Dear Friend, In late April, the U.S. Senate voted 52-42 in favor of abandoning the Trump administration’s attempt to remove methane controls from the 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for oil and gas facilities (part of the Clean Air Act). Soon the House will take a vote on its own resolution to restore the Obama administration’s first-ever standards for methane leakage from natural gas extraction and processing operations. Please tell your congressperson to vote in favor of the upcoming Congressional Review Act resolution to restore the original 2016 NSPS so that the U.S. can avoid the worst effects of climate change while meeting President Biden’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. More recently, the Biden administration announced it intends to lower national greenhouse gas emissions 50-52% by 2030. Methane is 87 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Reducing methane pollution from the gas industry must be an absolute priority if these goals are to be met. Please tell your congressperson to vote in favor of the upcoming Congressional Review Act resolution to reinstate the Obama administration’s original 2016 NSPS for oil and gas facilities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently requesting speakers for three virtual “listening sessions” to receive input on the EPA’s upcoming standards for methane pollution from existing oil and gas facilities. Please email rzerbo@cleanair.org if you would like to register to speak or are interested in talking points. The listening sessions will be held from noon to 9 p.m. Eastern time over three days. Each day will focus on different stakeholder groups; however, you may register to speak on any day: Tuesday, June 15, 2021: Focus on Industry and Non-Governmental Organizations Wednesday, June 16, 2021: Focus on Communities, Environmental Justice Stakeholders and Tribes Thursday, June 17, 2021: Focus on States, Local Governments and Small Businesses If you would like to speak at the listening sessions, please click here |
