AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion on March 21 to intervene in a lawsuit challenging a new rule by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The new rule, titled the “Methane Waste Prevention Rule,” was enacted by the Obama administration in November. The rule classifies flared, vented and leaked methane gas produced from oil and natural gas extraction as a waste product and allows BLM to regulate the gas.
According to the lawsuit brought against BLM, the law creates redundant, expensive and unlawful regulation of methane gas. This is Paxton’s second lawsuit against the bureau and the second that challenges federal regulations on methane gas.
“This is yet another case of gross federal overreach in which the Bureau of Land Management exceeded its legal authority, bypassing Congress to implement an unlawful rule on methane gas,” Paxton said. “The regulation has negligible environmental benefit and adds additional cost to both Texas and the oil and gas industry by creating more red tape.”