BLM Plans to Suspend Methane Rules

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to temporarily suspend or delay implementation of parts of a rule designed to reduce the waste of methane by the energy industry. The agency announced Wednesday in the Federal Register that it will take public comments through November 6th on the proposal. Acting BLM Director Michael D. Nedd said in a statement that in order to strengthen the nation’s energy independence, the BLM will evaluate regulations to see if they “unnecessarily encumber energy production, constrain economic growth, or prevent job creation.” The Obama administration’s 2016 Waste Prevention Rule requires energy companies to stop flaring, leaking, or venting the methane natural gas that is often discovered during the oil-drilling process. Instead, companies would have to capture the potent greenhouse gas and pay royalties on it. Environmentalists decried the proposed rule suspension. In a release, Chris Saeger of the Montana-based Western Values Project, said, “Zinke is fleecing taxpayers for millions, if not, billions of dollars.” Kyle Tisdel of the New Mexico-based Western Environmental Law Center called on the federal government to “stop sacrificing public health and taxpayer royalties for yet another gift to the oil and gas industry.” Congress had declined to overturn the methane rule in May when three Republican senators crossed the aisle to vote to keep it in place. However, the BLM can suspend it.