Last week, EPA Administrator Regan announced final standards to cut methane and harmful local air pollution from both new and existing facilities in the oil and gas industry.
Diverse stakeholders ranging from major oil-producing states like New Mexico to tribal air agencies to oil and gas producers and methane mitigation companies have all voiced support for the final standards.
Once fully implemented, EPA’s new protections will deeply cut oil and gas pollution, eliminating 58 million tons of methane, 16 million tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds and nearly 600,000 tons of air toxics like cancer-causing benzene over the next 15 years alone. Over that time, the standards will result in net climate and ozone-reduction health benefits of nearly $100 billion dollars, even after accounting for industry’s compliance costs.
Read the full article originally published at blogs.edf.org.