HARRISBURG — State environmental regulators will follow new guidelines endorsed by a natural gas industry group for deciding how to group together facilities such as wells, dehydrators and compressors when enforcing air pollution standards on Pennsylvania’s booming drilling activity.

The Department of Environmental Protection issued the new guidelines Wednesday and opened them up for public comment until Nov. 21. The guidelines drew immediate criticism from clean air advocates, who say they will allow the industry to pollute more and weaken the ability of state regulators to gauge how much pollution the industry is creating.

Facilities that pollute more are subject to tougher pollution control standards. A group of minor polluters treated as separate entities, however, would be subject to less stringent standards.

Faced with a natural gas drilling boom that has sullied the air in some parts of the country, states have started to crack down on some emissions from well sites. People living near drilling activity in other states have complained of breathing trouble or other health problems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering tougher rules at well sites that focus on getting operators to capture gas that now escapes into the air.