Methane Pollution from the Oil & Gas Industry

One promising hallmark of President Donald Trump’s tenure has been the ability of federal courts to check his administration’s impulsive actions.

A recent appeals court ruling on methane emissions is an important example. By a 2-1 margin, the U.S. Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s 90-day suspension of new methane emissions standards for oil and gas wells.

The EPA had delayed implementation of the new rule for 90 days and has proposed extending that delay for another two years. The court found this was a smoke screen for repealing the rule without following the appropriate process.

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Mr. Trump won the presidency, in part, by promising to hold powerful interests accountable for practices that harm the public. But nullifying final rules — which went through a long, public process on the way to being issued — elevates corporate interests above all others

The leak was a wake-up call. Too few people had recognized the tremendous risks of Aliso Canyon —that an aging facility operating under grossly outdated and inadequate standards could wreak havoc on public health and the environment. About 80% of the facility’s wells were built before the 1970s, and Southern California Gas knew they were corroding and failing at an increasing rate. But there were no rules mandating frequent inspections or upgrades. What’s more, government officials didn’t seem sufficiently concerned that the state’s energy supply had become so heavily dependent on Aliso Canyon.

With new rules about methane waste issued earlier this year by the Environmental Protection Agency for private lands (lawsuits are pending, of course) and rules for federal and tribal lands being formulated by the Bureau of Land Management, the cloud of methane could be on its way out. The BLM rules — designed to reduce natural gas waste from “flaring, venting and leaks from oil and gas production” — are scheduled for adoption by November. Adoption before the election is important so a new president cannot reduce regulation necessary to control this pollution.

We applaud the BLM and EPA for taking action, and LPEA for taking a step forward on a project that makes good economic and environmental sense, Though a step in the right direction, we do need a comprehensive approach to resolve some of our toughest air, land and water quality issues so, as with the Gold King mine spill, the public is not left footing the bill.