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The Biden administration announced a new set of rules aimed to reduce venting and flaring of methane on public lands. The proposed rule would limit how much gas can be flared from drilling sites if oil companies don't install pipes to carry the methane to market. It also requires companies to create leak detection and repair plans for their oil wells.
The agency estimates that between 2010 and 2020, venting and flaring from federal and Tribal lands released enough methane to heat 675,000 homes a year.
The rulemaking also aims to end a back-and-forth that has been playing out in the courts for six years, since the Obama administration issued a similar rule in 2016. That rule survived an attempt by Congress to repeal it using the Congressional Review Act but was largely eviscerated by a Trump administration rule in 2018. Both the Obama and Trump rules were thrown out by different federal courts in 2020, leaving outdated regulations from 1979 in place.
“It’s encouraging to see the Biden administration take steps to end the legal hot potato over methane venting and flaring,” said CWP Deputy Director Aaron Weiss. “There’s no reason for oil and gas companies to waste a publicly-owned resource, much less a powerful greenhouse gas like methane. This rule will provide the industry with the regulatory certainty it seeks while protecting taxpayers and the environment.”
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The eviction of Havasupai residents from Ha’a Gyoh coupled with the offensive name, Indian Garden, has had detrimental and lasting impacts on the Havasupai families that lived there and their descendants. Every year, approximately 100,000 people visit the area while hiking the Bright Angel Trail, largely unaware of this history. The renaming of this sacred place to Havasupai Gardens will finally right that wrong.”
