Trump Administration Delays EPA Methane Rule

Washington, DC - Today, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an interim final rule that will delay implementation of the agency's critical Clean Air Act protection against methane and other harmful pollution from the oil and gas industry.

When finalized by the EPA in December 2023, following a robust comment period, the methane pollution standards represented a major win for climate and public health. The safeguards include the first-ever requirements for existing equipment, while also strengthening standards for new equipment, to cost effectively cut pollution. Delaying the implementation of the 2023 standards for existing oil and gas operations for 12 months would result in 970,000 tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds emissions and 36,000 tons of hazardous air pollutants that otherwise would have been prevented.

The courts, including the United States Supreme Court, have rejected efforts by industry polluters and their political allies to block the EPA's methane pollution standards.

In response, Sierra Club Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Mahyar Sorour issued the following statement:

"The EPA's methane pollution standard was the result of years of research regarding the most effective, achievable ways to reduce methane and other harmful pollution from the oil and gas industry. The process included robust input from companies, communities, and other stakeholders. Many oil and gas operators have already been complying with these requirements for nearly a year, while others are investing and planning ways to reduce methane pollution to meet the standards. Delaying implementation will simply give a handout to the worst actors who would be able to continue their polluting ways with zero consequences or accountability to neighboring communities.

"We are seeing the impacts of climate-warming pollution play out in the form of extreme weather events in real time. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that supercharges climate change. We must act to meet the moment. Delaying this rule is dangerous for our health and safety."

Additional Background:

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has more than 80 times the power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, driving approximately one-third of the warming our planet has experienced to date. Each year, the U.S. oil and gas sector emits large amounts of methane into our atmosphere. Methane is emitted from oil and gas sources alongside other damaging pollutants, such as smog- and soot-forming volatile organic compounds and air toxins like benzene and formaldehyde, human carcinogens.

According to EPA's analysis, the final standards are projected to avoid 58 million tons of methane through 2038, as well as 16 million tons of volatile organic compounds and 590,000 tons of air toxins. These reductions will be achieved through requirements such as strengthened leak detection and repair requirements for all wells up until they are permanently plugged-in, regardless of size or operation status; the installation of non-polluting pneumatic equipment; a phased-in prohibition on routine flaring of gas at new wells; and a program to leverage third-party monitoring data to identify and stop particularly large emission events.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.