Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) has announced his intention to vote for a Congressional Review Act resolution to kill Bureau of Land Management limits on methane pollution. The Senate is reportedly set to vote on the resolution Wednesday.

Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“The methane limits under attack came after an extensive multi-year stakeholder process intended to prevent the wasting of hundreds of millions of dollars a year of public resources and to protect our wildlife, public lands, and clean air. They’re a model for how the federal government can bring Americans together to conserve our natural resources, strengthen our economy, and protect taxpayers. Sen. Portman is a good friend of conservation, but his vote misses the mark. This decision to jettison this sensible and vital update to 30-year-old oil and gas rules is a mistake. Under the Congressional Review Act, there is now a legal question as to whether this or any future Interior Department can ever curb methane waste and pollution on federal public lands again.”

An estimated $330 million in methane – the primary component of natural gas – is lost every single year through wasteful drilling practices, costing taxpayers $11 million a year in royalty payments, according to a report by the National Wildlife Federation released last year. Methane is considered a climate super-pollutant because it has 80 times the potency of carbon dioxide in the near-term.