Trump Administration Finalizes Delay of EPA Methane Rule

Washington, DC - Today, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule that will delay implementation of the agency’s critical Clean Air Act protection against methane and other harmful pollution from the oil and gas industry. 

When finalized by the EPA in December 2023, following a robust comment period, the methane pollution standards represented a major win for climate and public health. The safeguards included the first-ever requirements for existing equipment, while also strengthening standards for new equipment, to effectively cut pollution at a reasonable cost. By delaying these protections, EPA’s rule will expose our families and communities to 1.3 million additional tons of methane, a greenhouse gas that has over 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after its release. EPA’s rule will also result in 350,000 additional tons of smog- and soot-forming compounds and 13,000 additional tons of air toxics like benzene and formaldehyde, known carcinogens. 

EPA has offered no justifiable basis in law or in fact for kicking the can down the road on these critical protections. To make matters worse, the agency blatantly violated federal law in issuing this delay rule, arbitrarily bypassing public participation steps that are required in federal rulemaking procedures. In response, Sierra Club and its allies filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging EPA when it took interim steps to delay the methane safeguards, and will continue to press forward in fighting this final rule in court as well.

In response, Sierra Club released the following statements:

Mahyar Sorour, Sierra Club’s Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Director: 
“The EPA’s methane pollution standard was the result of years of research regarding the most effective, achievable ways to reduce methane and other harmful pollution from the oil and gas industry. The process included robust input from companies, communities, and other stakeholders. Administrator Zeldin’s decision to ram through yet another pass for polluters during the government shutdown demonstrates that the Trump administration cares more about catering to the oil and gas industry than it does about reopening the government and restoring the critical services federal agencies provide to working families.

“These actions by the Trump administration showcase a blatant disregard for the health of our communities at a time when we are seeing the impacts of climate warming pollution play out in the form of extreme weather events in real time. We must act to meet the moment. Delaying this rule is dangerous for our health and safety, and Sierra Club will continue to press forward in court to reverse this action and hold EPA accountable.”

Antoinette Reyes, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter:
“New Mexico has already proven that strong methane rules are achievable and cost-effective. What we lack is federal consistency — especially when Texas refuses to regulate methane at all. By dragging its feet, EPA is forcing New Mexico families to shoulder the health burdens of an industry that has enjoyed loopholes for far too long.

“Our communities deserve clean air, transparency, and a federal government that values public health and slowing climate change over political favors. Delaying these protections is not a harmless bureaucratic choice — it is a decision that will expose our communities to more carcinogens, more ozone-forming pollution, and more climate-warming methane at a moment when we can least afford it.”

Cyrus Reed, Legislative and Conservation Director for Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter: 
“No state produces more oil and gas and has more methane emissions than Texas, and this illegal rule delay puts an outsized burden on Texas frontline communities. As a state with reluctant regulators, we depend on and expect the EPA to set reasonable regulations and protect communities, and instead we have an EPA that is actively undermining those rules and increasing pollution.”

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