CRAMER: Final Methane Emission Rule Should Be Subject to Congressional Review

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Kevin Cramer issued the following statement on today’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) release of the Methane Waste Prevention final rule.

“This rule has everything to do with the Obama Administration’s goal of shutting down the oil and gas industry. The BLM should not be creating a program to regulate air quality, since it duplicates Environmental Protection Agency and state regulations. Additionally, flaring and methane emissions have already been reduced while oil and natural gas production has increased, illustrating the financial incentive the oil and gas industry has to capture methane and sell it in the marketplace.  I worked to include the language preventing funding this rule in the House FY2017 Interior Appropriations bill when it passed the House in July, and will continue to support that in any future FY2017 spending bill. I also intend to prevent the rule when the new Congressional Session convenes in January under the provisions of the Congressional Review Act and work with the Trump Administration to prevent infrastructure delays to gathering natural gas.”