General Ken Paxton Sues with 21 Other Conservative States to Stop the Implementation of the Waste Emissions Charge

It is not surprising, but General Ken Paxton is again suing with 21 other conservatives states to try and stop the implementation of the Waste Emissions Charge that is part of the Inflation Reduction Act and was recently implemented by the US EPA.

The Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) methane fee is a common-sense measure to mitigate excessive waste, secure American energy and create good paying jobs. It was designed to help ensure oil and gas operators comply with federal methane standards by assessing a fee on the largest polluters (those emitting 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or more) if those companies fail to comply with federal standards. If companies abide by commonsense methane standards that cut waste and pollution, they won’t pay the fee.  

  • Oil and gas companies waste roughly 16 million metric tons of methane every year through venting, flaring and leaks – the equivalent of about $2 billion worth of natural gas. At a time of global instability, wasting $2 billion of America’s natural gas puts the security of our country and our allies at risk. 
  • Gas that is wasted through venting, flaring and leaks costs states and the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars each year through lost tax and royalty revenue.  
  • Americans are not only losing revenue, but energy to power their homes. The estimated 163 billion cubic feet of lost methane on public lands represents enough waste gas to meet the needs of 2.2 million households – nearly as many households as New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming combined.

Action to reduce methane waste and secure American energy is critical.

In response to Paxton’s lawsuit, Legislative and Conservation Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club Cyrus Reed: “No state produces more oil and gas than Texas, and no state releases more methane than Texas. It is literally making us sick and cooking our climate. The Waste Emissions Charge is an important tool to encourage industry to do the right thing - they can either comply with regulations and best practices to control methane or pay the fee for excessive methane pollution. With no state regulations on methane in Texas, Texas communities from the Permian Basin  in West Texas to the Eagle Ford in South Texas to the Barnett Shale in North Texas to the Haynesville in East Texas are depending on these commonsense policies to protect us from excessive pollution. Good actors have nothing to fear from the charge, but oil and gas companies are looking for a government handout from their buddies like General Ken Paxton.”