(C) Colorado Newsline
This story was originally published by Colorado Newsline and is unaltered.
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EPA should strengthen proposed methane rules, say these Colorado Democrats [1]
['Lindsey Toomer', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2023-02
Multiple members of Colorado’s federal delegation joined a group of 76 legislators in asking the Environmental Protection Agency to support tougher standards regarding methane emissions and pollution from oil and natural gas operations.
Led by Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, alongside fellow Democrats Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, a letter to the EPA asks the agency to strengthen its proposal to expand standards with additional safeguards against routine flaring of gas at oil wells.
The letter highlights that some states including Colorado already have policies in place to prevent pollution that comes from flaring and says the EPA should build on these states’ leadership to prohibit routine flaring, except for emergency and maintenance reasons. Sen. John Hickenlooper as well as Reps. Jason Crow and Joe Neguse of Colorado also signed the letter, which adds that strengthened EPA rules can create more jobs for Americans.
According to the letter, the highly potent greenhouse gas methane is responsible for about 30% of global warming. The letter asks the EPA to take advantage of new technologies and best practices to monitor and reduce emissions across the oil and gas industries.
“Combating methane pollution also provides critical protection for millions across the country who live near oil and gas operations and suffer the air quality impacts of dangerous co-pollutants released alongside methane,” the letter reads. “Cutting methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is one of the most immediate and cost-effective ways to slow the rate of global warming while improving air quality and protecting public health.”
The letter says the EPA’s supplemental rule proposal would extend monitoring requirements to small oil and gas wells that, despite producing small amounts of usable oil and gas, create a “large and disproportionate share of the nation’s methane pollution.” It would also extend inspection requirements to ensure depleted wells are closed properly, and it would use third-party monitoring data to identify other large sources of emissions.
“As we celebrate the significant strides the agency has made in the recent proposal, we also ask the EPA to adopt further improvements in its final rule,” the letter continued. “While the supplemental proposal takes some important steps to reduce pollution from routine flaring of gas at oil wells, stricter safeguards against this harmful practice are critical to reduce pollution and protect health.”
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[1] Url:
https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/epa-strengthen-methane-rules-colorado-democrats/
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