Environment

Gas transmission industry seeking ways to reduce methane emissions

Don Santa, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, today said the natural gas transmission industry was taking voluntary steps to reduce methane emissions and would review the Environmental Protection Agency’s  Natural Gas Methane Challenge for opportunities to make  additional reductions.
 
“INGAA welcomes the opportunity for individual companies to enter into voluntary agreements with the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce methane emissions further.  It is extremely important that this program have flexibility because nt all pipelines are alike in their configuration, their equipment and, consequently, their opportunities to reduce methane emissions.  With this in mind, INGAA looks forward to reviewing the proposed Natural Gas Methane Challenge..
 
“INGAA member members have a strong history of working with the Environmental Protection Agency on voluntary emissions programs. In fact, INGAA was an early endorser of, and many INGAA members participate in, the existing Natural Gas STAR program, the voluntary partnership between EPA and the gas industry to cost effectively reduce methane emissions. 
 
“INGAA, at the request of its board, recently developed industry guidelines for Directed Inspection and Maintenance (DI&M) that include routine screening for leaks followed by cost-effective repair or maintenance at natural gas pipeline facilities. INGAA will work with research groups to create a roadmap for developing technological innovations, including better leak-quantification tools and cost-effective mitigation, that  have the potential to make DI&M even more effective.
 
“The natural gas transmission industry also is working to reduce leaks along its pipeline system. The number of leaks dropped 94 percent in the past 30 years, thanks to pipeline integrity and maintenance programs and continued investment in new pipeline facilities. This prevented 122 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, the equivalent of removing nearly one million cars from the road each year during that 30-year period.”