# Plain Language Summary: Clean Air Act Amendment on Oil and Gas Emissions

This bill makes a change to how the government measures pollution from oil and gas operations. Right now, there's a rule that allows oil and gas companies to combine, or "aggregate," their emissions from multiple sources at a single location. Think of it like this: if a company has several small pollution sources at one site, they can add them all together and treat them as one big source for regulatory purposes. This bill eliminates that loophole, meaning each pollution source would need to be counted separately.

Why does this matter? When emissions are aggregated, they might fall below the threshold that triggers stricter environmental regulations and monitoring requirements. By counting each source individually, more oil and gas operations would likely cross that threshold and become subject to tighter pollution controls. This means companies would probably have to install better pollution control equipment, conduct more frequent inspections, and report more detailed information about their emissions to the government.

For everyday people, this could mean cleaner air in communities near oil and gas facilities, since the companies would be required to reduce more of their pollution. However, it could also increase costs for oil and gas companies, which might eventually affect energy prices. Environmental groups would likely support this change as a way to reduce air pollution and protect public health, while the oil and gas industry would probably oppose it as an additional regulatory burden.

CLOSE Act

Clarke, Yvette D.

Closing Loopholes for Oil and other Sources of Emissions Act or the CLOSE Act This bill amends the Clean Air Act to revise requirements for hazardous air pollutants. Specifically, the bill allows (1) emissions from oil or gas exploration or production wells and emissions from pipeline compressors or pump stations to be aggregated with emissions from other similar sources and regulated as a major source of toxic air pollutants, (2) emissions from those wells to be aggregated for purposes of emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants, and (3) emissions from oil or gas production wells to be regulated as an area source of toxic air pollutants. The Environmental Protection Agency must (1) issue a final rule adding hydrogen sulfide to the list of hazardous air pollutants; and (2) revise the list of air pollution sources within 365 days after issuing the rule to include categories and subcategories of major sources and area sources of hydrogen sulfide, including oil and gas wells.