Sponsors (9)
The bill substantially reduces regulatory and legal burdens for marginal well operators and speeds state approvals, but does so at the likely expense of local and regional air quality, public health, and fair allocation of cleanup costs and regulatory deterrence.
Owners and operators of marginal/low‑production wells avoid new EPA performance standards and have pending enforcement actions terminated, reducing compliance costs, paperwork, and legal liability for those businesses.
State governments can approve plan revisions that exclude marginal wells more quickly through an expedited 180‑day review with deemed approval, shortening regulatory delay and administrative burden for state agencies.
People living near marginal wells (particularly in rural communities) may face higher exposure to air pollution because exempting those wells removes requirements for emissions controls and leak detection.
Regional air quality could worsen if many marginal wells are exempted, undermining air attainment efforts and potentially raising public health costs for communities and taxpayers.
Rural communities and state governments may bear increased cleanup and health costs because terminating enforcement shifts costs away from polluters and reduces deterrence against noncompliance.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Exempts low‑producing 'marginal' oil and gas wells and specified associated equipment from certain EPA performance standards and halts related enforcement.
Official title: Amend the Clean Air Act to exclude marginal wells from certain standards of performance and other requirements under that Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 21, 2026 by Cynthia M. Lummis · Last progress May 21, 2026
Creates an exemption for low‑producing “marginal” oil and gas wells and their immediately associated equipment from Clean Air Act performance standards and related regulatory requirements, stops pending enforcement actions for those wells, and directs EPA to issue conforming rules and guidance within 180 days. It also prevents States from being required to include standards for marginal wells in State Implementation Plans and requires an expedited 180‑day review (with deemed approval) of any State plan revision that excludes such wells.