EPA – Messing With Success on Methane

When describing the regulatory avalanche rolling forth from EPA and other parts of the Obama administration, proposed new rules on methane fit right in – alongside the push for new ozone standards (as ozone levels are falling), new hydraulic fracturing rules (on top of effective state rules) and continuation of the outdated Renewable Fuel Standard, with potential risks to the economy and individual consumers.

Again, in the context of falling methane emissions from oil and natural gas development, EPA’s new proposal is a solution in search of a problem. It illustrates an agency bent on regulating for the sake of regulating. Think about it: EPA is proposing unnecessary obstacles to the oil and natural gas production that was key to the economy’s recovery from recession, cited by the president’s Council of Economic Advisers in its annual report earlier this year:
Over the past ten years, the U.S. economy has undergone a revolution in the production and consumption of energy. Increasing production of oil, natural gas, and renewable energy has contributed broadly to employment and gross domestic product (GDP) growth during the recovery from the Great Recession. (by Mark Green, Energy Tomorrow)

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