On November 26 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule delaying several compliance deadlines for recently implemented standards to reduce methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the oil and gas sector.  

The industry vents, leaks, and flares billions of cubic feet of methane every year. Between FY2012 and FY2021, operators vented or flared roughly 3,170 billion cubic feet of natural gas according to the Energy Information Administration. This lost gas squanders a valuable energy resource, costs federal and state budgets millions in foregone revenue, and exposes nearby communities to avoidable health and safety risks. 

In March 2024, the EPA published New Performance Standards (NSPS) for facilities built or modified after December 6, 2022, and Emission Guidelines (EG) for existing sources that states must incorporate into their State Implementation Plans (SIPs). These commonsense measures include: 

• Routine Well Monitoring: Operators must regularly check for and repair leaks at well pads. 

• Enhanced Leak Detection and Reporting: Detected leaks must be repaired within 60 days, with limited extensions of up to two years. 

• Phasing Out Routine Flaring: Flaring is restricted to 24 hours to 30 days for safety, depending on well construction date, with certain exemptions for existing wells. 

• Limits on Venting: Temporary venting is capped at 30 minutes for monitoring or tests and 12 hours during emergencies. 

• Super-Emitter Response: EPA-certified third parties may use approved remote sensing technologies (e.g., satellites) to identify large methane releases of 100 kg/hr or more. Operators must investigate within five days and report findings to EPA within fifteen. 

Some provisions took effect in May 2024, but most included lengthy lead times: up to two years for new sources, two years for states to submit plans for existing sources (March 2026), and another three years for state implementation. 

In July 2025, EPA issued an interim final rule (IFR) delaying compliance deadlines for the 2024 methane and VOC standards. EPA estimated the delay would lead to an additional 3.8 million tons of natural gas being flared, vented, or leaked—worth about $170 million—rather than captured and sold. The agency finalized the delay in November 2025.  

• For new sources, the final rule extends several deadlines: 

• Continuous Monitoring of Flares: June 2026 (180 days after publication in the Federal Register).  

• The IFR set a November 28, 2025 deadline. 

• Annual Reporting Requirements: December 2026 (one year after publication). 

• The IFR did not change the original August 2025 deadline. 

• Covers and Closed Vent Systems "No Identifiable Emissions" Inspections: January 22, 2027  

• Low-Emissions Repair Requirement For Valves: January 22, 2027 

• Zero Emission Standards for Process Controllers: January 22, 2027 

• Emissions Thresholds for Storage Vessels: January 22, 2027 

• Flare Pilot Flame and Alarm Requirements: January 22, 2027 

• For existing sources, the deadline for state plan submissions moves to January 22, 2027.  

• For the Super Emitter Program (SEP), the final rule pauses the program and delays future implementation to January 22, 2027 

The methane rule delay is one of several backward steps by Congress and the Administration. In July, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which rescinded remaining Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) funds and delayed the waste emissions charge by a decade. In September, EPA proposed dismantling key elements of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). And last month the Bureau of Land Management proposed delaying compliance deadlines for its own 2024 methane rule governing waste on federal lands. 

Methane waste is a lose-lose-lose. It squanders a valuable energy resource, drains revenue from public coffers, and adds to health and safety risks for nearby communities.