The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced a rollback of Obama-era rules for oil and gas industry emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.
The rule eliminates federal requirements that oil and gas companies must install technology to detect and fix methane leaks from pipelines, wells and storage sites.
“EPA has been working hard to fulfill President Trump’s promise to cut burdensome and ineffective regulations for our domestic energy industry,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a press release.
“Regulatory burdens put into place by the Obama-Biden Administration fell heavily on small and medium-sized energy businesses. Today’s regulatory changes remove redundant paperwork, align with the Clean Air Act, and allow companies the flexibility to satisfy leak-control requirements by complying with equivalent state rules.”
The changes have drawn ire from lawmakers, environmental organizations and, even some major oil and gas producers.
The Natural Resources Defense Council said the change is "a green light to keep leaking enormous amounts of climate pollution into the air," and said it planned to challenge the rule in court.
Peter Zalzal, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy group, called the new rule “a deeply misguided action” that “is manifestly inconsistent with the agency’s legal obligations, and with the science that shows methane is a dangerous pollutant.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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