Trump’s EPA Proposes Broad Methane Rule Rollback — SkimNews
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- EPA proposed canceling the Super Emitter Program, reversing routine-flaring limits, loosening requirements for certain wells and giving operators a 30-day window to repair leaks under a revised Biden-era methane rule.
- Trump announced the proposed rollback at a campaign rally, claiming it would save $45 billion, unlock Texas natural gas and produce 210 million barrels of oil.
- Biden-era methane rule, finalized in 2023 under the Clean Air Act, required emissions monitoring, leak inspections, equipment upgrades and sharp reductions in routine flaring; EPA estimated it would prevent 58 million tons of methane over 15 years and 400 billion cubic feet of natural gas from being wasted each year.
- Stripper wells produce just 5% of U.S. oil and gas but account for more than half of industry emissions; more than half are owned by large companies operating 1,000-plus wells, including Hilcorp Energy, thought to own nearly 19,000, and Diversified Energy, with more than 50,000.
- Texas has an estimated 136,000 stripper wells and accounts for 19% of U.S. methane emissions; nearly 1 in 10 Americans lives in a county with more than 1,000 wells, while Moms Clean Air Force says weaker rules worsen pollution for families near wells.
- New Mexico saved an estimated $125 million in natural gas annually by capturing gas otherwise leaked, vented or flared; since federal enforcement stopped last year, the industry has lost some $7 billion.
- Environmental Defense Fund policy expert Tsion Amare called cutting oil-and-gas methane the fastest way to fight climate change; methane represents about 12% of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions and is roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years.
Why it matters: The rollback chiefly benefits owners of high-emitting stripper wells: operations yielding 5% of U.S. oil and gas produce more than half industry emissions, and more than half are owned by large companies, not the mom-and-pop firms Trump portrays. Continued non-enforcement has cost some $7 billion in lost gas while leaving nearby communities exposed to pollution.
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