# Understanding the CLOSE Act

The CLOSE Act targets a loophole in air pollution rules that has allowed oil and gas companies to avoid stricter environmental regulations. Currently, when the government measures pollution from oil and gas operations, companies can combine emissions from multiple small sources at the same site and count them as one source. If the combined total stays below a certain threshold, the company doesn't have to follow the toughest pollution control standards. This bill eliminates that loophole by requiring each pollution source to be measured individually, which means more oil and gas operations will have to meet stricter air quality standards.

The bill also adds hydrogen sulfide—a toxic gas that smells like rotten eggs and can cause serious health problems—to the EPA's official list of hazardous air pollutants. Hydrogen sulfide is commonly released from oil and gas wells, refineries, and other industrial operations. Once it's officially listed as hazardous, the EPA will have to develop specific regulations to control how much of this gas companies can release into the air. This process has a timeline: the EPA must add hydrogen sulfide to the hazardous pollutants list within six months, and then create detailed rules for controlling emissions from oil and gas wells and other sources within a year.

For people living near oil and gas operations, this could mean cleaner air and fewer health risks from toxic emissions. For the oil and gas industry, it means higher compliance costs and stricter operational requirements. Environmental groups support this bill because they see the current loophole as allowing companies to pollute more than they should, while industry groups likely oppose it because of the increased regulations and expenses involved.

CLOSE Act

Clarke, Yvette D.

Closing Loopholes for Oil and other Sources of Emissions Act or the CLOSE Act This bill repeals exemptions from the Clean Air Act under which (1) emissions from oil and gas wells and pipeline facilities are excluded from aggregation with emissions from other similar units for purposes of determining major sources, and (2) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) excludes oil and gas production wells from being listed as area sources. Additionally, the bill requires the EPA to issue a final rule adding hydrogen sulfide to the list of hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act and revising such list to include categories and subcategories of major sources and area sources of hydrogen sulfide, including oil and gas wells.