On Tuesday, February 4, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced a resolution — under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) — against the Methane Emissions Reduction Program implemented in the 2022 passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
In the IRA, Congress amended the Clean Air Act (CAA) to create CAA section 136, also known as the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. Under the amendment, Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect a waste emissions charge — also called “methane tax rule” — on methane waste emissions from certain oil and gas production facilities.
Methane is the main component of natural gas, and it is also produced when extracting crude oil. A scientific study released in December of 2022 showed that the oil and natural gas industry releases about three times more methane than EPA estimates show. According to experts, methane leaks happen across the production system, during drilling and transporting the fossil fuels.
The Methane Emissions Reduction Program’s fees apply to those production facilities that exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e). According to scientific studies on the impacts of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and CO2e supercharges “the natural greenhouse effect, causing global temperatures to rise.”
In 2024, when the amendment was passed, the waste emissions charge was $900 per metric ton of CO2e emitted and scheduled to increase to $1,200 in 2025 and $1,500 in 2026.
In an emailed press release on the introduction of the CRA resolution, Tuberville states that the emissions charge would “increase [U.S.] dependence on foreign nations for energy and cause higher energy costs for consumers.”
Emissions reports from 2022 show energy production in Alabama was responsible for 109.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about three-fifths of Alabama’s natural gas production comes from onshore wells, and most of that onshore production is in the form of coalbed methane — a natural gas produced from coal seams. The state’s coalbed methane wells are located primarily in the Black Warrior Basin in northwestern Alabama. The state also has offshore production in Alabama waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
The majority of natural gas consumed in Alabama goes to power plants as fuel for electricity generation. Since 2007, the electric power sector has been the largest natural gas-consuming sector in the state. It received 62 percent of total natural gas deliveries in 2023. Individual consumption only makes up about four percent of the state’s natural gas usage.
Alabama is among the top 17 producers of oil and among the top 16 producers of natural gas in the United States.
Alabama’s natural gas production has steadily declined since 2005. The oil and gas industry contributed $1.71 billion to Alabama’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023. Also in 2023, Alabama produced 3.6 million barrels of crude oil and imported $3.04 billion in crude petroleum oils.
In 2022, Alabama had some of the cheapest gas prices at the pump, but also ranked highest in how much money spent on gasoline per capita. Alabamians spent just over $11 million on gasoline in 2022. That means Alabama’s population of five million people spent an average of $2,200 per person that year.
“The last thing hardworking Americans need right now are more taxes and higher prices,” Tuberville said. “I look forward to seeing this disastrous methane tax overturned and working with President Trump to make America energy independent once again.”
The CRA joint resolution of disapproval that Tuberville and Hoeven introduced is backed by Alabama’s other U.S. Senator, Katie Britt, and Republican Senators Roger Marshall, Kansas; Mike Lee, Utah; James Lankford, Oklahoma; Steve Daines, Montana; Kevin Cramer, North Dakota; Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia; Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming; James Risch, Idaho; Rick Scott, Florida; Ted Cruz, Texas; Rand Paul, Kentucky; Mike Crapo, Idaho; Jim Justice, West Virginia; John Kennedy, Louisiana; Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi; Mike Rounds, South Dakota; Tim Sheehy, Montana; Thom Tillis, North Carolina; Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma; Roger Wicker, Mississippi; Pete Ricketts, Nevada; and John Barrasso, Wyoming.
The energy and natural resource sector has made sizeable campaign donations to all of the senators who signed the joint CRA resolution — donations to the tune of a combined nearly $16.5 million. Tuberville and Britt have received large campaign contributions from the energy and natural resource sector in the form of donations from political action committees (PACs) and individuals. Since 2019, Tuberville’s campaign has received $345,199 and Britt has received $582,273. The contribution amounts vary from senator to senator. The recipients with the largest contributions from the energy and natural resource sector are Montana Senator Steve Daines with $1,102,747, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso with $1,454,098 and Texas Senator Ted Cruz with $1,877,518.
According to the Congressional Review Act, once a joint resolution disapproving an agency’s final rule in submitted, a simple majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is needed for the measure to head to the president’s desk. If a president vetoes a resolution, a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers would be necessary to override.
If the resolution passes both the House and the Senate, President Donald Trump is likely to sign it. If so, the resolution of disapproval prohibits the original rule — in this case, the Methane Tax Rule — from either going into effect, or continuing in effect immediately and “shall be treated as though the rule had never taken effect.”
“EPA has been engaging with industry, states and communities to reduce methane emissions so that natural gas ultimately makes it to consumers as usable fuel — instead of as a harmful greenhouse gas,” said Michael Regan, then EPA administrator said in a statement in November of 2024.
Trump’s appointed and confirmed leader of the EPA Lee Zeldin, was sworn in on January 29, 2025. In his guide to the future of America’s environmental agency outlined on the EPA website, Zeldin outlined a five-pillar approach, in the second pillar, titled “Restore American Energy Dominance”, Zeldin echoed Tuberville’s concern for foreign energy dependency.
“Pursuing energy independence and energy dominance will cut energy costs for everyday Americans who are simply trying to heat their homes and put gas in their cars,” Zeldin said. “This will also allow our nation to stop relying on energy sources from adversaries, while lowering costs for hardworking middle-income families, farmers, and small business owners. I look forward to working with the greatest minds driving American innovation, to ensure we are producing and developing the cleanest energy on the planet.”
