A newly proposed Trump administration rule would allow for weaker monitoring of methane, a major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.
Janet McCabe helped develop the standards the Trump team is now attempting to roll back, though, said the EPA regulations will complicate things for the oil and gas industry.
“This administration is injecting a whole new round of uncertainty cause whatever comes out there will most certainly be litigation” once the rule is finalized, she said. “Companies are planning now want to know if they should invest in certain pieces of equipment.”
But she said the agency is wrong to try and favor industry over the need to protect the public and the environment.
“One thing that’s been so frustrating with so many proposals that come out of this administration is the EPA is public health agency,” McCabe said. “But that’s not what you read in these proposals. You read about regulatory relief to business and a real minimizing of the evaluation of the effects they would have on public health.”
Additional coverage by Cheddar
