The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is excited to announce that the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) grant application will officially open on Wednesday, October 16th at 9:00 am EST and close on Monday, December 16th at 11:59 pm EST. The application will be located here. You will need to register for a Keystone Login for the application. Go to the Pennsylvania Keystone Login Portal to register if you do not have a Keystone Login. You can register for a Keystone Login in advance to ensure you can login at the grant opening.
In response to the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which provides new authorities under Section 136 of the Clean Air Act to reduce methane emissions from the petroleum and natural gas sector, DEP has created a Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) Grant that provides funding to an applicant to plug an eligible Marginal Conventional Well (MCW).
A Marginal Conventional Well (MCW) is defined as a conventional oil and/or gas well that produces less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE, i.e. 15bbl/day oil or 90,000 cubic feet (90 mcf) of gas/day or combination thereof).
The MERP grant provides up to:
- $420,000 for any single applicant within each application period.
- $20,000 for each eligible well plugged that is a marginal conventional well of a depth of 3,000 feet or less or the actual cost of the qualified well plugger to plug the well, whichever is less.
- $35,000 for each eligible well plugged that is a marginal conventional well of a depth greater than 3,000 feet or the actual cost of the qualified well plugger to plug the well, whichever is less.
- An eligible applicant who plugs all eligible wells approved to plug as part of the application submitted to the Department, may plug additional eligible wells with prior Department approval up to the maximum grant approved as part of the application.
Applicants:
Operator of wells - An Operator, as defined in Act 359, Oil and Gas Conservation Law, owning oil and gas wells that have not been previously plugged in accordance with the requirements of section 3220 (58 Pa.C.S. §3220, relating to plugging requirements) prior to Department approval of an applicant’s application.
Qualified Well Plugger - A person shall be determined as a qualified well plugger if the person demonstrates access to the equipment, materials, resources, and services to plug wells in accordance with section 3220 (58 Pa.C.S. §3220, relating to plugging requirements).
Third Party - An applicant shall be determined as a third-party if they are neither a Qualified Well Plugger or Operator and serve only as a Project Manager for more than 1 Qualified Well Plugger.
When applying, please note that there are two separate categories under MERP depending on the amount of wells the operator owns. Please apply to the appropriate grant category that is applicable to the operator:
MERP Small Operator Assistance
An Operator of 10 or less wells, a Qualified Well Plugger, or a Third Party may apply.
MERP Small Operator Assistance Grant program guidelines (PDF)
MERP General Assistance
An Operator of 11 or more wells, a Qualified Well Plugger, or a Third Party may apply.
Marginal Conventional Wells: A marginal conventional well (MCW) is defined as a conventional oil and/or gas well that produces less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE, i.e. 15bbl/day oil or 90,000 cubic feet (90 mcf) of gas/day or combination thereof).
To be eligible for this funding, an operator must be in compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, including those related to the submission of well production, waste, and mechanical integrity assessment reports to DEP. Additionally, failure to submit these reports subject operators to enforcement by DEP which includes civil penalty. If you are interested in obtaining this funding and are currently not in compliance with these requirements, you should submit this information to DEP as soon as possible.
Operators can find information regarding the production, waste, and mechanical integrity assessment report submission process and requirements on DEP’s website (Electronic Submission Guides). Home use well operators can satisfy all three reporting requirements through the submission of a single form for each well (8000-FM-OOGM0001).
The Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) General Assistance and Small Operator Assistance grant applications open on October 16th, 2024, at 9:00 am EST and will close on December 16th, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST. The online applications are located at https://grants.pa.gov/.
Grant Application instructions
MERP - General Assistance Applicant Instructions (DOCX)
MERP - Small Operator Applicant Instructions (DOCX)
Questions: Should you have any specific questions about this grant program, please contact the Department via e-mail at RA-EPMERPGRANT@pa.gov
The Well Plugging and Restoration Agreement form (see grant documents below) serves as a landowner consent form. Prior to completing the grant application, if the applicant is not the landowner, this form needs to be completed so that it can be uploaded into the grant application.
To ensure you have required documents and requirements ready, please refer to the MERP Checklist
Click here to watch the MERP Well Plugging Grant Application On-Demand Webinar
Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation from the webinar
Before beginning the application, identification if methane emissions are detected at each eligible well as described in the MERP Grant application needs to be prepared (“Not Detected" or “Detected" or “Detected + may be high")
For wells where the initial methane detection screening indicated “detected" or “detected; may be high," grant recipients are required to measure pre-plugging and post-plugging emissions. All measurements must be taken in accordance with the most recent federal methane measurement guidelines. To ensure compliance with these guidelines, two forms are required: the Methane Measurement Proposal form and the Methane Measurement Report form.
DOE NETL METHANE MEASUREMENT GUIDELINES FOR MARGINAL CONVENTIONAL WELLS (PDF)
PA DEP's Supplemental Methane Measurement Guidelines for Marginal Conventional Wells (PDF)
The Methane Measurement Proposal Form must be submitted and reviewed prior to obtaining methane measurements. This form is used to document the methodology being used in addition to information about the qualified measurement specialist and qualifications.
The second form is the Methane Measurement Report Form. This form is used to report the information obtained to the Department.
More information can be found on the Methane Measurement page.
Please reference the MERP Grant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. Should you have any specific questions about this grant program, please contact the Department via e-mail at ra-epoilandgas@pa.gov.
The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides new authorities under Section 136 of the Clean Air Act to reduce methane emissions from the petroleum and natural gas sector through the creation of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP). Nationwide, MERP will provide more than $1 billion in financial funding for grants and other activities to reduce methane.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be receiving more than $44 million of this funding. Part of Pennsylvania’s funding will be used to provide grants to conventional well operators to plug marginal conventional wells in their inventory.
DEP's goal in the MERP application prioritization process is to ensure that MERP grant funds are efficiently used to maximize methane reduction and benefits to human health and the environment. This MERP Prioritization Process document outlines how MCWs will be scored and ranked to prioritize MERP applications.
More information coming soon…
Mechanical Integrity Assessment: MIA reports, submission of well data, and MIA for home use wells
Home use gas wells: regulatory and operating requirements for home use wells
FAQs for prospective plugging and plugging support contractors (PDF)
View our interactive map showing abandoned, orphan, and DEP plugged wells
Included in DEP’s marginal conventional well plugging goals is meeting the US Department of Interior’s directives to comply with the Federal government’s Justice 40 initiative for Climate and Economic Justice.
The Justice 40 Initiative set forth in Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad) can be found here: Federal Register: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
JUSTICE 40 PEOPLE. POWER. PROSPERITY
Office of Environmental Justice
DEP Abandoned and Orphan Wells within Justice40 and Environmental Justice Areas (PDF)
DEP Orphan Wells within Justice40 and Environmental Justice Areas (PDF)
For any inquiries or questions about MERP, please feel free to reach out via email at RA-epOilandGas@pa.gov
More Information coming soon…