State regulators are weighing how much to crack down on leaky gas pipes

Massachusetts environmental officials are wading into a wonky debate around the rules governing a state effort to limit the amount of methane that gas companies can emit from leaks in their pipes.

What’s at stake is whether the state can accurately calculate emissions in the state — and then lower them in line with its ambitious climate commitments.

A coalition of environmental groups including CLF, Acadia Center, and Environmental League of Massachusetts wrote in public comments to DEP that the agency should consider eliminating the set-aside altogether.

The additional wiggle room for gas companies to emit methane is being abused and is “functioning more as a compliance cushion than as an emergency measure,” they wrote. HEET, a nonprofit energy innovation hub that has been mapping the state’s leaks for 10 years, expressed a similar position in its public comment.

To read the full article from Commonwealth Beacon, click here.