For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
A coalition of 20 states and four municipalities sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday over its rollback of methane emissions standards for oil and gas production. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, are part of the coalition involved in the lawsuit.
“It’s critical that 20 states, including NJ are standing up to the Trump’s reckless rollback of the Methane Rule. The EPA is putting polluters first by weakening an important rule that protects our air and our lungs. This rollback will cause more pollution and more climate impacts. Methane is 84 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. In New Jersey, this would directly affect us because our state already has 1,500 miles of pipelines and dozens of new fossil fuel projects moving forward,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “While it’s good that New Jersey is suing, the state itself does not have a Methane Rule. The state of New Jersey has not developed standards and regulations for short term greenhouse gas pollutants like methane and black carbon. Meanwhile there are power plants, pipelines, compressor stations, and refineries that are leaking or releasing methane.”
Last month, the EPA formally rescinded Obama-era standards that regulate methane emissions from oil and gas production, processing, transmission and storage. It also rolled back requirements for detecting and repairing leaks. Methane is the primary component of natural gas and is leaked into the atmosphere during gas production, transportation and storage. Natural gas and petroleum systems are the second-largest source of methane emissions in the country, behind only agriculture
“We need to stop Trump’s new methane rule that would directly affect our air and lungs in New Jersey by emitting hundreds of tons of methane into our air. By stopping this important rule, we are losing regulations and real reductions from methane pollution from well heads to oil and gas pipelines to transmission lines. In New Jersey, leakage often occurs from oil and gas pipelines, compressor stations, and pipelines in the street. These standards also sought to protect public health by curbing emissions of smog-forming volatile organic compounds and carcinogens like benzene,” said Tittel. “Methane leaks cause major climate impacts, while adversely affecting public health, like causing childhood asthma attacks, other respiratory ailments, and even premature death.”
There are several natural gas projects underway in New Jersey. Southern Reliability Link Pipeline, the PennEast Pipeline, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company’s Compressor Station, NJ Transit’s Fossil Fuel Power plant, and more. The Sierra Club has already filed lawsuits accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of failing to issue regulations for curbing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse pollutant, from existing oil and gas operations as required under the Clean Air Act.
“Even though the Trump Administration has sold us out to his Big Oil by weakening the methane rule, we will fight and keep on fighting to protect our lungs and the planet we live on. It’s important that New Jersey has joined lawsuit EPA, however we need to do more. The state must develop its own Methane Rule so that there are strict standards and regulations in place for fossil fuel projects and infrastructure. We also need a moratorium on fossil fuel projects and to address emissions from our transportation sector. Fossil fuel projects like the PennEast Pipeline, the NJ Transit Power Plant, and the Southern Reliability Link Pipeline,”said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “While its good that New Jersey is standing up to Trump’s dangerous rollback, the state itself still needs to develop a Methane Rule. We need to develop standards and regulations for short term pollutants that will cause more air pollution and more climate impacts.”