Court strikes down Obama-era rule targeting methane leaks from public lands drilling

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/520307-court-strikes-down-obama-era-rule-targeting-methane-leaks-from

By Rachel Frazin - 10/08/20 07:41 PM EDT

A federal court on Thursday struck down an Obama-era regulation targeting methane leaks from drilling on public lands, arguing that it went beyond the scope of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which promulgated the rule.

The 2016 rule required oil and gas companies to cut a practice called flaring, in which natural gas is burned, by half, inspect their sites for leaks and replace old equipment that released too much methane.

The court argued that although the rule’s stated purpose was to reduce waste, it was essentially used to regulate air quality, which is not the job of the BLM. 

“Although the stated purpose of the Rule is waste prevention, significant aspects of the Rule evidence its primary purpose being driven by an effort to regulate air emissions, particularly greenhouse gases,” wrote judge Scott Skavdahl, an Obama appointee.

Skavdahl particularly noted that the rule’s cost-benefit analysis only showed the rule to be beneficial “if the ancillary benefits to global climate change are factored in."

“Without these ‘indirect’ benefits, the costs of the Rule likely more than double the benefits every year,” he wrote. 

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Methane is a major greenhouse gas, significantly more potent than carbon dioxide, and it’s also the primary component of natural gas.

The Obama administration projected that its rule would cut methane emissions from public lands by 35 percent.

The new ruling came as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Independent Petroleum Association of America and Western Energy Alliance, two oil and gas groups.

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