SCOTUS Upholds EPA’s Commonsense Efforts to Curb Methane Emissions from Oil & Gas Industry

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the United States Supreme Court rejected an effort by industry polluters and their political allies to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) comprehensive Clean Air Act standards to cut methane and other harmful pollutants from the oil and gas industry. The Court’s ruling is a victory for our families and communities, particularly those living on the front lines of oil and gas development. EPA’s methane safeguards —which include the first-ever standards for existing equipment as well as strengthened protections for new equipment— are a major win for climate and public health.

As parties to the case, Sierra Club and its allies filed a brief opposing the industry’s legal claims. In declining their applications for a stay, the Supreme Court will allow EPA’s critical methane standards to take effect while the lower court reviews the rule’s legal merits.

In reaction, Sierra Club issued the following statements:

“New Mexico has led the nation in protecting our communities and climate from methane and smog pollution. Governor Lujan Grisham’s safeguards set the standard for the federal rules that are safe for now, and that protect our Southeast New Mexico communities from unfettered oil and gas pollution from Texas. Attorney General Torrez stepped up to defend the rules from appeal by industry and today the Supreme Court denied a stay of the rules while a lower court reviews the merits. Because of the Permian oil boom, New Mexico is now the country’s second most prolific oil producer, so we have a special responsibility to act, especially after this summer of fires, floods and extreme heat in our state.” Camilla Feibelman, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter.

Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous: “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court shows just how desperate the oil and gas industry is to maximize its profits and the lengths it will go to avoid accountability. Sierra Club will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect frontline communities from the devastating impacts of fossil fuel extraction, and will continue to fight for a clean and just economy for all.”

Sierra Club Senior Attorney Andres Restrepo: “Despite their best efforts, the corporate polluters who filed these stay applications identified no legal flaws at all in EPA’s standards, which reflect reasonable, commonsense measures for reducing the harm that oil and gas operations impose on our climate and health. These safeguards fulfill the agency’s legal obligation under the Clean Air Act to protect the public from methane and other pollutants that contaminate our air. With no noted dissents from the Supreme Court, we are confident the oil and gas industry’s baseless legal arguments will continue to fall flat as litigation proceeds, and look forward to defending EPA’s standards at every step in the process.”

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Additional Background:

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has more than 80 times the power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, driving approximately one-third of the warming our planet has experienced to date. Each year, the U.S. oil and gas sector emits 16 million metric tons of methane into our atmosphere. Additionally, methane is emitted from oil and gas sources alongside other damaging pollutants, such as smog- and soot-forming volatile organic compounds and air toxins like benzene and formaldehyde, human carcinogens.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

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SCOTUS Upholds EPA’s Commonsense Efforts to Curb Methane Emissions from Oil & Gas Industry