Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler’s EPA released a proposal to ignore the vast majority of climate pollution from new oil and gas operations by eliminating safeguards that limit methane emissions. Methane is a greenhouse gas 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide during the time it remains in the atmosphere.
This is at least the seventh separate attempt by the Trump administration to roll back critical EPA safeguards against oil and gas pollution. This latest proposal would not only strip away all methane protections for the oil and gas industry, but would also leave large segments of the industry entirely uncontrolled, and thus free to emit limitless amounts of any pollutant.
The protections now under attack were finalized during the Obama administration after years of input from the public and the industry. The Trump administration’s attempt to unilaterally delay these safeguards was defeated in court in 2017 thanks to the efforts of the Sierra Club and its allies, and they have now been in place and providing emission reduction benefits for close to three years. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have submitted public comments urging the agency to protect our climate and communities by enforcing these commonsense safeguards.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune issued the following statement:
“Andrew Wheeler can’t seem to break his dangerous habit of doing the bidding of his old fossil fuel industry friends and clients. This proposal is a blatant attempt to give oil and gas companies yet another free pass to release as much harmful air pollution as they want while the public pays the price. The Sierra Club will continue to fight back against Wheeler’s efforts to prioritize corporate polluter profits over our climate and our families’ health.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million 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 www.sierraclub.org.