Senate blocks move to overturn Obama-era rule on drilling

John McCain (R-Ariz.), the GOP resolution to repeal the methane rule was voted down by the narrow margin of 51 to 49.

I’ve got over 120 wells on my ranch that are covered by the Interior Department’s rule to cut the oil and gas industry’s methane waste and toxic air pollution that is released along with it.

US President Barack Obama speaks at an oil and gas production fields on federal lands March 21, 2012 near Maljamar, NM.

Whatever the reason, environmental concerns trumped business interests in this round, and the Obama-era methane rule remains intact-for now.

Trump can still weaken or roll back the government’s limits on methane emissions, though that will have to go through the agency’s formal rulemaking process and could take years. The deadline to overturn regulations issued by the Obama administration under the act is this week.

Methane, scientists say, accelerates climate change and Obama’s administration said in issuing the new rule that it would prevent 180,000 tons of methane from being emitted into the atmosphere.

■ Required oil, gas, and mining companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments in exchange for access to drilling or mining rights. While we will still must work hard to protect this rule, invoking the Congressional Review Act would have also prevented any “substantially similar” rule from EVER being implemented. While the rule survived Congressional legislation, Trump’s Interior Department still has the opportunity to repeal, revise or rescind the Obama-era rule, and you can bet your bottom dollar they will try.

“We must retain these common-sense rules not only for our environment, but also for taxpayers to receive a fair return on oil and gas resources”, Bennet said in a statement.

A lot of attention had been focused on energy-state Republicans in the weeks leading up to the vote. The vote on Wednesday was always expected to be close, and Vice President Mike Pence was at the Capitol and could have broken a tie if needed. After the final vote was submitted, Republicans held the vote open, in case anyone might want to change his or her vote, but no senators changed their mind and the vote stayed the same. McCain joined fellow Republicans Sen. The push to scrap the methane rules faltered amid an uprising of protest in Western states, where tens of thousands of residents near drilling operations risk exposure to the toxic compounds that leak in tandem with the methane.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told MSNBC at the end of March that “it is better to produce energy here under reasonable regulations”, and the methane rule “an example”. Since February, Republican lawmakers have used the Congressional Review Act to revoke 13 rules on a myriad of topics, including workplace safety and hunting in Alaska. Both Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are Democrats. But he called on the Trump administration to “revise and improve” Obamas rule. John Barrasso, who led the charge to axe the rule and stumped for the ability of industry to self-regulate when it comes to environmental issues. Democrats halted the repeal in a 51-49 vote with help from Republican senators John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of SC and Susan Collins of Maine.