In December 2023, Biden’s EPA finalized a historic rule to cut methane pollution from new and existing oil and gas operations. These protections were poised to cut potent climate emissions from oil and gas sources 80% by 2038, and operators were already making the changes needed. And yet, the Trump administration announced in July that it would delay compliance with the rule for 18 months, another move showcasing its blatant disregard for the health of our communities.
Tell EPA: Delaying Methane Pollution Protections Is Shameful
Federal methane protections are extremely important, and not just because methane has significantly more climate warming power than carbon dioxide in the short term. Methane leaked from oil and gas operations and the harmful air pollutants that accompany it—like volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide—do not respect state boundaries. They spread across regions in the air and wind, causing health harms, like exacerbated respiratory issues and increased risk of cancer.
Plus, we know that without federal action, methane pollution from the oil and gas industry will continue to increase. Pushing back compliance deadlines only undermines industry progress toward improved efficiency and creates uncertainty in energy markets. So at last week’s virtual public hearing, Moms spoke out firmly against this senseless and harmful delay. Here are a few of their most powerful testimonies:
Laurie Anderson, Colorado
I am a mom of five with my youngest now a teenager. We live about a half mile from a large-scale oil and gas development site with 18 horizontal wells and near several other well pads. Living on the frontlines of this industry has given my family a unique and urgent perspective.
Colorado is one of the top oil-producing states in the country, and we’ve long understood the need for commonsense protections against methane pollution. In fact, back in 2014, Colorado became the first state in the nation to adopt methane-specific rules, and we have remained a leader in methane protections—all while the industry has continued to thrive—proving that strong environmental protections don’t hurt oil and gas profits. Despite Colorado’s existing protections, the EPA methane rule is important to our state, and I cannot underscore enough the urgency of implementing these protections in a timely manner.
This past February, Colorado began implementation of EPA’s 2024 methane standards, and what’s remarkable is this rule was not only supported by environmental and public health advocates, but it also had the support of the state’s two largest oil and gas trade associations. This kind of collaborative progress is something we should be building on, not slowing down.
Giovanna Rossi, New Mexico
The timely implementation of the 2024 EPA methane rule is essential. Delaying compliance even by 18 months would result in nearly a million tons of additional smog-forming volatile organic compounds and 36,000 tons of hazardous air pollutants—pollution that would have otherwise been prevented.
I live and work in New Mexico, a state already on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is fueling this crisis. Warmer temperatures caused by climate change make air pollution worse, which puts the health of our children—especially those with asthma—at even greater risk. And here in the Southwest, we’ve seen how climate-fueled disasters like wildfires can change lives in an instant.
In 2022, a dear friend of mine had to evacuate her family farm near Las Vegas, New Mexico, during the Hermit’s Peak fire. She loaded her car with food, diapers, and other essentials, trying to get supplies back to her rural community where families were stranded—many with elderly relatives and animals they couldn’t evacuate. Her young son was in the backseat while she navigated 90 miles of mountainous road to deliver supplies and check on her aging parents. This is what the climate crisis looks like: mothers doing everything they can to protect their families under impossible circumstances.
Read Giovanna’s full testimony.
Vanessa Lynch, Pennsylvania
The reason this rule is so important to me is that I have witnessed firsthand the impacts the oil and gas industry has had on my community, with a well pad having been fracked in a medium-density residential area of my local township. The well pad is located near homes, a daycare center, an assisted living facility, and a park where my children have spent many days playing in the stream and participating in recreational sports.
I’ve toured southwest Pennsylvania’s oil and gas infrastructure sites and met with other frontline impacted community members who shared stories of serious health and safety impacts they are experiencing as a result of living in close proximity to oil and gas infrastructure. Stories of unexplainable cancer cases ravaging entire neighborhoods, high numbers of oil and gas infrastructure being placed in close proximity to one another and to families, and Christmas Day explosions rattling houses and forcing an evacuation. Stories that brought tears to the eyes of all present and reminded us of how imperative it is that we act with urgency, strength, and purpose, focused on creating durable protections for families.
Read Vanessa’s full testimony.
Tell EPA: Delaying Methane Pollution Protections Is Shameful