EPA Proposes Major New Revisions to Burdensome, Unworkable Biden-era Oil and Natural Gas Regulations

EPA Proposes Major New Revisions to Burdensome, Unworkable Biden-era Oil and Natural Gas Regulations

October 27, 2026

WASHINGTON - Today, in Lubbock, Texas, President Trump and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced EPA's latest proposal to revise the Biden EPA's oil and natural gas regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA), commonly known as OOOOb/c. The proposal is expected to save $45 billion in costs to consumers and businesses, including families and small businesses operating marginal wells, and to unleash an estimated 210 million additional barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

"Behind every barrel of oil and every cubic foot of natural gas produced in the U.S. are millions of workers, businesses, and the heartbeat of this nation's economy. The Biden EPA destructively targeted all this. President Trump promised to end the war on oil and natural gas, and I vowed to do my part, while protecting our environment," said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. "We have listened to Americans' concerns and are taking our biggest step yet to fix it. When owners and operators can produce, America benefits with lower prices. That is common sense, and it's what we're delivering with this proposal."

"The Biden administration's short-sighted plan to kill domestic energy production hurt hard-working families, crushed our businesses, and threatened the communities that power our nation," said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. "Today's revision rolls back reckless Biden-era red tape to unlock an estimated 210 million barrels of American oil and deliver an estimated $45 billion in taxpayer savings. Since day one, President Trump has been putting real money back into the hands of American people by putting American energy back in the hands of the American workers, businesses, and communities."

"The Biden administration pursued an energy subtraction agenda and imposed costly regulations on American oil and natural gas producers, driving up costs and threatening the affordable, reliable, and secure energy Americans depend on," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. "The EPA's proposal represents another commonsense effort by the Trump Administration to unleash American energy dominance, remove unnecessary regulatory burdens, and allow American producers to deliver more energy at lower costs."

"The Trump Administration continues to roll back the burdensome, Biden-era red tape that stifled American energy production and drove up energy costs for every day Americans," said National Energy Dominance Council Executive Director Jarrod Agen. These commonsense revisions will unleash oil and natural gas and save families and businesses $45 billion in regulatory costs. Thanks to President Trump, the left's war on reliable, affordable, secure energy is over, and American energy dominance has been restored."

In 2024, the Biden EPA finalized one-size-fits-all, burdensome regulations that were estimated at the time to cost $18 billion. However, the Biden EPA underestimated the costs and refused to acknowledge their regulations would force many wells to close and stop new wells from opening. Overall, the 2024 Rule threatened domestic production and drove up the cost of living for Americans-from heating bills to prices at the grocery store and the pump.

Trump EPA's Proposal Would Reduce Costs for All Americans:

Americans rely on oil and gas every day-from fueling their cars and heating their homes to powering the tractors that grow our food and the trucks that deliver virtually everything we buy. By reducing regulatory costs by $45 billion and supporting domestic production, EPA's proposal would lower energy costs, ease pressure on food prices, and support good-paying energy jobs.

The proposal also emphasizes reforms for marginal wells, which account for roughly four out of every five producing wells in the nation. Many are family-owned wells that play a critical role in family economics by powering homes and fueling farm equipment; ultimately offsetting other daily expenses. Families also often use the money from these wells for their retirement savings. Reducing regulatory burdens will provide financial security for thousands of American families.

5 Key Proposed Regulatory Changes:

• Certain Well Sites: EPA is co-proposing two options to create separate categories and standards for well sites to make sure the regulations are workable for different types of wells. The first option would categorize well sites by production level, marginal or non-marginal. The second option would categorize them by resource type, conventional or unconventional.
• Super Emitter Program: EPA is proposing to rescind the program that certified third-party monitors for so-called "super emitter" leak events and required states to do the same, citing legal concerns, questioning the necessity of the program, and highlighting other practices already giving operators timely, actionable information to find and fix significant emission events that meet CAA requirements.
• Covers and Closed Vent Systems: EPA is proposing to split the "No Identifiable Emissions" aspect of covers and closed vent systems into design requirements and operational requirements. The operational requirements would allow for repairs.
• Associated Gas: EPA is proposing to restore 95% efficient flaring or other control devices as the best system of emission reduction, rather than requiring all associated natural gas coming from oil wells to reach a sales line, which is not possible in all producing areas and raises serious legal and practical concerns.
• Control Devices: EPA is proposing technical changes to give flexibility for flame monitoring data deviations, control device alerts, and visible emissions test conditions where appropriate.

Protecting Human Health and the Environment:

In the CAA, Congress required emission standards to be achievable for regulated sources, both new and existing. The Biden EPA's 2024 standards, however, would have forced many existing sources to close, particularly marginal wells. Additionally, the Biden EPA overestimated the emission reduction by touting "zero emissions requirements" despite the fact that existing regulations already required 95% reductions for associated gas, for example, and that the 2024 regulations would never have achieved 100% emission reductions. The Biden EPA had to build in exemptions and exceptions to justify these requirements, raising additional questions on the 2024 Rule's ability to reduce emissions.

The Trump EPA is committed to following the law and fulfilling its core mission of protecting human health and the environment. Some states already have regulations for wells that reduce emissions while still providing important flexibilities for producers. In addition, the types, economics, and emissions characteristics of different wells varies broadly, and location is important to take into account. The Trump EPA wants to hear from what the states and operators have learned as the agency continues this rulemaking process, including how best to match the regulations to reality rather than assumptions.

EPA will hold at least a 45-day public comment period, including a public hearing, after publication in the Federal Register. Read more details.

Background 

Administrator Zeldin first announced a comprehensive reconsideration of the 2024 Final Rule on March 12, 2025. Since then, the agency has taken the following actions:

• On July 31, 2025, issuing an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to extend several compliance deadlines in the 2024 Final Rule to provide more realistic timelines for owners and operators to comply.
• On November 26, 2025, reaffirming the extensions in the IFR and providing an additional 180-day extension to the compliance dates related to net heating value monitoring of flares and enclosed combustion devices, as well as a 360-day extension for owners and operators to submit initial annual reports.
• On April 6, 2026, finalizing revisions to certain aspects of the 2024 Final Rule related to net heating value and time limits and justifying circumstances for temporary flaring of associated gas.
• On May 1, 2026, clarifying that current federal regulations already allow oil and natural gas producers to flare associated gas at new oil wells in limited circumstances after the May 7, 2026, phase out deadline.