Bloomberg Law
March 12, 2020, 7:54 PM

Reviving Obama Methane Rule Would Cause Chaos, Industry Says

Ellen M. Gilmer
Ellen M. Gilmer
Reporter

Oil and gas industry groups are warning a federal judge that reviving Obama-era standards for methane emissions on public lands would cause “regulatory chaos.”

The Western Energy Alliance and Independent Petroleum Association of America made the argument Wednesday in a brief to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is weighing whether to strike down the 2018 regulation from the Trump administration that largely eliminated Obama-era requirements from the Bureau of Land Management. Those rules made oil and gas operators reduce leaks and venting of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, on public and ...