By Jon Goldstein

Stop me if you have heard this story before. Big oil and gas trade lobbying associations representing companies collectively worth billions of dollars in assets are working hard to kill rules that mean more efficient practices, more revenue for state and local governments, and cleaner air.

That’s what’s happening in Washington, DC right now as Congress considers legislation that would roll back the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane waste rule and could forever tie the hands of the agency from taking action to limit the waste of taxpayer owned resources – waste that totals more than $1.5 billion and counting since 2013.

Meanwhile in Colorado their local affiliates are doing the same, lobbying Senators Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet to oppose what 83% of their constituents say they want, a strong waste reduction rule that protects their resources.

The same groups that opposed Colorado’s efforts to limit methane pollution in 2014 and opposed Environmental Protection Agency rules for new and modified oil and gas sources in 2015 are now fighting against rules from the Bureau of Land Management that help cut $330 million a year in wasted natural gas from federal and tribal lands across the U.S.

What’s interesting is that now they claim that EPA and the state have this problem covered and BLM doesn’t have to act. Don’t buy it. Without BLM action the state will continue to lose revenue, and communities on Colorado’s West Slope and the Four Corners will continued to be impacted by pollution from poorly regulated production in the neighboring states of New Mexico and Utah.

The Bureau of Land Management has put in place a commonsense rule that the vast majority of Coloradans – and all American – support. If you agree, let your Senator know.