"Oil And Gas: Interior Halts Restrictions On Methane Emissions"

"The Trump administration has indefinitely postponed upcoming deadlines for oil and gas companies to slash greenhouse gas emissions on public lands.

In a Federal Register notice to be published tomorrow, the Bureau of Land Management announced that companies will not have to comply with new rules for venting, flaring and leaking of methane from their operations on public and tribal lands, pending judicial review.

The news comes less than a day after U.S. EPA proposed a two-year freeze of its own methane restrictions for new oil and gas operations across the country (Energywire, June 14).

BLM's rule, known as the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, was finalized by the Obama administration last year and immediately faced legal challenges from industry groups and Western states. The rule narrowly escaped being scrapped through the Congressional Review Act in May (Energywire, May 11)."

Ellen M. Gilmer reports for Greenwire June 14, 2017.