The Environmental Protection Agency wants to roll back national limits on methane leaks from oil and gas operations. Methane is a powerful driver of warming. The same leaks can carry toxic pollutants, including benzene and formaldehyde, into the air that nearby families breathe. Those families did not choose to live next to wells and pipelines, and they cannot filter what comes out of them. Meanwhile, industry groups met privately with agency staff to shape this outcome. Neighbors got no such meeting. The Clean Air Act exists to protect public health, and that mandate should not bend to lobbying. Gutting these limits hands a giveaway to an industry that can afford to fix its leaks, and it leaves ordinary people to pay the cost in dirtier air. Keep strong nationwide methane limits on oil and gas facilities, and write them into law so no future administration can strip them away.
