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The Trump administration is proposing to roll back another Obama-era energy regulation, which this time aimed to limit methane leakage from oil and gas operations on tribal and public lands.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, even more powerful than short-term carbon dioxide, which contributes to climate change. The Obama administration has said that large amounts of methane are lost to the atmosphere through leaks, as well as through intentional evacuation and burning at energy production sites. It has decided to limit this by requiring oil and gas companies to capture methane leaks and vent them to existing sites, to progressively update their technology and plan for monitoring gas leaks.
The Government Accountability Office says that potential royalty revenue of $ 23 million from these gases is lost each year.
But in a statement, the Interior Ministry said the rule was "unnecessarily burdensome for the private sector".
"The flawed rule of 2016 was a radical assertion of legal authority that contrasted sharply with the long-standing understanding of the Interior Attorneys," said Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt.
The Trump administration revised the rule after Congress failed to repeal it outright last year. The proposal will be open to the public for 60 days.
The move comes a week after the Environmental Protection Agency eased its own protections on methane emissions. This proposal was aimed more at new oil and gas sites and would reduce inspections required to detect leaks every six months to once a year.
The American Petroleum Institute has welcomed the latest setback, noting in a statement that "methane emissions have dropped by 14% since 1990", even as natural gas production has increased significantly.
Oil and gas producers say they already have an economic incentive to capture methane because they can sell it. Several major oil and gas companies have also announced new efforts to limit methane emissions in order to limit their carbon emissions.
Environmental groups have criticized the backtracking of the Trump administration. "More methane waste is hurting our air and water and having significant public health implications," said Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society, in a statement.
A group of Attorneys General also threatened to challenge the law, calling the Inner Proposal "an aberrant revocation of the Secretary's fundamental responsibilities with respect to taxation and environmental management on our public lands".
The methane proposal is the latest in a series of measures to thwart President Obama's actions to tackle climate change. This year, President Trump also announced proposals to reduce carbon limits for power plants and fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.
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