Rollback of Natural Gas Waste Rule Puts Special Interests Before the American People; House Vote Gives Oil & Gas Industry Free Pass to Shortchange Taxpayers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The U.S. House of Representatives today put the special interests of big oil and gas companies ahead of the public interest by voting to roll back rules requiring private oil and gas companies operating on millions of acres of federal or tribal land to reduce nearly 110 billion cubic feet of taxpayer-owned natural gas they currently waste each year through widespread leaks, intentional venting or simply burning it off (called flaring).

Private companies extracting resources from public or tribal land are supposed to pay royalties on what they produce, just as they do to private landholders. But they don’t pay for gas that they waste. That gas is worth an estimated $330 million dollars annually — more than $1.5 billion since 2013 — and is enough to supply every home in a city the size of Chicago for a year. Besides squandering a valuable energy resource, the waste generates air pollution affecting the health of millions of Americans.

The Senate will vote on the same measure soon. Because the bill uses a rare legislative vehicle called the Congressional Review Act, a rollback not only kills the reform but bars the Bureau of Land Management from revisiting it in the future.

The waste-saving policy was based on successful examples in several energy-producing states. Fixing the problem is straightforward and extremely cost effective. Some states already require it, and leading companies have shown it can be done at minimal expense.

Statement by EDF Action President Elizabeth Thompson:

“The bill puts the special interests of the oil and gas industry squarely ahead of the interests of the American people. This is not what the citizens of either party voted for last November. The rollback gives companies permission to waste $330 million dollars of public assets a year, and generate huge amounts of avoidable pollution that contaminates our air and has a devastating effect on public health. We call on the U.S. Senate to protect the interests of the American people, and not cast a vote for business as usual for the oil and gas industry.”