Bill Attempted to Roll Back Regulations that Curb Natural Gas Waste and Pollution on Public Lands
Washington, D.C. – Today, in a welcome win for public health, American taxpayers, and the environment, the U.S. Senate voted to block a legislative effort to roll back the Bureau of Land Management’s Methane Waste Rule.
The rule, which the Bureau finalized last November, curbs the vast amount of natural gas that oil and gas companies waste through excessive flaring, venting, and leaks. Prior to the adoption of the rule, companies wasted more than $330 million worth of natural gas every year, resulting in vast amounts of greenhouse gas pollution and hazardous emissions and costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in royalties.
All Democratic senators voted against the repeal, along with Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain.
“Today, the majority of the U.S. Senate stood with the American public to protect our health and the environment and to prevent the oil and gas industry’s needless waste of our natural resources,” said Adam Kron, senior attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). “The Bureau of Land Management’s Methane Waste Rule is an important and sensible step toward addressing the industry’s vast emissions of methane and other harmful pollutants and contribution to climate change. We’re grateful to Senators Collins, Graham, and McCain for their commonsense stand to put public health before industry profits.”
The Environmental Integrity Project is a 15-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to holding polluters and government accountable to protect public health.
(Photo of drilling on public lands from Inside Climate News)
Media contact: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, (443) 510-2574 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org
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