On Friday, Republicans in Congress are expected to begin dismantling environmental regulations finalized by the Obama administration, starting with a new rule aimed at reducing the wasteful release of methane on public and tribal lands.
The rule, estimated to save $330 million worth of natural gas by requiring operators to reduce venting, flaring and leaks during production activities on Bureau of Land Management-controlled land, was finalized in November.
However, this week the U.S. House of Representatives is set to enact a rarely used federal law known as the Congressional Review Act that allows Congress to reverse federal regulations passed in the last 60 legislative working days.
If President Donald Trump authorizes the Republican-held Congress’ resolution, which would be in line with his campaign promises of repealing industry regulations, the new rule would be void.
And, it would prevent similar regulations from being adopted unless Congress requests it.
U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, is a co-sponsor of the resolution that seeks to nullify the methane waste rule. He wrote in an email Wednesday that the EPA and state of Colorado regulate methane emissions.
“Regulations that add an additional and redundant layer of red tape on top of an already overly complex regulatory system are precisely the ones we need to prevent,” Tipton wrote.
Chris Colclasure, deputy director of Colorado’s Air Pollution Control Division, said Colorado in 2014 was among the first states to enact methane emission regulations.
While there is some overlap with the BLM rules, Colclasure noted important differences as it pertains to the BLM regulating the royalty it receives on federal minerals.
And, he said, most states do not have laws regarding methane waste.
“It really makes a difference for those states,” he said, adding that Colorado’s regulations do not apply to tribal land.
According to the November announcement of the new rules, the BLM “carefully coordinated with states and the Environmental Protection Agency to avoid inconsistency or redundancy in regulations.”
In 2014, the BLM began updating 30-year old regulations on methane and natural gas operations on public and tribal lands the agency manages, which were “adopted long before new technologies unlocked vast new natural gas supplies in the United States.”
Because of outdated rules, the BLM estimated that between 2009 and 2015, taxpayers lost $23 million a year in royalties from leaked natural gas, enough to power 6 million homes.
“We are proving that we can cut harmful methane emissions that contribute to climate change, while putting in place standards that make good economic sense for the nation,” former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said at that time.
In April, La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt testified before a congressional hearing, saying that while oil and gas development provides jobs, it must be done in a safe and responsible manner.
“We cannot allow the waste of these resources, which belong to all Americans,” Lachelt said.
The La Plata County commissioners in June approved, 2-1, a resolution to support the rule.
After extensive public and tribal meetings, the U.S. Department of the Interior finalized the rule, which requires energy companies to drastically cut intentional methane releases, conduct routine inspections for leaks, and replace outdated equipment.
Dan Olson, executive director for San Juan Citizens Alliance, said the rule is especially relevant for Southwest Colorado, which lies underneath the highest concentration of methane pollution in the United States.
“We now know this ‘hotspot’s’ primary source is oil and gas infrastructure,” said Olson, referencing NASA’s two-year study on a 2,500 square mile concentration of methane over the Four Corners.
Representatives of the oil and gas industry have maintained the BLM’s new regulations would place undue burden on the industry, which is taking its own steps to reduce waste. “This will be a knock-out blow to an already-crippled community,” Bloomfield Mayor Scott Eckstein said in a public hearing in February 2016.
If the House approves the resolution, it would move to the Senate.
Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican, wrote he will continue to work with state and local leaders to collect feedback on the federal methane rule, but failed to say whether he’d vote to repeal it.
Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, wrote late Wednesday he will oppose the effort to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the BLM methane rule.
Methane is a greenhouse gas considered to be 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The BLM has said the new regulations are in line with the Obama administration’s goal in the Clean Power Plan to cut methane emissions by 40 to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025.
This rule, the BLM said, would cut methane emissions by as much as 35 percent on BLM land.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
