WASHINGTON D.C. - Today, the Bureau of Land Management finalized a rule to reduce methane waste on federal and tribal lands from oil and gas infrastructure. As a super-pollutant, Methane has over 80 times the warming potency of carbon dioxide and is a significant threat to wildlife and the outdoor recreation economy. It is critical the EPA and the incoming administration continue to build upon the critical steps the Bureau of Land Management has taken by supporting regulation for existing sources of methane pollution.

“The Bureau of Land Management’s new methane rule offers a commonsense solution for methane waste from oil and gas development on public and tribal lands,” said Collin O’Mara, president and chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation. “Not only will this rule protect wildlife and the outdoor economy from climate change impacts caused by the release of this potent greenhouse gas, it will ensure a valuable public resource isn’t wasted through venting or allowed to escape into the air. It will also increase royalty revenues, providing additional funds for states and tribes to maintain public resources that we all use and cherish. These regulations offer a solution for all sides to compromise in a way that protects our public land and resources, climate and wildlife.” 

The National Wildlife Federation urges the current administration as well as the incoming administration to implement the finalized BLM rule, as it could produce nearly $330 million in potential revenue that is currently being wasted on federal and tribal lands.