EPA calls for rollback of Obama-era methane emission rules

The Trump administration announced today plans to roll back Obama-era rules that limit regulation of methane emissions. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that, in the short term, traps far more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide and makes up nearly 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.—most of it from the oil and gas industry.

"The Environmental Protection Agency, in a proposed rule, will aim to eliminate federal requirements that oil and gas companies install technology to inspect for and fix methane leaks from wells, pipelines and storage facilities," Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times. "Under the proposal, methane, the main component of natural gas, would be only indirectly regulated. A separate but related category of gases, known as volatile organic compounds, would remain regulated under the new rule, and those curbs would have the side benefit of averting some methane emissions."

Many smaller petroleum companies have said it's too expensive to comply with the Obama-era regulations, but larger companies want more restrictions on methane. "Those larger companies have invested millions of dollars to promote the use of electricity from burning natural gas, which produces about half as much carbon dioxide as coal," Friedman reports. "They fear that unrestricted leaks of methane could undermine their pitch that gas is a cleaner energy source, leading to lowered demand for the fuel." The rule would most likely be finalized in early 2020 after going through a public comment period, according to analysts.