EPA Moves to Gut Methane Rules
The EPA unveils a proposal to weaken standards that require oil and gas companies to check for leaks. Only the worst companies aren’t complying.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed rolling back requirements that oil and gas companies prevent leaks of methane, the latest in a series of Trump administration giveaways to the fossil fuel industry.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and the existing standards are a critical part of cutting the pollution causing climate change, as well as cancer-causing and smog-forming compounds that hurt nearby communities.
The following is a comment from David Doniger, senior strategist at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“Once again, the Trump administration is rewarding the worst actors in the oil and gas industry. Many companies were already in compliance with these rules, but a few rogue actors refuse to check for leaks or monitor their equipment. Those deadbeats would get bailed out by this action.
“Methane leaks are the dumbest kind of pollution because the industry is losing the very product it is selling. That’s what made the standards so cost effective: Checking for leaks means the industry has more gas to sell.
“These leaks are not just bad for the climate, they result in more smog and cancer-causing pollution for nearby communities. But this administration has made clear time and time again that oil companies come first, while protecting families from toxic pollution and the ravages of extreme weather is not on its agenda.”