SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Aug. 9 that he is leading a coalition of 14 attorneys general, the state of Colorado, and the city of Chicago in submitting comments in opposition of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed 27-month compliance delay of an Obama administration public health rule.
The rule limits methane emissions by encouraging the use of emerging technology in leak monitoring. Additionally, the rule sets a fixed schedule for monitoring leaks at all well sites and compressor stations. According to Becerra, the rule would prevent 300,000 tons of methane emissions by 2020 and 510,000 by 2025. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has called for a delay to the rule.
“This is a common-sense rule that eliminates emissions of dangerous pollutants like methane and volatile organic compounds,” Becerra said.
“In doing so, this rule helps us tackle climate change, the most important global environmental issue of our time. Global warming is real, and the Trump administration has a responsibility to ensure that it does not wreak havoc on the lives of Americans. If the Trump administration is not prepared to protect our families, then we as attorneys general will.”