even more potent heat-trapping gas than carbon.<snip>
The state has rules in place to curb emissions of methane,
the primary component of natural gas, during drilling.
The proposed new rules call for detecting and repairing methane leaks
throughout a company’s infrastructure once a well is producing:
at equipment at the well site, above-ground pipelines and at compressor stations.
The rules would also reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs,
an air pollutant that can be created from the production and burning of fossil fuels.
Because high output of VOCs tracks with high methane pollution,
the new rules base their monitoring requirements on the tons of VOCs companies generate annually.
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