{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=18384E2B-A66F-44C8-A191-B0D66D792869", "Sens. Moran, Marshall Urge EPA to Reduce Burdensome Regulations on Small Oil & Gas Producers", "2025-09-24", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "KS", "Jerry Moran", "M000934", "www.moran.senate.gov", "moran", "https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.) today urged the Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)\u2019s Office of Air and Radiation, Aaron Szabo, to increase flexibility for small oil and gas producers as the agency revises its methane regulations. \u201cThe independent oil and gas producers across our state are typically small, family-owned businesses, operating companies, and royalty owners, in contrast to the vertically integrated \u2018majors,\u2019 \u201d wrote the senators. \u201cIn turn, the regulation should reflect the fact that oil and natural gas from these independent wells, known as \u2018stripper\u2019 wells, emit negligible levels of methane that fall below federal regulatory requirements.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith the current costs associated with federal, state, and local regulations, the added burden of certain environmental regulations that offer little to no returned benefit to the environment is not justified,\u201d the senators continued. \u201cWe want to do all we can to ensure our economy continues to grow and our nation\u2019s energy independence is maintained through the continued success of the small businesses that are our independent oil and gas operators.\u201d\n\nFull text of the letter can be found here and below.\n\nAaron Szabo\n\nAssistant Administrator for EPA\u2019s Office of Air and Radiation\n\nEnvironmental Protection Agency\n\n1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.\n\nWashington, DC 20004\n\nDear Assistant Administrator Szabo:\n\nThank you for your work to bolster American energy production, lower consumer prices, and support responsible oil and gas production through sensible regulation at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Our state is home to thousands of independent oil and gas producers that provide a significant number of jobs across rural America and directly bolster domestic energy production. In order to allow those independent producers to continue producing energy and growing their businesses, we write to urge you to ensure minimum adverse impact and maximum flexibility for small oil and gas producers as you revise the 2025 Interim Final Rule for Standards of Performance for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities for Which Construction, Modification or Reconstruction Commenced After December 6, 2022, 40 CFR part 60, subparts OOOOb and OOOOc.\n\nAs you know, the current regulations set terms for quantifying methane emissions to meet EPA testing and inspection requirements required of all oil and gas operations. We are grateful that EPA is evaluating ways to address the concerns of traditional energy producers and mitigate burdensome requirements. As you do so, it is important to note that not all oil and gas operations are created equally. The independent oil and gas producers across our state are typically small, family-owned businesses, operating companies, and royalty owners, in contrast to the large vertically integrated \u201cmajors.\u201d In turn, the regulation should reflect the fact that oil and natural gas from these independent wells, also known as \u201cstripper\u201d wells, emit negligible levels of methane that fall below federal regulatory requirements.\n\nThese businesses are dedicated stewards of their land and understand the importance of balancing the economic impact of their operations with environmental protection. With the current costs associated with federal, state, and local regulations, the added burden of certain environmental regulations that offer little to no returned benefit to the environment is not justified. We want to do all we can to ensure our economy continues to grow and our nation\u2019s energy independence is maintained through the continued success of the small businesses that are our independent oil and gas operators. Thank you for your consideration.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=18384E2B-A66F-44C8-A191-B0D66D792869"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7537128403782845, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}