Following the methane waste emissions charge (WEC)’s adoption in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its implementation guidance in November 2024. As written, the fee applies to oil and gas facilities that report more than 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, beginning at $900 per metric ton of methane reported in 2024 and increasing incrementally to $1,500 by 2026 and beyond. (See InfluenceMap’s Methane Emissions Charge policy tracker page for an overview of how the fossil fuel industry advocated to weaken the ambition of the methane fee over the 2021-2022 time period leading up to the IRA’s passage).
In its implementation guidance, the EPA proposed three possible exemptions from the methane fee, available to companies that exceed the waste emissions threshold:
“Unreasonable delay” in environmental permitting, defined by a set of four criteria that must all be met in order to qualify for the exemption;
Regulatory compliance, for facilities that meet the methane regulation once all federal and state implementation plans have been approved, among other qualifications;
The methane fee was written to complement the EPA’s methane regulation – finalized in December 2023 – in that companies that do not comply with the regulation would be subject to the fee. The methane reporting revisions, which were finalized in May 2024 (see InfluenceMap’s policy tracker page), provided assessment requirements and criteria for the methane fee.
The finalized implementation guidance for the methane fee in November 2024 appears weakened compared to the guidance proposed in January 2024. Following the comment period between January and March 2024, which received intense engagement from the oil and gas industry, the emissions netting provisions and exemption criteria have been adjusted: the final ruling allows for emissions netting at the parent company level and the scope for emissions under the plugged wells exemption was expanded. However, with Congress passing a Congressional Review Act resolution in February 2025 to overturn the final guidance, the methane fee is at risk of repeal.
AT RISK – President Trump signed Congressional Review Act measure to repeal the methane fee, in March 2025. Additional legislation required to fully overturn the policy.
AT RISK – President Trump signed Congressional Review Act measure to repeal the methane fee, in March 2025. Additional legislation required to fully overturn the policy.
The following table lists companies and industry associations that have engaged on the implementation of the methane fee, with evidence indicating a strong negative response from fossil fuel interest groups. Click on an entity name to view the full profile on its climate policy engagement.
| Influencemap Performance Band | Organization | Policy Position | Policy Engagement Intensity |
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