Repeal of EPA Methane Rule Denied in Court

Environmental groups celebrated a win in early July as the District of Columbia’s U.S. Court of Appeals denied the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to suspend an Obama-era methane leak rule.

The 2016 rule required companies to report and repair methane leaks. This would reduce the amount of heat-trapping gas being released into the atmosphere and accelerating global warming.

The court stated that the EPA still has a right to reconsider the regulations but did not agree with the agency’s proposed two-year suspension of the rule prior to a review.

Earlier this year, Congress voted on whether to repeal the methane leak rules. The House approved the measure, but it failed in the Senate.

— Meredith Abercrombie