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THE BLM METHANE WASTE PREVENTION RULE
LEGISLATION TO UNDO THIS RULE IS AN ATTACK AGAINST CLEAN AIR, TAXPAYERS, AND THE CLIMATE
The Bureau of Land Management’s Methane Waste Prevention Rule aims to limit venting, flaring, and leaking of
methane — the main component in natural gas — from oil and gas operations on public lands. In doing so, the rule
would cut air pollution, prevent waste of a valuable resource and taxpayer dollars, and curb climate change-causing
pollution. The BLM estimates the rule would reduce flaring and venting by 49% and 35%, respectively.
The BLM received over 300,000 comments on the rule and it is supported by a wide range of stakeholders, including
conservation groups, sportsmen and women, tribal leaders, western congressional delegations, and consumer watchdog
groups. The agency also estimates the rule’s net benefits range from $46 - $204 million.
The rule aims to hold oil and gas companies accountable for the pollution they release into the air and their waste of
taxpayer-owned resources. Eliminating the rule would allow these companies to continue practices that damage our air
and climate and cheat taxpayers out of a fair return.
Here are three things to know about the BLM’s methane waste prevention rule:
CAPTURING WASTED NATURAL GAS SAVES TAXPAYERS MONEY.
The primary goal of the rule is to minimize the waste of state, tribal, and federal taxpayer-owned natural gas. Between
2009 and 2015, oil and gas producers on public and Indian lands vented, flared, and leaked an estimated 462 billion
cubic feet of natural gas. An IFC international report found that this is a waste of an estimated $330 million in federal
and tribal natural gas resources per year. If implemented, the rule will save enough natural gas to supply energy for up
to 740,000 households per year.
According to a recent report by the Western Values Project, without the rule, taxpayers could conservatively lose
almost $800 million over the next decade from the venting and flaring of natural gas on public lands. These royalty
revenues are crucial tax dollars that help to fund local governments, education programs, and infrastructure projects.
AIR POLLUTION FROM OIL AND GAS FACILITIES CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH.
Over 50 million Americans live in a county with oil and gas operations that has measured air pollution levels
exceeding the federal health standard. When natural gas leaks during production, methane and toxic air pollutants like
benzene and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are released. By reducing the amount of venting and flaring, the rule
is expected to reduce VOC emissions by 250,000 – 267,000 tons per year. VOC’s are a pre-cursor to ground level
ozone, which poses a real threat to children who suffer from asthma and can affect Americans’ daily lives.
Nationally, there are more than 750,000 summertime asthma attacks in children under the age of 18 due to ozone smog
resulting from oil and gas pollution. As a consequence, children miss 500,000 days of school each year from this
pollution. Each summer, there are more than 2,000 asthma related emergency room visits and over 600 respiratory
related hospital admissions in the U.S. due to ozone from oil and gas pollution. Each year, adults experience 1.5
million days when they are forced to rest or reduce activity due to this pollution. A recent EPA analysis found that
there is approximately $260 - $1,100 in monetized benefits from reduced ozone exposure for every ton of VOC
reduced. If Congress eliminates this rule, it will be placing the short-term interests of the oil and gas industry over
public health.
REDUCING METHANE POLLUTION IS CRITICAL TO STOPPING CLIMATE CHANGE FROM GETTING WORSE.
In addition to being a valuable resource, methane is a potent greenhouse gas that traps more than 25 times the heat of
carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. The International Panel on Climate Change found that more than 50 percent of
the warming in the next two decades will come from short-lived pollutants like methane, making its immediate
regulation even more important.
The BLM estimates that the methane waste prevention rule could avoid an estimated 164,000-169,000 tons of methane
emissions per year – a reduction of about 35% - and equivalent to 4.1-4.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
emissions. That is comparable to eliminating the emissions of at least 924,000 vehicles.