Earth Protect Blog

Shared from the 9/15/2020 The Denver Post eEdition

Colorado has joined a coalition of states and cities in a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s rolling back of a federal rule intended to limit emissions of methane and other pollutants from new oil and gas operations.

Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement Monday that the state is joining the lawsuit because reversing the Obama-era rule “will accelerate the impacts of climate change and threaten public health.”

The Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment supports Weiser’s decision, said John Putnam, the agency’s director of environmental programs.

In August, the EPA formally loosened the methane regulations by removing transmission and storage facilities from the rule and loosening requirements for monitoring emissions and detecting and repairing leaks.

Colorado was the first in the nation with state-level rules. — Judith Kohler,

The Denver Post