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Independent research, however, suggests methane emissions in the oil and gas sector are far higher than what the EPA’s data shows. Our regulations should not stifle this innovation and progress.” “Since 1990, natural gas production in the United States has almost doubled, while methane emissions across the natural gas industry have fallen by nearly 15 percent. “The Trump administration recognizes that methane is valuable, and the industry has an incentive to minimize leaks and maximize its use,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement announcing the rollbacks. Because methane is the primary ingredient in natural gas, oil and gas companies also had a built-in incentive to limit leaks, the agency said. The EPA argued that the two Obama-era rules were redundant, since methane and VOCs are often co-emitted. President Donald Trump’s EPA moved quickly to unwind the pollution safeguards in 2017, making good on the new president’s promise to remove regulations that stood in the way of the industry’s growth and promote US “dominance” of global energy markets. You can also support Vox with a financial contribution.
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This series was made possible through a collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity, a DC-based nonprofit newsroom. The American Petroleum Institute, the largest US oil and gas trade association, said the rules were duplicative and costly, and undermined the progress companies were making on their own to reduce emissions. The Independent Petroleum Association of America, which represents thousands of independent producers and service companies, accused the EPA of siding with “extreme environmental activists” and said the regulations would have “virtually no impact” on reducing global warming. Many oil and gas groups were unhappy with the new constraints. “These commonsense steps will help to combat climate change and reduce air pollution that harms public health,” Dan Utech, Obama’s deputy assistant for energy and climate change, wrote when the 2016 rules were proposed. Under President Barack Obama, the EPA in 20 finalized rules designed to curb emissions of both methane and VOCs from the oil and gas industry. Pumpjacks in a field near Lovington, New Mexico, on April 24, 2015. The oil and gas sector is the nation’s largest industrial emitter of methane, a greenhouse gas with 28 times more heat-trapping power than carbon dioxide. A quick move to unwind the pollution safeguards
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But the EPA didn’t bother to estimate the potential extent of the damage, despite what’s at stake for people living in communities like Odessa. Translation: The change will likely worsen air pollution and harm people’s health. “The EPA expects that forgone VOC emission reductions will degrade air quality and are likely to adversely affect health and welfare … but did not quantify these effects at this time,” the agency wrote in documents supporting the rule change. It acknowledged, however, that the change would likely degrade air quality. In documents supporting the rollback, the EPA predicted the industry will save $19 million annually in compliance costs. The action, expected but nonetheless condemned by environmentalists, had a little-noticed side effect: Experts say it could lead to higher emissions of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and hazardous air pollutants - chemicals that cause smog and are linked to cancer, respiratory illnesses, and a growing list of other ailments.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency in August rescinded controls installed by the Obama administration to curb releases of methane, a potent, planet-warming gas leaked during oil and gas production, processing, and transportation. “You don’t know what you’re breathing,” said Gene Collins, a minister and community activist in Odessa, Texas. The formation in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico that has minted fortunes and transformed the country into a global petroleum supplier is also ground zero for the worst oil and gas air pollution in the country. The Permian Basin is one of the most prolific oil and gas plays in the world, responsible for more than a third of the United States’ oil and one-sixth of gas production last year.