Sponsors (20)
The bill reduces costs and legal exposure for small marginal-well operators and speeds state approvals, at the trade-off of higher local and national air pollution, increased health risks, fiscal impacts on communities/taxpayers, and more fragmented regulation and enforcement.
Owners/operators of marginal oil and gas wells (mostly small businesses and local utilities) are exempted from EPA monitoring, reporting, LDAR requirements and have pending enforcement actions terminated, reducing immediate compliance costs and legal liabilities.
State governments receive faster, time-limited approvals for state plans (approval deemed after 180 days), providing regulatory certainty and reducing administrative delays around marginal-well exemptions.
Rural residents and nearby workers face higher local air pollution and increased health risks because excluded marginal wells no longer require leak detection, monitoring, or emission controls.
Nationwide methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions are likely to rise if EPA requirements are removed for many small wells, undermining climate goals and increasing greenhouse gas pollution.
Carving out numerous small wells creates regulatory complexity and enforcement gaps, complicating federal–state oversight and risking inconsistent protections across states.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Exempts defined low‑production oil and gas "marginal wells" from EPA performance standards and many monitoring, reporting, and leak‑detection requirements under §7411.
Official title: To amend the Clean Air Act to exclude marginal wells from certain standards of performance and other requirements under such Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 21, 2026 by August Pfluger · Last progress May 21, 2026
Excludes small "marginal" oil and gas wells and their owners/operators from several EPA Clean Air Act standards and related regulatory requirements, including performance standards, monitoring, reporting, leak detection, and other compliance obligations. The bill defines numeric production thresholds for which wells qualify as "marginal," requires EPA to revise rules and guidance within 180 days, speeds state-plan approvals by deeming certain revisions approved if EPA fails to act in 180 days, and terminates pending enforcement actions against marginal wells as of enactment. The change narrows the statutory reach of 42 U.S.C. §7411 by creating a specific exemption for a class of small producers, shifting regulatory burdens away from those operators and limiting EPA and state authority to impose or enforce certain air-quality requirements on those wells.