Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- The public comment period closed last night at midnight on EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s proposal to gut key safeguards limiting methane pollution from new oil and gas operations.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide during the time it remains in the atmosphere. As the agency itself has acknowledged, methane and other pollutants limited by these safeguards pose a major threat to public health, particularly to children.
At EPA’s only public hearing on the proposed rollback held in Denver last month, the overwhelming majority of speakers testified in favor of the existing protections. As of last night, opponents of rolling back these commonsense protections had submitted nearly 400,000 comments urging EPA to keep them in place.
In response, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Director Kelly Martin issued the following statement:
“Since this attack on our clean air was proposed last year, hundreds of thousands of Americans have sent a strong message that they want EPA to protect our health and our climate. Instead, Andrew Wheeler has made it clear that he’s only interested in giving handouts to corporate polluters, no matter the cost. This administration has repeatedly abdicated its duties in order to cater to the fossil fuel industry at the public’s expense, and the Sierra Club will continue to fight back against these assaults on our climate and our children’s health.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.