Environmental Groups Blast BLM Methane Gas Waste Proposal

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced its proposed revisions to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane gas waste rule. The proposal rolls back efforts to eliminate routine venting and flaring of associated gas, a practice which wastes domestic energy resources and harms the health of surrounding communities and ecosystems.

Clean Air Task Force, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Western Environmental Law Center, and the Wilderness Society issued the following statement in response:

“At a time when economic concerns are at an all-time high, the Trump administration’s waste prevention proposal seeks to wipe out progress to hold oil and gas companies accountable for needlessly burning our federal and tribal gas resources.

This proposal fails tribal and western communities living closest to gas development who suffer the most from harmful air, noise, and light pollution associated with rampant flaring. Reducing methane waste saves taxpayer resources, supports local economies, reigns in climate pollution, and protects public health.

BLM has a legal responsibility to eliminate the waste of public resources, but this proposal would eliminate common-sense safeguards. The Trump administration continues to prioritize fossil fuel industry profits at the expense of nearby residents and taxpayers.”

Background

The waste of methane gas through venting, flaring, and leaks on federal and Tribal lands has been a persistent problem for decades. Flaring emits methane, a powerful climate pollutant with more than 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. Oil and gas corporations release other harmful pollutants alongside methane including ozone- or smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous pollutants that have serious public impacts on communities living in basins with oil and gas production or in proximity to federally or tribally owned minerals.

Since the Trump administration stopped enforcing methane regulations last year, oil and gas corporations have wasted an estimated $5.6 billion dollars-worth of gas. Prior analyses indicate that much of this waste — hundreds of millions of dollars-worth — occurs on federal and tribal lands.