Western Energy Alliance Pres. Kathleen Sgamma called on the US Senate to repeal the US Bureau of Land Management's methane emissions limits before time runs out under the Congressional Review Act.
"I think we can go back and create a rule that fits BLM's authority that would not violate a revocation under the CRA," she said during a May 1 teleconference from WEA's Denver headquarters about energy actions during the Trump administration's first 100 days. "If that doesn't happen, we'll continue our lawsuit in Wyoming and show the new administration how the old administration overstepped its boundaries."
The lawsuit, which is being heard in US District Court for Wyoming, argues that BLM, which justified the rule under its authority to limit waste of resources that it manages, impinged on the US Environmental Protection Agency's responsibility to regulate industrial emissions.
Sgamma said that beyond BLM's methane emissions rule, other requirements there and the Office of Natural Resources Regulation's royalty valuation rule also need to be reconsidered. "What EPA is doing right now to look thoroughly at its regulations intrigues us and we're eager to participate," she noted.
She also urged the new administration to acknowledge that the oil and gas industry helped the US become a climate change leader by producing so much natural gas domestically in the past 10 years that it has displaced coal in generating electricity.
"Pretty much everyone acknowledges that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change and there is a human effect. There's disagreement on what to do next," Sgamma said. "It makes sense to look at policies, and consider what actually works in combating climate change. Orthodox approaches haven't been as effective as what the oil and gas industry has contributed.
She said that the US should withdraw from the Paris climate accords now that Trump has ended President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, which formed the basis for US participation in the international agreement.
"Moreover, it's a treaty that was never ratified by the Senate," Sgamma point out. "I'd like the Trump administration to acknowledge that the US became a climate leader because of the oil and gas industry's contribution and good old market forces."