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U.S. Lawmakers Challenge Rollback Of Obama-Era Methane Rule

usgs.gov
/
U.S. Geological Survey

More than 50 U.S. lawmakers are supporting a legal challenge against the Trump administration's effort to roll back a rule that forced oil and gas companies to capture methane.

The Durango Herald reported Thursday that lawmakers signed on to an amicus brief that claims the U.S. Interior Department violated federal law by lifting the Obama-era waste prevention rule.

Attorneys general for California and New Mexico filed a federal lawsuit last year looking to reinstate the 2016 rule.

The Bureau of Land Management said in a statement the rule was revised to cut back the regulatory burden.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who was among the four Colorado Democrats to sign on to the brief, says the release of methane is one of the leading contributors to global warming.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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