The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under Administrator Lee Zeldin, has finalized extensions to compliance deadlines for the Clean Air Act’s oil and gas rules (OOOOb/c). The final rule maintains previous 18-month extensions for control devices, equipment leaks, storage vessels, and state methane reduction plans, while further extending certain flare monitoring and performance test deadlines by 180 days. The EPA says these adjustments reflect supply chain and personnel constraints, aim to reduce compliance costs by an estimated $750 million over 11 years, and support increased domestic energy production. The final rule also includes responses to public comments and hearing testimonies. They write:
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin is taking final action on the agency’s July 2025 Interim Final Rule (IFR) to extend several compliance deadlines in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Clean Air Act (CAA) rules for the oil and gas industry – commonly known as OOOOb/c. By providing more realistic timelines for owners and operators of new and modified oil and natural gas sources, the Trump EPA is taking an important step in unleashing America’s domestic energy supply. The action will impact hundreds of thousands of oil and gas sources across the country and save an estimated $750 million over 11 years in compliance costs.
“The previous administration used oil and gas standards as a weapon to shut down development and manufacturing in the United States,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin. “By finalizing compliance extensions, EPA is ensuring unrealistic regulations do not prevent America from unleashing energy dominance. We produce energy better and cleaner than so many other countries around the world, yet Americans have been punished by flawed, ideologically driven regulations. Today, the Trump EPA is taking decisive, corrective action.”
In July 2025, EPA issued an IFR extending compliance deadlines in the 2024 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emissions Guidelines for OOOOb/c. This IFR included extending the deadline to meet certain requirements related to control devices, equipment leaks, storage vessels, process controllers, and covers/closed vent systems for 18 months following the publication of the IFR in the Federal Register. This remains unchanged in today’s final rule. Also remaining unchanged are the 18-month extensions given to states to create plans for reducing methane emissions from existing oil and natural gas sources and for the implementation of the 2024 rule’s “super emitter” program, which requires third parties using EPA-approved remote-sensing technology to provide EPA with data on potential large leaks.
Following a public comment period and a public hearing on the July 2025 IFR, EPA is extending the November 28, 2025, deadline for net heating value continuous monitoring requirements and alternative performance test (sampling demonstration) option for flares and enclosed combustion devices by 180 days. This addresses the supply chain, personnel, and laboratory limitations identified by commenters, which made compliance with the requirements in the 2024 final rule infeasible. The IFR previously had extended this to 120 days. To ensure clarity, EPA is providing 360 days from the effective date of this final action for owners and operators to submit all annual NSPS OOOOb reports that were originally due prior to this deadline. Subsequent reports are due no later than 90 days after the end of each annual compliance period. These changes do not alter any provisions specifying the annual compliance period.
Today’s final action also includes all responses to public comments received on the IFR, as well as testimonies from the public hearing. To read the final rule and related materials, visit EPA’s website for the oil and natural gas rules.
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