On October 26, 2015, WLF filed formal comments with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging the agency to abandon a proposed rule that would allow the agency to regulate multiple wells and supporting infrastructure as a single source or facility. The pivotal question posed by the rule is whether the word “adjacent” should enjoy its ordinary and plain meaning, i.e., nearby or proximate, or whether it should include consideration of an amorphous concept EPA has invented called “functional interrelatedness.” Such an approach, WLF explained, is not only unreasonable and contrary to the plain meaning of the term “adjacent,” but it has been rejected by two federal appeals courts. WLF expressed concerned that the rule, by aggregating emissions from sources many miles apart, makes it much more likely that oil and gas operations will run afoul of federal air permitting requirements.
