Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe says the former methane rules created under the Obama administration were “unnecessary and burdensome.” That’s why the Senator, who is a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had nothing but praise for EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler who rolled back the rule.
“These new rules are the right call—they provide clarity and appropriate oversight that follows the Clean Air Act without punishing regulations,” said the Senator.
He called the Obama-era methane rules “nothing more than a big government grab.”
“They offered no environmental benefit as methane emissions are under ten percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, and the oil and gas industry had already reduced methane emissions by more than 40 percent between 2006 and 2012 without any federal mandate. With these actions, the Trump administration is following through on yet another deregulatory action that will support American oil and gas workers and strengthen our energy independence.”
The Senator was among those who applauded the EPA draft rule a year ago. Two years ago, he also supported the Trump administration’s decision to delay compliance dates for the Obama-era methane rule.
His opposition to the methane rules went back to 2014 when he first raised questions about the Methane Strategy White Papers drawn up by the Obama administration. It continued as the administration moved ahead with the rules and the Senator questioned the administration at the time about the “social costs” but he never received a response from EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
Source: Sen. Inhofe