Kaplan Kirsch provides counsel across the full spectrum methane emissions regulations. We utilize our deep legal and technical experience in state and federal rulemakings to secure reforms in proposed regulations and strengthen controls on methane emissions. Our methane regulation practice is closely integrated with our climate change litigation and policy and air quality practices, offering clients a seamless, cross-disciplinary team for the most complex regulatory matters.
While our work is national in scope, Kaplan Kirsch is a driving force in Colorado’s efforts to mitigate methane emissions from oil, gas, and landfill operations. We regularly represent clients in rulemaking proceedings before state regulatory agencies, including the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC), the Air Pollution Control Division, and the Energy and Carbon Management Commission ((ECMC) formerly the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission or COGCC). Our advocacy has produced meaningful economy-wide methane reductions and set precedents adopted at the state and federal levels.
Kaplan Kirsch attorneys have shaped some of the most consequential methane rulemakings in the country. We helped develop the first statewide regulations controlling methane emissions from oil and gas production facilities—regulations that have since served as a model for other states, the federal government, and international jurisdictions. Our team secured the first-in-the-nation performance-based program for the oil and gas production-transmission segment, expanded leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements, and successfully defended those rules through the Colorado Supreme Court. We also represented a coalition of more than 40 local governments in instituting a first-in-the-nation program to monitor methane during pre- and early production phases and advocated for Colorado to become the first state to adopt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Control Techniques Guidelines for oil and gas methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) controls.
Kaplan Kirsch’s expertise in methane regulation reflects combined decades of substantive work and advice. Our attorneys have counseled nonprofits, local governments, and private clients on EPA authority. This includes authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA). We have defended federal methane rules against rollback efforts and advised on coal mine methane capture and beneficial use. Additionally, we have structured greenhouse gas (GHG) offset credits for methane capture projects. We have also represented parties in venting and flaring rulemakings, pneumatic controller proceedings, and flowline safety matters before state regulators. Our technical fluency and longstanding relationships with regulatory agencies position Kaplan Kirsch as a go-to legal resource when methane policy and law intersect.