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ARTICLE · 05 JULY 2021

Congress Cancels Trump-era Methane Rule Amendments, Restoring Prior Standards

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Yesterday evening, President Biden signed Congress's resolution to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reject a September 2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

United StatesEnvironment
Stacey H. Mitchell
Stacey H. Mitchell
Bryan Williamson
Bryan Williamson
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Yesterday evening, President Biden signed Congress's resolution to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reject a September 2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that rescinded methane emission standards for the oil and gas industry. The Trump-era rule, entitled "Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review," purportedly sought to remove "regulatory duplication" while maintaining environmental protections. Specifically, the Trump-era rule rescinded the New Source Performance Standards for volatile organic compound and methane emissions applicable to transmission and storage sources; rescinded methane-specific standards applicable to production and processing sources; and required EPA to issue a determination that an air pollutant causes or contributes significantly to "dangerous" air pollution as a prerequisite for setting new standards. Now effective, the resolution restores the

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