Republicans Take Aim at Public Lands

Republicans Take Aim at Public Lands:

"One reason for the sudden onslaught is that Republicans in Congress are rushing to take advantage of an obscure law, the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to expedite the repeal of any federal regulations by eliminating the possibility of a filibuster. Any agencies whose regulations are repealed using this act are then prohibited from putting forth any “substantially similar” rules in the future. That means no revisions, no going back to the drawing table. Congressional Republicans are in a hurry to wield this power to maximum effect against environmental regulations and other measures passed in the final six months of the Obama Administration. One of the first targets was the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, which seeks to curb the nearly 3.3 million metric tons of methane released by oil and gas production each year — nearly half emitted from operations on federally managed lands. Methane is an exceptionally potent greenhouse gas, and when released through venting and flaring at drilling sites it’s often accompanied by an assortment of even more toxic chemicals. (In addition, the amount of natural gas “vented” into the atmosphere by operations on federally managed land has been estimated to be worth roughly $330 million at current prices, were these facilities operated more efficiently.) The bill to repeal easily passed the House, with only three Democrats voting in favor, and now waits for the Senate. Another target is the National Park Service’s update to its thirty-seven-year-old regulations on oil and gas drilling operations inside our National Parks."