This week, I joined Moms from across the U.S. to testify before EPA about the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. This program will place a commonsense fee on methane waste from oil and gas operators who don’t meet federal standards. If oil and gas operators include cost-effective and easily installed safeguards to reduce methane waste from their operations, they won’t have to pay the fee.
This program is essential to the success of EPA’s recently finalized methane protections.
And we need these protections to be successful: methane is a powerful greenhouse gas fueling climate disruption. Cutting methane pollution is one of the best levers we have to slow the rate of climate change now and help clean up the air to protect children’s health.
I live in New Mexico, where we have strong state-level methane protections. I know firsthand that incentives to cut methane work—many oil and gas operators in our state are successfully implementing technologies to comply with state rules.
In addition to a methane waste fee, the Methane Emissions Reduction Program includes over $1 billion in funding to reduce methane pollution for states, Tribal agencies, communities, and operators. We need this money to ensure all large polluters are held accountable. Methane pollution does not respect state boundaries. It is in the air, the wind, and it spreads.
EPA has set us on the right path in December with a strong and comprehensive methane rule. But our work is not done. This new program is needed to incentivize companies to reduce emissions now and protect the health of families most vulnerable to this pollution.
Read our testimony from this week’s hearing about the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. Then join us in telling EPA our children deserve swift action to cut methane pollution.