Win for Taxpayers and Families: Special Interests Lose as Natural Gas Waste Rule Stands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The U.S. Senate rejected the effort to roll back the Bureau of Land Management’s natural gas waste rule, despite intense pressure from the oil and gas lobby. By standing up against unchecked waste of our nation’s energy resources, oil and gas companies operating on millions of acres of federal or tribal land are no longer free to go on wasting the nearly 110 billion cubic feet of gas they currently squander each year through widespread leaks, intentional venting, or simply burning it off (flaring).

Over 70% of voters nationwide support the natural gas waste rule, which was adopted to address the $330 million worth of the public’s natural gas that is wasted each year. A diverse group of American voters wanted Congress to keep this rule, and made their displeasure with the Congressional Review Act known.

 Statement by Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp 

“Today’s vote is a big win for taxpayers and families. Americans don’t want to waste public resources—and they want clean air, clean water, and less pollution. The oil and gas industry and the Trump Administration fundamentally misread the mood of the American people, and today the U.S. Senate listened to the voters. We are grateful to those who stood up for common sense. There are many difficult fights ahead, but this an important moment in the effort to protect American taxpayers and families from this Administration’s reckless attack on our bipartisan tradition of environmental protection.”