Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to EPA Strengthening of Proposed Methane Standards

In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement that it intends to strengthen its proposed standards to cut methane and other harmful air pollution, Waterkeeper Alliance Climate and Energy Advocacy Coordinator Kate Hudson said the following:

“EPA’s 2021 proposed rule to cut methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas operations is an important step forward, but it must be strengthened even further. Methane emissions from human activity, which are 86 times more powerful a driver of climate change than carbon dioxide in the near term and account for close to 25 percent of all global warming, are at their greatest levels since measurements began nearly 40 years ago. Finalizing the strongest possible safeguards against methane pollution through the supplemental rule-making just announced by the Biden administration is critical to advancing environmental justice and protecting our essential water resources from the impacts of climate change. Anything less is a missed opportunity that will accelerate this crisis, and present dire consequences for the health of our families, our communities, our waterways, and the future of our planet.”