BLM releases rule to crack down on methane waste

The Bureau of Land Management finalized its Methane Waste Rule yesterday, bringing years of legal and administrative wrangling to a close. The final rule requires oil and gas companies to reduce venting and flaring of methane, fix leaks, and reimburse taxpayers when companies waste this powerful greenhouse gas rather than capturing it and sending it to American homes.

“It’s common sense that when oil and gas companies waste taxpayer-owned resources like methane on public lands, they should make taxpayers whole for the loss. The BLM methane waste rule will complement the EPA’s final methane rule, which took aim at methane emissions across the oil and gas industry,” Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said.

Efforts to curb methane waste on public lands have been in legal limbo since the Obama administration issued a rule in 2016. That rule survived a challenge under the Congressional Review Act, only to see the Trump administration largely undermine it with a new rulemaking in 2018. While that new rule was thrown out by the courts in July 2020, the original Obama rule was also vacated by a judge later that same year, leaving outdated regulations from 1979 in place. BLM estimates that the new rule will increase revenue by $51 million a year, while providing another $18 million in added benefits from a reduction in methane emissions.

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Quote of the day

With nearly a quarter of the country’s carbon pollution coming from our public lands, this rule is a much-needed step towards fighting the climate crisis and protecting the health of frontline communities... Big Oil and Gas have been getting away with sloppy operations for too long, carelessly leaking and burning off the extra methane they get from our public lands, without an ounce of regard for the destruction it's causing. I’m grateful the Biden administration is taking the bold action we need to hold fossil fuel facilities to a higher standard, while also making sure industry pays American taxpayers for everything it takes from our public lands, not just what it sells off for profit.”

—Representative Raul Grijalva on the BLM Methane Waste Rule, Natural Resources Committee Democrats

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