CLOSE Act

This bill proposes significant amendments to the Clean Air Act to enhance environmental regulations for the oil and gas industry. A primary provision is the repeal of the exemption for aggregation of emissions from oil and gas sources under Section 112(n) of the Clean Air Act. This change would require the combined emissions from multiple oil and gas operations to be considered together, potentially classifying more facilities as "major sources" subject to stricter air pollution controls. Furthermore, the bill mandates the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take specific actions regarding hydrogen sulfide . Within 180 days of enactment, the EPA must issue a final rule adding hydrogen sulfide to the list of hazardous air pollutants , and subsequently revise its source list to include categories and subcategories of major and area sources, explicitly identifying oil and gas wells among them, thereby increasing regulatory oversight of this toxic gas.