Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Trump EPA Final Rule That Delays Methane Pollution Protections from Oil and Gas Industry

Washington, D.C. —

Health, environment, and community groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit yesterday challenging the Trump EPA’s rushed and unlawful final rule to delay protections against methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.

The rule would delay implementation of many of the requirements in the 2024 U.S. EPA methane standards – which keep dangerous pollution out of our air and reduce wasted energy from oil and gas leaks, venting and flaring – in spite of widespread community opposition, deep concerns about risks to human health, and a pending lawsuit challenging an Interim Final rule announced by the Trump administration earlier this year that contained identical extensions for many of the same deadlines.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a climate pollutant that is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. It is responsible for almost 30% of the global warming that we have experienced so far, and it is helping drive climate change and its worsening floods, wildfires, heatwaves and other severe weather events that are harming people across the country.

The 2024 standards reduce methane pollution through commonsense steps like requiring leak detection and repairs. Those steps also reduce the emissions of other dangerous pollutants, including smog- and soot-forming volatile organic compounds and toxic air pollutants that cause cancer. And, because methane is the primary ingredient of natural gas, failure to address venting, flaring, and leaks led to about $3.5 billion worth of wasted natural gas – 16 million metric tons of methane – in 2023 alone. Both large and independent producers have gone on record in support of federal methane regulation, and major oil and gas producing states including Colorado, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and New Mexico have already been implementing the standards.  

In July, Administrator Zeldin announced that he would use the Interim Final Rule process to delay requirements for companies to comply with the methane standards for as long as 18 months – even though the standards had already been in place for more than a year, and even though EPA’s own fact sheet noted the delay would lead to more pollution: “The EPA estimates that the following emissions reductions will not occur from 2028-2038 as a result of the interim final rule: 3.8 million tons of methane, 960,000 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and 36,000 tons of toxic air pollutant.”  EPA also offered no opportunity for public input until after the Interim Final Rule delay took effect, in violation of the law.

A dozen health, environment and community groups – Environmental Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Air Council, Clean Air Task Force, Dakota Resource Council, Earthjustice, Earthworks, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Food & Water Watch, Fort Berthold Protectors of Water and Earth Rights (Fort Berthold POWER), GreenLatinos, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Sierra Club – filed a lawsuit challenging that Interim Final rule. That lawsuit is still pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  

Then a week ago, late in the afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving, EPA announced its Final Rule, which also delays implementation of the methane protections by 18 months.

Today the same groups filed another lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit challenging the Final Rule, which was published today in the Federal Register.

Quotes from Petitioners

“In 2023 oil and gas companies wasted enough natural gas to cover all heating and cooking needs at 19 million homes. That’s the equivalent of every home in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The 2024 methane standards are already working to prevent that pointless waste of American energy – while also reducing pollution, protecting people’s health, and lowering risks from weather disasters fueled by climate change. Americans deserve cleaner air and less energy waste, but the Trump EPA’s Final Rule rushes us in the opposite direction. We will vigorously oppose this unlawful action.– Rosalie Winn, Director and Lead Counsel of Methane and Clean Air Policy, Environmental Defense Fund

“By catering to a few rogue actors in the industry and suspending these rules, EPA is blatantly violating the law. If this is allowed to stand, the climate crisis will worsen and communities across the country will be choked in more smog.” – Meredith Hankins, federal climate legal director, NRDC

“EPA’s methane rule is a critical safeguard that protects our families and communities from both unclean air and the devastating impacts of climate change. By delaying its implementation over a year and a half after it was finalized, Administrator Lee Zeldin is selling out our families and communities while giving yet another handout to the oil and gas industry. We will vigorously fight this action in court to ensure that the public receives the full—and timely—benefit of the methane rule.” -Andres Restrepo, Senior Attorney, Sierra Club

“The Trump Administration continues to prioritize corporate polluters’ bottom lines over peoples’ health. This unlawful action cannot stand.” – Alexandra Schluntz, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice

“Delaying methane rules means more contaminated air, more serious health problems, and deeper harm for working class communities on the frontlines of oil and gas pollution. Protecting people requires enforcement, not delay.”– Meisei Gonzalez, Climate Justice & Clean Air Advocate, GreenLatinos.  

“The Trump EPA’s final methane emissions rule backslides to inaction on wasted energy and toxic emissions that the oil and gas industry has the tools to control. Communities across the Midwest — particularly those near drilling and processing sites in states like Michigan and North Dakota — will face unnecessary and continued exposure to harmful air pollutants and increased health risks. EPA’s new rule is unlawful and needlessly prioritizes oil and gas interests at the expense of the health, well-being, and quality of life of our communities.” – Wendy Bloom, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law & Policy Center

“Now is not the time to slow down efforts to reduce pollution. We have long known that quickly and significantly reducing methane emissions is key to avoiding the worst effects of climate change, and we have the tools at our disposal to do so now – all while reducing air pollution that harms communities living and working near oil and gas facilities. Despite the significant increases in methane, VOCs, and other pollutants – and the timelines EPA determined were the best approach last year – the administration has decided to side with polluters at the expense of public health and the climate.” — Mary Sasso, attorney, Clean Air Task Force

“Methane is a climate killer and a public health menace. We’re taking the Trump administration to court because delaying efforts to rein in this super pollutant is unlawful, irresponsible and will harm both people and the planet.” – Jason Rylander, Legal Director, Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute.

“This illegal delay of the Methane Rule ignores not only the law but the best interests of the People. Methane emission reductions benefit the environment, public health, and even oil and gas industry’s profits. Which makes EPA’s decision more than arbitrary and capricious, but just plain absurd.” – Lauren E. Otero, Esq., Clean Air Council

“Instead of protecting the people harmed by oil and gas pollution, the Trump EPA is once again choosing to protect polluters. Delaying methane safeguards means more toxic air, more climate-driven disasters, and more avoidable harm to families living near drilling. Communities deserve timely protections not another giveaway to the oil and gas industry.” – Lauren Pagel, Policy Director, Earthworks