Senator Gardner Sides with Corporate Polluters Over Coloradans

Washington, DC -- Today, the U.S. Senate defeated a vote that would have paved the way for revoking the Bureau of Land Management’s methane waste prevention rule, a standard which would prevent the leaking and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands. Senator Michael Bennet voted against the bill while Senator Cory Gardner voted in favor of nullifying the rule.

Colorado created state safeguards in 2014 that prevent oil and gas companies from leaking, venting, and flaring of methane. The BLM methane standard would have ensured that fossil fuel operations on public lands in other states followed similar standards to those in Colorado

In response, Sierra Club Colorado Chapter Director Jim Alexee released the following statement:

“The Sierra Club applauds Senator Bennet for putting Colorado’s public lands and our health before corporate polluters’ profits and standing with the 83-percent of Coloradans who supported this rule. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Senator Gardner, who once again chose the fossil fuel industry over the people, and believes Colorado’s safeguards should be the exception and not the rule for the country. In his little more than two years in the Senate, Gardner has repeatedly ignored the wishes of the people, siding instead with those who fill his campaign coffers. Coloradans have taken notice, and we will continue to make our voices heard until Gardner listens.”

###