U.S. delays rule on methane emissions from federal lands
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will delay an Obama-era rule limiting emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal lands, it said on Thursday, a move slammed by environmentalists.
The Bureau of Land Management, an office of the Department of Interior, will officially suspend the rule on Friday to “avoid imposing likely considerable and immediate compliance costs on operators for requirements that may be rescinded or significantly revised in the near future,” it said in a document to be published on Friday.
Implementation will be delayed one year until Jan. 17, 2019.
Energy companies say the rule, finalized at the end of the Obama administration, could cost them tens of thousands of dollars per well, and some driller groups had sued the previous administration.
-snip-
#ENVIRONMENT DECEMBER 7, 2017 / 4:33 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Timothy Gardner
3 MIN READ
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climate-methane/u-s-delays-rule-on-methane-emissions-from-federal-lands-idUSKBN1E131I