A coalition of 11 organizations urged members of the US Senate to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution that would revoke the US Bureau of Land Management’s methane emissions limits rule before May 11. “Forcing this one-size-fits-all regulation on an industry that is already substantially reducing methane emissions is unnecessary and costly,” they said in their May 3 letter.
The House approved the resolution by 221 to 191 votes 2 months earlier (OGJ Online, Feb. 3, 2017). Its time limit for approval under the CRA will expire on May 11 if the Senate does not act.
The groups included the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), American Energy Alliance, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Americans for Tax Reform.
“Methane emissions have been falling for years as production of natural gas has exponentially increased. This has occurred without any direct federal mandate,” Tim Doyle, ACCF vice-president for policy, separately said.
“There are any number of other real problems federal regulators could focus on,” Doyle said. “Instead, they appeared to create a rule in search of a problem.”
AEA Pres. Thomas Pyle noted that Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Thune (R-SD) have held the bill hostage because it does not include an ethanol waiver. “The House passed this resolution 2 months ago and it’s past time the Senate does the same.”
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