SACRAMENTO – Joining a coalition of 15 Attorneys General and the City of Chicago, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra Thursday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its failure to reduce methane emissions from existing oil and natural gas operations, as required under federal law. Methane is many times more dangerous in trapping heat than carbon dioxide, and the majority of methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector – up to 90 percent – comes from existing equipment. The Attorneys General filed today’s lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. They submitted an intent to sue letter over this matter on June 29, 2017.
“EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has a legal responsibility to reduce methane emissions from existing oil and natural gas operations. We are taking him to court to ensure that he lives up to that obligation,” said Attorney General Becerra. “The stakes could not be higher – climate change is the most important global environmental issue of our time. We need EPA Administrator Pruitt to quit stalling and do his job.”
According to the Clean Air Act, because regulations were issued for new sources of oil and natural gas operations, the EPA Administrator must also issue guidelines for existing sources. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has not done so, and as a result, is in violation of the Clean Air Act.
Reducing methane emissions is an important component of California’s climate change strategy, as illustrated by the California Air Resources Board’s regulation limiting methane emissions from both new and existing oil and natural gas sector sources, which became effective on October 1, 2017. While California has issued its own stringent rules, the climate change impacts from this industry will not be adequately reduced if the EPA fails to decrease methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector in other states.
In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Becerra joins the Attorneys General of New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the City of Chicago.
A copy of today’s lawsuit is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.
5 comments
Becerra is a joke! Why are we paying this idiot to sue ourselfs? This is all this guy does. He will have burned up millions in taxpayer funds in a year if we don’t get him out. There is so much California can do with money to help homeless, veterans, roads, schools, police, fire, etc. Stop this wasteful spending to sue ourselves now. We pay twice and still lose one way or the other. Becerra must go.
Vote Republican! Save California! Turn this state around now!
What a waste of time. I can’t even believe this guy can claim some amount of credible leadership ability! He is just like the rest of them–a completely self-centered politician using the backs and taxes of good Californians to further his scum-bag career. Too bad they drive tax-payers and business out of the state—just means we have to pay more taxes to support his elitist policies. VOTE THEM OUT NOW!
This Bozo is using OUR tax dollars to mount 21 different lawsuits against the administration. This is insanity! Someone please stop him!
He is out of control and needs to go now. He is bogging down the government while wasting millions of tax dollars to sue ourselves.
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