Texas Railroad Commission Takes ‘Confounding’ Vote to Stop Methane Reduction Rule
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Railroad Commission voted today to ask the Texas attorney general to sue the federal government to stop the Biden Administration’s methane reduction rule. The new rule would require oil and gas producers to decrease flaring practices, plug leaks, and take other steps to cut down on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas contributing to the rise in global temperatures and the changing climate.
The rule has proved popular, drawing praise from environmental and public health advocates and even oil and gas corporations.
Adrian Shelley, Texas director of Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“It’s hard to explain today’s Railroad Commission decision. It might be muscle memory. The commission is so used to treating the fossil fuel industry with such a light touch that it moved to block a methane reduction rule that oil and gas producers generally did not want to fight. In fact, some of the world’s biggest oil and gas corporations embraced the rule. Fossil fuel interests often demand certainty and predictability in regulations. Suing to stop good policy embraced by both advocates and industry is the start of another pointless ideological fight. As usual, it’s Texans who will pay the price.”