EPA Gives Oil Industry Another Free Pass to Keep Polluting
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized rules delaying cuts in methane leaks from the oil and gas sector, the latest in a series of massive Trump administration giveaways to the fossil fuel industry. The rules, issued just as Americans gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving, expand the loopholes that the EPA announced when it first suspended deadlines without any prior public notice or chance to comment.
Methane is a greenhouse gas 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over 20 years. These standards are a critical part of cutting the pollution causing climate change, as well as the volatile organic compounds that lead to smog and local air pollution.
The following is a comment from David Doniger, senior strategist at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“The EPA is giving the worst actors a free pass to pollute.
“Methane leaks are the dumbest kind of pollution because the industry is losing the very product it wants to sell. That’s what made the standards so cost effective: Checking for leaks means the industry has more gas to sell, which is why established companies started plugging their leaks before the EPA mandated it.
“But a few rogue actors refused to get on board, and the Trump administration is catering to them. Those companies get some short-term profits, but neighboring communities will see more smog, more cancer-causing pollutants, and more climate risks.
“What a turkey of a move by the Trump administration.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.