Attorneys General, State Legislature Seek Stay of EPA Methane Rule
WASHINGTON — Attorneys general from 24 states and one state legislature have asked a federal appeals court to stay a new methane emissions rule rolled out by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Unveiled in December and finalized on March 8, the rule aims to sharply reduce methane and other harmful pollutants from the oil and natural gas industry.
Among other things, it phases out most routine flaring of natural gas from oil wells, imposes emission reduction requirements on specific sources, like storage vessels, and processes, like the unloading of liquids from wells.
On Friday, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and the coalition he is leading filed a motion to stay the new rule in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
“The new methane emissions rule is yet another attack on our oil and gas industry by the Biden administration,” Drummond said in a written statement.
“I am honored to work with my colleagues from across the country to stop the economic turmoil of these rules before it’s too late,” he said.
The motion asks the court to stay the rule while it decides the petition for review, noting that the states are likely to succeed on the merits and that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm unless it’s granted.
The petition asks the D.C. Circuit to vacate the final rule on the grounds that its requirements exceed the EPA’s statutory authority.
They further argue that the rule imposes expensive and unjustified new technology and monitoring requirements; imposes new storage and transportation requirements; adds new source performance standards; and creates a “Super Emitter” program that third-party environmental advocacy groups can use to harass producers.
Also signing the motion to stay were the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, as well as the Arizona state Legislature.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
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