Methane Rule Talking Points

• Energy companies should be required to clean up after themselves. Rules to prevent waste through venting, leaking and flaring are not burdensome, but a necessary part of production.
• Methane mitigation creates jobs and spurs entrepreneurship in monitoring, installing of protective equipment, and developing and implementing new technological solutions.
• The current rule would save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars each year by capturing gas, instead of wasting it.
• This rule was developed with industry and public involvement over many years and should not be scrapped against the wishes of the public, the courts, and Congress.
• As methane leaks, so do other dangerous and harmful components such as benzene, toluene, and xylene. Reducing methane leakage also reduces these other chemicals from leaking.
• Oil and gas facilities are near homes, schools, hospitals, parks, and public lands.
• America’s public lands should be used to benefit the public–not to create air pollution, negatively impact our health, and disrupt our climate. All of these impacts create burdens to the American taxpayer.

*** HERE are more talking points from a letter by a bicameral group urging Zinke to listen to western voices before revising the methane rule