Keep methane rule

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency ... released new rules to curb emissions of methane, a component of natural gas that contributes to climate change. The rule requires the oil and gas industry to reduce emissions significantly over the next decade on new, modified and reconstructed infrastructure, like wells, pipelines and processing and storage facilities...

The EPA rule was followed in November by the roll-out of similar rules pertaining to drilling on federal and tribal lands.

The Bureau of Land Management’s Methane and Waste Prevention Rule aims to regulate flaring, venting and leaking of methane on these lands by the oil and gas industry. Flaring is the burning of natural gas that cannot be processed or sold. Venting refers to the controlled release of natural gas into the atmosphere...

No sooner had the BLM’s rule been finalized than it came under attack. The House of Representatives already has advanced legislation that would dismantle the rule. It could come before the U.S. Senate for a vote any day now...

If the Senate moves ahead and dismantles the BLM’s Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, we fear the EPA rule on reducing methane standards would be next. A better approach would be to address any concerns that might exist within the rule, rather than to eliminate it in its entirety.