The Trump administration’s recent move to replace the methane emissions standards created under the Obama presidency drew strong support from Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a senator who fought the original rule beginning 5 years ago.
He is a senior member of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee and responded after EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler released a new draft rule on the standards.
“I applaud Administrator Wheeler for releasing the draft rule today which will replace the burdensome and unnecessary methane rule crafted by the Obama Administration,” said the Senator. ” As I said when it was first proposed, the old methane rule had no environmental benefit and created needless costs while hindering economic growth.”
The Senator contends the industry’s voluntary actions continue to decrease methane emissions while oil and gas production has skyrocketed.
“With this kind of progress, why would regulation be necessary?,” asked the Senator. ““I am proud of Administrator Wheeler and the EPA, under the direction of President Trump, for continuing to rollback Obama-era regulations that were made with little concern for the law or the effect they may have on our economy.”
Sen. Inhofe has fought the rules ever since President Obama’s administration proposed creating them in 2014. He and six other Senators on the committee sent a letter to the President in June of 2015 regarding plans to regulate methane from the oil and gas sector. They asked whether a social cost of methane estimate would be used in the then-expected rule and never received an answer from the White House.
