WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced March 1 that he is leading an 11-state coalition urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend its information collection request related to existing oil and gas facilities.
According to Paxton’s office, the EPA’s recent methane rule attempted to regulate methane before the EPA made a finding of endangerment, which is necessary under federal laws. A multitude of states filed lawsuits against this rule. Despite those suits, the EPA went further and demanded information from oil and gas producers about their methane.
“Many companies involved with this request cannot afford the time and expense of complying with an empty, heavily regulatory burden. The information request puts strain on these companies—and all for the purpose of supporting an unlawful rule,” Paxton said. “The EPA’s request, directed only to oil and gas producers, is clearly more harassment than an actual search for pertinent information. We sincerely hope that the era of regulatory harassment is over and the era of common sense regulation can begin.”
Joining Texas in the letter are Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia.