The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) sets air quality standards WELL below levels that would cause a health concern.  There are allowable emissions from oil and natural gas facilities (just like there are for cars and other industries).   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also regulates emissions from “new sources” and these rules were recently revised.

In December 2013, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy stated, “natural gas has been a game changer with our ability to really move forward with pollution reductions that have been very hard to get our arms around for many decades.”