Mail Call. According to Politico, “Seventy Democrats sent Trump a letter asking him to cancel two recent rules from Interior and EPA that would roll back rules governing methane waste. Interior last month canceled changes made during the Obama administration that cracked down on methane emissions from oil and gas leaked from wells and pipelines on federal land, while the EPA weeks earlier started the process of easing regulations on methane waste from all oil and gas wells. ‘As a businessman, one would hope as president you would support policies that minimize waste of a public resource like natural gas,’ the Democrats wrote. ‘However, repealing EPA and BLM methane regulations demonstrate your administration governs with the benefit of the oil and gas industry in mind, not American taxpayers.’ Seeing as how both departments cited Trump administration policies in initiating their rollbacks, ME is skeptical that the White House will heed the letter.” [Politico, 10/4/18 (=)]

 

Dems Plead With Trump 'As A Businessman'. According to E&E News, “A coalition of House Democrats blasted proposals by the Bureau of Land Management and EPA to roll back Obama-era rules designed to limit emissions of methane from oil and gas operations, telling President Trump in a letter today that the moves ‘will have immediate and long-lasting harmful impacts on our nation.’ The group of 70 House Democrats — led by Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva of Arizona and Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone of New Jersey — urged Trump in the three-page letter not to ‘abdicate federal leadership and listen to the most extreme voices in the room.’ Instead, they appealed to the president’s long standing ‘as a businessman,’ and asked him to support ‘policies that minimize waste of a public resource like national gas,’ noting that studies have found flaring and venting of methane at drilling operations on federal lands cost taxpayers ‘as much as $23 million per year in lost royalty revenue.’ The letter specifically addresses BLM’s revisions to the 2016 Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, which regulated flared, leaked and vented natural gas from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal lands.” [E&E News, 10/3/18 (=)]