Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small Business Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8990 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8990

   To amend the Clean Air Act to exclude marginal wells from certain 
standards of performance and other requirements under such Act, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2026

Mr. Pfluger (for himself, Mr. Arrington, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Latta, 
 Mr. Ellzey, Mr. Goldman of Texas, Mrs. Fedorchak, Mr. Balderson, Mr. 
  Williams of Texas, Mr. Evans of Colorado, Mr. Mann, and Mr. Estes) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To amend the Clean Air Act to exclude marginal wells from certain 
standards of performance and other requirements under such Act, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small 
Business Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF MARGINAL WELLS FROM STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE AND 
              OTHER CLEAN AIR ACT REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Exclusions.--Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k)(1) No standard of performance or guideline prescribed by the 
Administrator under subsection (b) or (d)(2), including in any 
regulation issued by the Administrator under either such subsection, 
and no requirement for monitoring, reporting, record-keeping, 
conducting a fugitive emission survey, detecting or repairing leaks, 
estimating or measuring emissions, or any other related requirement 
prescribed in regulations issued by the Administrator under this 
section, shall apply with respect to any marginal well or, as 
applicable, owner or operator thereof.
    ``(2) The Administrator may not require any plan submitted by a 
State to the Administrator under subsection (d)(1) to include a 
standard of performance applicable to marginal wells or, as applicable, 
owners or operators thereof.
    ``(3) If a State makes a revision to a plan submitted to the 
Administrator under subsection (d)(1) to make a standard of performance 
inapplicable to marginal wells or, as applicable, owners or operators 
thereof, the Administrator, or a designee thereof, shall within 180 
days, approve, disapprove, approve in part, or disapprove in part such 
revision without further review. Should the Administrator fail to act 
by the end of the 180 day period, the revision shall be deemed 
approved.
    ``(4) In this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `associated equipment', with respect to an 
        oil or natural gas well site, includes any multiphase 
        separator, treater, knockout, gun barrel, test vessel, pump, 
        storage vessel, compressor, process controller, dehydrator, gas 
        shack, meter, heater, methanol pump, natural gas liquid loadout 
        or storage vessel, gathering line, flowline, dump line, 
        transmission line, water tank, oil tank, gunbarrel, or storage 
        tank, or any other equipment used in association with such well 
        site.
            ``(B) The term `marginal well' means a well site the 
        average daily production of which, over the preceding calendar 
        year, is--
                    ``(i) in the case of an oil well site--
                            ``(I) 15 barrels of oil per day per well or 
                        less; or
                            ``(II) 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day 
                        per well or less, using a conversion factor of 
                        6,000 cubic feet per barrel of oil equivalent; 
                        or
                    ``(ii) in the case of a natural gas well site, 
                90,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day per well or 
                less.
            ``(C) The term `well site' includes any well located at a 
        given site, and associated equipment, but does not extend 
        beyond the point of custody transfer of natural gas or oil 
        produced from such a well.''.
    (b) Implementation.--
            (1) Conforming revisions.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency shall revise such regulations 
        and guidance as may be necessary to implement subsection (k) of 
        section 111 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411), as added by 
        this Act.
            (2) Pending enforcement actions.--Any action to enforce a 
        standard of performance or requirement specified in subsection 
        (k)(1) of section 111 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411), as 
        added by this Act, with respect to a marginal well that is 
        pending as of the date of the enactment of this Act shall be 
        terminated.
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