Washington, D.C. — The National Wildlife Federation and thousands of its members applauded the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Land Management for proposing to update its rules to limit methane and other toxic pollution generated by oil and gas drilling and urged the administration to do even more to protect wildlife, water, and nearby communities. Nearly 13,000 National Wildlife Federation members sent the administration comments, saying that methane and other toxic emissions generated from routine flaring, venting, and leaking at oil and gas sites must be curtailed. Methane has 80 times the climate-altering power of carbon dioxide over 20 years.

“Tackling the climate crisis means we must curtail methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas development. The updated rules will help reduce this dangerous super-pollutant while also reducing other toxins like benzene, which threaten wildlife, watersheds, and people,” said Shannon Heyck-Williams, associate vice president of climate and energy at the National Wildlife Federation. “There is no time to waste. The Biden Administration must use every tool available to cut pollution at oil and gas sites to protect both wildlife and public health, advance justice, and confront climate change.” 

“We applaud the Bureau of Land Management for proposing to update its rules to limit the venting and flaring of gas on public lands and we urge the agency to require additional capture measures in its final regulation,” said Bailey Brennan, public lands attorney at the National Wildlife Federation. “It is time for the BLM to change the way it does business with oil and gas companies. Short-term profits cannot justify the waste of gas through venting and flaring, nor the climate and health impacts that accompany such practices.”

A fact sheet about the impacts of methane pollution can be found here.