Energy Exchange

A timeline of Zinke’s crusade against methane rules

By Dan Grossman / Bio / Published: October 16, 2017

Here’s a newly-minted cabinet secretary charged with managing 20 percent of the American landscape on behalf of taxpayers and 567 Native American tribes – presented with an opportunity to save his stakeholders millions without lifting a finger.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, inexplicably, is rejecting this broad public relations win to instead go to bat for the worst actors in the oil and gas industry who only focus on their own short-term bottom line.

Zinke is trying with all his might to halt an Obama-era rule that will reduce wasteful leaking, venting and flaring of natural gas on federal and tribal lands.

On the lands in Secretary Zinke’s charge, oil and gas companies waste around $330 million worth of natural gas annually. That’s enough gas to meet the heating and cooking needs of 1.5 million American homes – or every home in Chicago.

Such waste on land administered by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management also results in the needless emission of methane, volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants, all of which are threats to human health and the environment. Read More »

Posted in BLM Methane, Methane, Natural Gas / Language: English / Comments are closed

Trump wants to reduce waste and grow jobs? Good, these methane policies do just that.

By Dan Grossman / Bio / Published: February 6, 2017

This post originally appeared on the EDF Voices blog.

Today, lawmakers are using the Congressional Review Act to dismantle common-sense energy policies that can save Americans hundreds of millions of dollars and prevent massive amounts of energy resources from being needlessly wasted.

The targeted policies from the Bureau of Land Management apply to oil and gas companies that operate on 245 million acres of federal and tribal lands. Since 2013, these operators have wasted more than $1.5 billion worth of natural gas that belongs to the American public, with millions in lost royalties as a result.

That comes to more than $1 million every day – hardly what President Trump had in mind when he promised to maximize our natural resources. Read More »

Posted in BLM Methane, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Language: English / Comments are closed

The $330 million question: Why new oil and gas waste rules are something we all should support

By Dan Grossman / Bio / Published: November 15, 2016

Today the Bureau of Land Management finalized new rules that limit the amount of methane oil and gas companies can leak, vent, or flare on the 245 million acres of taxpayer-owned and tribal lands. This is a huge, $330 million dollar problem according to a recent study from ICF international. While an analysis from the Western Values Project estimates taxpayers could lose out on almost $800 million over the next decade – unless the BLM acts to reduce wasteful venting and flaring practices.

Reeling in waste of resources that belong to the nation’s tribes and taxpayers is an effort that folks from across the political spectrum can get behind. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, BLM Methane, Energy Efficiency, Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged Bureau of Land Management | Language: English / Comments are closed

BLM Tackles Waste, Methane Pollution on Federal and Tribal Lands

By Dan Grossman / Bio / Published: January 22, 2016

In an important step forward in curbing methane emissions from the nation’s oil and gas sector, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced a regulatory proposal aimed at wasteful practices that shortchange taxpayers, squander energy resources and threaten the Earth’s climate. The proposal, which will apply to both new and existing oil and gas facilities, begins to fill an important gap left by the EPA in August when that agency proposed to reduce emissions only from future facilities, ignoring the millions of oil and gas emissions sources already in operation.

Oil and gas companies that operate on our nation’s federal and tribal lands are exploiting a resource that belongs to the public and the Native American tribes. These operators should be held to the highest standards when it comes to avoiding the waste of the resource and minimizing the pollution from their activities.

Posted in BLM Methane, Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged BLM, regulations | Language: English / Comments are closed

Diverse Western Voices Register Support for New BLM Efforts to Limit Natural Gas Waste

By Dan Grossman / Bio / Published: November 2, 2015

A growing chorus of voices from across the West is voicing its support for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to address oil and gas methane emissions and waste on public and tribal-owned lands.

New rules currently being considered by the Department of the Interior will help address the more than $300 million worth of gas wasted by the oil and gas industry each year on these lands. By keeping gas in the pipe and out of the air they will also help states and tribal communities realize additional tax and royalty payments that are crucial for investment in the educational, health care and infrastructure needs. It’s why so many communities are encouraging BLM to move forward with strong policies aimed at reducing the waste of this resource.

Land Managers

On October 19, two former BLM directors sent a letter to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget calling for tough new rules on methane emissions. Bob Abbey and Mike Dombeck wrote that the rule would curb natural gas waste and generate welcome revenue for state and tribal governments. They applauded BLM’s leadership to address the problem, noting the Bureau “has the obligation to the American taxpayer to minimize the waste of public resources and avoid harm to public health and the environment.” Read More »

Posted in BLM Methane, Methane, Natural Gas / Language: English / Comments are closed

Big Oil and Gas Emissions out West – New Report Sizes Up Methane Problem on Federal and Tribal Lands

By Dan Grossman / Bio / Published: June 23, 2015

The American West is home to the vast majority of the nation’s federal and tribal lands, which account for well over half of the total land area of several Western states. And, the Western states are also significant centers of domestic oil and gas production, contributing 80 to 90 percent of total federal and tribal production.

Now, a new report estimates that fugitive and vented losses from oil and natural gas operations on federal and tribal lands amounted to over 65 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas in 2013, representing over 1 million metric tons of harmful methane pollution.

The report, released this week by the independent consultancy ICF International and commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund, looks at oil and gas development on federal and tribal lands —specifically, emissions from gas that is leaked, vented, or flared every year.

Oil and gas emissions matter. Excessive venting, flaring and leaking of gas can degrade regional air quality. Moreover, natural gas is comprised mostly of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. In addition to the emissions associated with these activities, we believe venting, flaring and leaking of natural gas represents the wasteful loss of a finite and valuable natural resource.

Posted in Climate, Colorado, Methane, Natural Gas, Wyoming / Tagged BLM, Colorado, Natural Gas, New Mexico, north dakota, Utah, Wyoming | Language: English / Read 1 Response