Texas recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in an attempt to block vital protections against methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. 

In response to the filings against EPA’s final New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for the oil and gas industry, a coalition of national environmental and public health organizations, including Earthjustice, released the following statement:

“Once again, Texas is using the courts to try and stop a sensible clean air standard urgently needed to protect the health of communities across the country and reduce climate change, and which is strongly supported by a majority of Americans. The oil and gas industry annually leaks millions of tons of dangerous methane pollution, a potent greenhouse gas, and likewise emits other harmful smog-forming and toxic air pollution.

“The EPA’s New Source Performance Standards for the oil and gas sector will reduce harmful methane emissions and are firmly grounded in the Clean Air Act, one of our nation’s most successful and effective laws. For more than 40 years the Clean Air Act has cut dangerous air pollution—including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, mercury and lead—from vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources even as the U.S. economy has grown. 

“EPA’s methane standards build from actions in leading states and are the latest example of common sense clean air protections that will help to protect public health while reducing pollution and wasted natural gas. We look forward to vigorously defending the standards in court.”