EPA proposes to approve Puerto Rico's negative declaration on oil and gas methane rule

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed to approve a negative declaration for Puerto Rico, a filing that certifies the commonwealth has no existing crude oil or natural gas facilities subject to the agency's methane rule for the industry. The proposal is open for public comment through September 28, 2026.

A negative declaration is a formal notice a state or territory sends the EPA when it has no facilities that trigger a federal emission guideline, so it does not have to submit its own compliance plan. Puerto Rico's declaration covers the Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities, the methane standards codified at 40 CFR part 60, subpart OOOOc. The EPA is proposing to amend 40 CFR part 62 to formally record the declaration's receipt and approval.

Legal basis

The guidelines trace to section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, which requires states and territories to submit implementation plans setting methane performance standards for existing oil and gas facilities. The EPA codified subpart OOOOc on March 8, 2024, at 89 FR 17140. The standards apply to facilities that commenced construction, modification, or reconstruction on or before December 6, 2022. A jurisdiction with no such facilities can satisfy the mandate with a negative declaration instead of a full state plan; a jurisdiction that fails to submit an approvable plan is subject to a federal implementation plan written by the EPA.

How to comment

The EPA is taking written comments on the proposal through September 28, 2026, under Docket No. EPA-R02-OAR-2026-2741 at regulations.gov. The agency said it will generally not consider comments or material submitted outside the docket itself, including material posted only on the web or a shared file system. Multimedia submissions must be accompanied by a written comment covering the same points. Questions on the docket go to Blythe Reder in the EPA Region 2 Office's Air and Radiation Division, Air Planning Branch.

The proposal was published as 91 FR 55313, under FR Doc. 2026-17495. It appeared on public inspection on August 26, 2026, and drew 11 views before Federal Register publication.