Trump and Zinke Propose Gutting Commonsense Pollution Safeguard

Washington, DC -- Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a proposal to gut a key safeguard that would limit methane pollution from oil and gas drilling operations. This is the first major air rule proposal to come out of the Trump administration.

The proposal effectively eliminates a standard put forth by the Obama administration requiring oil and gas companies operating on public lands to limit methane pollution. Methane is a greenhouse gas which is linked to increased levels of asthma and other public health impacts and is 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide during the time it remains in the atmosphere.  

This safeguard has already withstood a congressional challenge. The Sierra Club and its partners successfully overturned the Trump administration’s first delay of the original rule in court, and have filed a challenge to the Trump administration’s second delay.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement in response:

“Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are making their objectives clear by proposing a rule based on the wishes of the fossil fuel industry rather than science and the best interest of the American people. The commonsense methane standard was developed with the input of millions of Americans and diverse stakeholders. The only people who want to see it weakened are fossil fuel industry executives who don’t want to be held accountable for the threats their outdated and reckless practices pose to the public. With this latest attack on our public lands, Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are once again selling out our health and our climate in favor of corporate polluters’ profits.”