Thousands submit comments on methane rule suspension
Environmental advocates in New Mexico hand-delivered to five of the state’s Bureau of Land Management field offices this week more than 4,000 letters voicing objections to the federal government’s proposal to suspend Obamaera methane regulations for two years.
Monday was the deadline for comments on the proposal, and members of dozens of state environmental groups weighed in, including the Western Environmental Law Center in Taos, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club, which submitted more than 36,000 comments nationwide.
Many said the methane regulations were designed to provide crucial climate and health protections for state residents and asked that the BLM not overturn them.
Proponents of the delay also submitted comments, including the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, the American Exploration and Production Council, the Western Energy Alliance and the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico.
Ryan Flynn, director of the Oil and Gas Association, wrote that, on behalf of the association’s more than 1,000 members, the stay “would allow for operators to continue to voluntarily reduce emissions, while at the same time greatly reducing regulatory impediments to the development of federal oil and gas resources.”
The federal methane rules are among a number of environmentand climate-oriented policies targeted for repeal by the Trump administration since early 2017. Methane, an colorless, odorless gas that is the main component in natural gas, is considered the secondmost concentrated greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and a key contributor to global warming.
Natural gas contains methane, ethane and other volatile organic compounds that are released during gas production, including benzene, which is linked to cancer. These compounds contribute to smog pollution and public health concerns.
New Mexico’s oil and gas production also has contributed to a 2,500-square-mile collection of methane pooled above the Four Corners, detected by NASA satellites in 2014.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to revise rules finalized under the Obama administration to prevent methane released by oil and gas companies during operations. He proposed to suspend parts of the regulations this fall, which, if enacted, would allow industry to delay compliance with regulations until 2019.
“The BLM found that some provisions of the rules appear to add regulatory burdens that unnecessarily encumber energy production, constrain economic growth, and prevent job creation,” the agency said in its proposal for the stay.
The Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club organized members of the public to comment, including 61 spiritual leaders and 35 elected officials who say the regulations provide crucial protection of the state’s environment and residents’ health, as well as against climate change.
“Secretary Zinke’s delay will do nothing to protect our communities,” David Coss, former Santa Fe mayor and Rio Grande Sierra Club chairman, said in a statement. “Instead it allows irresponsible companies to disregard leaks of toxic pollution, and it wastes an energy resource that belongs to the American public.”
Environmental groups have been vocal throughout the last year for the methane regulations to stay in effect, amid numerous repeal efforts.
Industry groups, including the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, and a handful of Western states maintain that the rules will only harm the industry and diminish the royalties collected by states.
On Friday, the New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources said the state’s data on venting and flaring volumes shows the state’s methane emissions are declining without regulations.
Flynn also said the rules are unnecessary and costly, adding that natural gas has a net benefit to air quality because energy companies can use natural gas instead of coal.
But Jon Goldstein of the Environmental Defense Fund, a former secretary of the state Energy Department under Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration, said the state failed to consider volumes lost from leaking, which accounts for 50 percent of emissions, according to studies from the University of Texas and Stanford University.
Republicans and Democrats in the state largely have been at odds in this debate, with the state’s Democratic congressional delegation voicing strong support for the regulations, while Republicans and Gov. Susana Martinez support repeal efforts.