Zinke pledges to enforce Obama-era methane emissions rule amid rewrite

The Trump administration will enforce an Obamaera regulation aimed at restricting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas production, even as it seeks to rewrite the rule to be more industry-friendly, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday.

Zinke told the Senate Energy Committee that Interior will enforce those parts of the methane regulation that have taken effect. The promise comes despite an announcement last week that Interior is postponing parts of the rule that take effect next year.

Under questioning from Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, Zinke said he agreed that burning off, or “flaring,” of excess methane gas at drill sites is wasteful. He said he hopes to design a rule that ensures taxpayers get fair value for the gas while not punishing industry.

Asked by Cantwell if he would promise not to “spend the next six months dragging your feet” on a new rule, Zinke replied: “Ma’am, I do not drag my feet.”

The methane rule, finalized last November, forces energy companies to capture methane that’s flared at drilling sites on public lands because it earns less money than oil. An estimated $330 million a year in methane is wasted through leaks or intentional releases on federal lands, enough to power about 5 million homes a year, officials say.

Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is about 25 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, although it does not stay in the air as long. Methane emissions make up about 9 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, according to government estimates.

A bid by Senate Republicans to overturn the methane rule failed unexpectedly last month, prompting Interior officials to promise to suspend, revise or rescind the regulation as part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to unravel what it considers burdensome regulations imposed by former President Barack Obama.

Katharine MacGregor, acting assistant Interior secretary for land and minerals, said in a statement after the Senate vote that the methane rule imposes a “significant regulatory burden that encumbers American energy production, economic growth and job creation.”