States Take Fight Over EPA Methane Rule Rollback to Federal Court

A coalition of state and city governments spearheaded by California’s attorney general (AG) has asked a federal court to review the Trump administration’s recent effort to roll back restrictions on methane emissions from oil and gas development.

The details of the rollback, which would see the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ease Obama-era emissions standards set for methane and volatile organic compounds emitted by the oil and natural gas sector, were published Monday in the Federal Register.

California AG Xavier Becerra, joined by officials from 19 other states, the District of Columbia (DC) and the cities of Denver and Chicago, wasted no time in filing a petition Monday. They asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to review the revised methane...