Methane rollback fails in Senate

Lawmakers hoping to scrap Obama-era regulations on methane emissions fell one vote short Wednesday morning.

In a 51-49 vote, the U.S. Senate rejected a bill that would have overturned new rules limiting flaring, venting and leaks of methane emissions from oil and gas wells on federal lands.

The vote was a blow to the fossil-fuel industry and groups linked to the conservative Koch Brothers, which had waged a public campaign to overturn the Interior Department rule.

“In recent months, thousands of Americans asked the Senate to stand up for clean air and against the oil and gas lobby, and their efforts were successful today,” Heather Taylor-Miesle, executive director of the Ohio Environmental Council, said in a news release.

The rules, finalized by the federal Bureau of Land Management in November, require operators to periodically inspect for leaks, replace outdated equipment and use best practices to limit gas losses. They force energy companies to capture methane that’s burned off or “flared” at drilling sites. An estimated $330 million a year in methane — the component of natural gas — is wasted through leaks or intentional releases, enough to power about 5 million homes a year.

The House passed the bill to overturn the methane rules in February.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, was among the last, key uncommitted voters, and he announced Monday that he would support the rollback bill. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, voted against the measure.

Three GOP senators — Maine’s Susan Collins, South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Arizona’s John McCain — joined forces with Democrats to block the legislation.

The Senate vote came one day before the deadline for use of the Congressional Review Act, an obscure law that gives lawmakers 60 legislative days to overturn recently adopted agency rules. After today, efforts to repeal the methane rules and other regulations enacted in the last months of Barack Obama’s presidency will have to go through the standard, slow rulemaking process.

The Interior Department said Wednesday that the rules impose significant burdens on energy production and will be reviewed.

President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress have used the Congressional Review Act to erase 13 Obama-era regulations. Wednesday’s vote marked the first time that Congress had rejected a bid to overturn a rule.