Jun 25, 2021 - Energy & Climate

Congress votes to restore regulation of methane emissions

Ben Geman

Oil well pump jacks — Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The House voted Friday to reverse a Trump-era rule that thwarted the Environmental Protection Agency's power to directly regulate methane emissions from the oil-and-gas sector, sending the measure to President Biden's desk for a signature.

Why it matters: Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas, and wells, gas compressors and other industry equipment are a significant source.

Driving the news: The 229-191 House vote — with 12 Republicans joining Democrats — follows Senate approval in April of the resolution under the Congressional Review Act.

It's the mid-1990s law — part of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America" — that allows filibuster-proof resolutions to overturn recently completed federal regulations.

What's next: The resolution will restore Obama-era policies, but the Biden administration is also eyeing new mandates.

The White House said after the Senate acted that the measure will "clear the pathway for EPA to evaluate opportunities to promulgate even stronger standards."
While most Republicans voted against the resolution Friday, the oil industry has moved toward supporting methane regulation.

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Congress votes to restore regulation of methane emissions

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