From the street, they’re easy to miss. But in the self-proclaimed “American Dream City”—famous for its roller coasters and sport stadiums—residents know where to spot them. Oil and gas wells and compressor stations are tucked in between houses, schools, businesses, and strip malls, woven into daily life.
And, at times, methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere, escapes from the equipment. Often, the methane comes out with other chemicals, including volatile organic compounds that contribute to smog formation, creating a cocktail of chemicals that are harmful to human health.
Earlier this year, a long-anticipated federal climate rule was finalized requiring oil and gas operators to dramatically reduce how much methane is released in many oil fields, including those in Texas.
The rule, written with input from industry, calls for operators to identify and fix equipment leaking methane and curb the practice of flaring—or burning off excess natural gas. Under the rule, operators will have to monitor emissions, wasteful flaring and leaks from most existing and new well sites.
States are now on a timeline to submit plans to the US Environmental Protection Agency detailing how they will implement the rule. Texas regulators are taking input from the public on the state plan until Dec. 31.
Some residents in Arlington, home to about 400 gas wells and 50 drilling sites, want the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to do more than the bare minimum outlined in the EPA’s guidelines and submit a plan before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
Trump reversed a methane reduction rule during his first term. Experts say rolling back the current rule would take years, and support from industry for the rule might help keep it in place.
At a public meeting last month in Arlington, Texas environmental regulators heard from more than a dozen residents about the proposed rule. One woman with severe asthma said “air quality is a life or death issue” and asked state regulators to prioritize the health of citizens over economic interests. One man pointed out that oil and gas equipment sits close to schools and day care centers and called on regulators for speedy implementation of the rule to protect people from the health risks of urban hydraulic fracturing.
"The flares are not fun. Smelling the rotten eggs is not fun,” Rogelio Meixueiro, who lives in Arlington and is a member of the nonprofit organization Sunrise Tarrant, told TCEQ regulators. “I can only trust that you're going to do your job. I can only trust that you're going to do everything possible to reduce methane emissions."
Hydraulic fracturing in Arlington can be traced back two decades, when drillers discovered they could use horizontal drilling to access natural gas in the Barnett Shale formation underneath the city. Today, in Tarrant County, which includes Arlington, more than 1 million people live within one half mile of a gas well, according to data from the local environmental group Liveable Arlington. The group’s organizers say that oil and gas air pollution disproportionately affects many low-income communities of color.
Nearby cities have tried and failed to ban fracturing. Roughly a decade ago, Denton, about 45 miles north of Arlington, voted to prohibit the process within city limits. The local ordinance was swiftly overturned by the state Legislature, which passed a law barring cities and towns across Texas from imposing such bans.
According to several studies, living near oil and gas wells is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, impaired lung function, anxiety, depression, preterm birth, and impaired fetal growth, primarily from air pollution from the wells.
“[For years] we've been getting complaints from neighborhoods about smells, odors, headaches, sickness, and what to do about it,” said Ranjana Bhandari, founder and executive director of Liveable Arlington. “Often, we don't have a remedy.”
What Does the Rule Do?
Methane, a primary component of natural gas, accounts for about 16% of global emissions. Because methane lasts in the atmosphere for a few decades rather than a few centuries, reducing emissions would help moderate global temperatures more quickly.
Most of the methane emissions in the US come from the energy sector—especially those in Texas, the nation’s largest oil and gas producing state.
Last year, Texas broke a record by producing 42% of the nation’s oil. Most of the state’s oil comes from the Permian Basin, a 75,000-square-mile region that stretches from eastern New Mexico and covers most of West Texas. The Permian Basin generates 1.4 million metric tons of methane each year—enough gas to meet the annual gas needs of nearly 2 million homes, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.
Currently, Texas doesn't have a rule to capture escaping methane emissions from energy infrastructure. The state’s implementation of the EPA rule could change that.