Scalise, HEAT Co-Chairs Applaud Trump Administration's Changes to Methane Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C.—House Energy Action Team co-chairs Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) joined House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) to applaud the Trump Administration's updated regulations on methane emissions that will provide much-needed relief to American energy producers:

"In Louisiana and across the country, American energy producers are fighting to survive the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic and economic shutdowns," said Whip Scalise. "Today's action by the Trump Administration repeals overly burdensome, job-killing regulations and provides much-needed relief to struggling American energy producers and the jobs they support. The United States already has some of the strongest environmental standards in the world, proven by the fact that methane emissions have continued to decrease even as we have become the world leader in oil and gas production. I applaud President Trump for his efforts to strengthen American energy independence by reducing onerous regulations while continuing to ensure proper environmental protections are in place."

"I applaud the EPA's recent announcement on the Methane Rule in furtherance of the Trump Administration's Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth," said Rep. Jeff Duncan. "The 2016 Obama-era rule, conveniently implemented at the tail end of the Obama-Biden Administration, was overburdensome, costly, and ineffective. Oil and gas producers have an economic incentive to mitigate methane leaks. The U.S. was showing an improvement in methane emissions prior to the implementation of the 2016 rule, even while natural gas production in the U.S. increased. This is largely due to the ingenuity and technological advances in the oil and gas sector, not job-destroying government regulations. I thank President Trump for his actions to support American jobs and the American Energy Renaissance."

"The Obama-Era methane regulations would cost the American economy millions of dollars each year in regulatory costs, in addition to killing hundreds of American jobs," said Rep. Markwayne Mullin. "Methane emissions from oil and natural gas have significantly declined in recent decades without multiple, overlapping federal regulations, and this is no exception. These final rules will cut the red tape for producers while protecting our air and environment from pollution. Thank you, President Trump, for taking this action to support the American energy industry."

On August 13, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two actions on New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Gas Industry. The regulations remove the transmission and storage segments from the sources that fall under the regulations and rescind methane requirements for the production and processing segments of the industry. The regulations also reduce how often certain facilities must be monitored for fugitive emissions; exempts low-producing wells from fugitive emissions monitoring requirements; and allows for greater flexibility in how monitoring occurs and who does the monitoring, among other things.

These actions are in response to President Trump's Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, which required the review of regulations that "burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources." These regulations will reduce regulatory burdens; save tens of millions of dollars in compliance costs; and allow for technological advancements while still protecting the environment.