The Senate Committee on Environmental &amp; Public Works on Jan. 31 held a hearing on avoiding, detecting and capturing methane emissions from landfills. The hearing, in part, addressed a Treasury Department proposal that would limit the ability of biogas projects to benefit from the Section 48 tax credit.&nbsp;The Internal Revenue Service on Nov. 22 issued a proposed rule implementing amendments to the Section 48 energy investment tax credit (ITC) as directed by the Inflation Reduction Act. As currently written, the proposed rule would exclude gas cleaning and conditioning equipment from being eligible to obtain the ITC.&nbsp;A public comment period on the proposed rule was open through Jan. 22. Approximately 300 public comments were filed on the proposal, according to information posted to the Regulations.gov website. The American Biogas Council and Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition) were among those who filed comments, calling on the agency to update the regulatory language. &nbsp;&nbsp;Testimony offered during the Jan. 31 congressional hearing offered insight into how the proposed IRS language would negatively impact efforts to reduce landfill gas emissions. Anne Germain, chief operating officer and senior vice president of regulatory affairs at the National Waste &amp; Recycling Association, said the sector she represents worked hard to advocate for the tax credit and has relied on the availability of it in planning multi-billion-dollar investments in biogas processing infrastructure. As currently written, the IRS regulations would disincentivize methane abatement solutions in the landfill gas sector, as well as other biogas sectors, such as anaerobic digestion, Germain confirmed.&nbsp;The hearing also featured testimony from Tia Scarpelli, research scientists and waste sector lead at Carbon Mapper, and Tom Frankiewicz, a subject matter expert in waste methane at the Rocky Mountain Institute. In addition to the Section 48 tax credit, the hearing also addressed a range of other issues, including emissions monitoring, abatement strategies, and current and planned regulatory actions.&nbsp;A full replay of the hearing and written testimony submitted by witnesses is available on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works <a href="https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2024/1/avoiding-detecting-and-capturing-methane-emissions-from-landfills">website</a>.&nbsp;

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The Senate Committee on Environmental & Public Works on Jan. 31 held a hearing on landfill gas emissions. The hearing, in part, addressed an IRS proposal that would limit the ability of biogas projects to benefit from the Section 48 tax credit. 

Senate hearing focuses on landfill gas emissions, addresses problematic Section 48 language

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