US Court Delays Own Methane Delay Ruling
Just days after a Washington DC Court of Appeals ruled that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may not suspend a planned Obama-era regulation to restrict methane emissions from new oil and gas wells, the same court is now letting the administration of President Donald Trump delay implementing its own decision of Jul. 3, which was due to go into effect immediately.
The latest decision came in response to a US Justice Department request to hold off on enforcing the court’s ruling for 52 days, which they said is standard in DC Circuit cases. However, putting the rule on hold for longer than for 14 days would hand the agency, in all practical effect, the very delay in implementation this panel determined to be illegal, the judges added.
On Jul. 3 the appeals court said the EPA had overstepped its authority under the Clean Air Act when it put a 90-day delay on the Obama administration’s rule limiting methane emissions from oil and gas drilling operations. The environment agency had planned the delay to give it time to go through the process of formally repealing the regulation.
Officials of the administration of President Donald Trump have separately proposed a two-year delay of the regulation, on which EPA is now taking comments from the public.
The appeals court’s decision at the beginning of the month was seen as the first major legal setback for Scott Pruitt, the new EPA administrator appointed by Trump. Since taking office, Pruitt has worked to roll back dozens of Obama-era environmental regulations.
