Trump Plans to End Methane Curbs That Oil Companies Want to Keep
The Trump administration is readying a plan to end direct federal regulation of methane leaks from oil and gas facilities, even as some energy companies insist they don’t want the relief.
A draft proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency would prevent the federal government from restricting emissions of that potent greenhouse gas from oil wells and infrastructure, despite fears that time is running out to avert catastrophic consequences of climate change.
The EPA’s plan to walk away from regulating methane dovetails with other Trump administration efforts to ease limits on emissions from power plants and automobiles. Critics cast the proposal as a part of a broad Trump administration retreat from the global fight against climate change.
The Obama administration targeted the oil industry’s methane emissions in 2016, by requiring energy companies to frequently seek and plug leaks. Other U.S. requirements also acted to pare methane emissions but did so indirectly, by targeting other, conventional pollutants or seeking to stop the waste of natural gas extracted from federal lands.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-14/trump-plans-to-end-methane-curbs-that-oil-companies-want-to-keep?srnd=politics-vp
