US Federal Court Rejects Trump Administration Move to Delay Methane Regulation

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have the authority to freeze an Obama-era rule limiting methane pollution in the oil and gas industries in the United States, a US federal court ruled on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On April 18, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt published a notice announcing the agency's intention to delay for two years a rule requiring oil and gas companies to fix methane leaks in their equipment.

"For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we conclude that EPA lacked the authority under the Clean Air Act to stay the rule, and we therefore grant petitioners' motion to vacate the stay," the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in its ruling.

The EPA then officially announced the stay on June 5, just two days after it was scheduled to go into effect on June 3.

Six environmental organizations — the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Integrity Project, Earthworks, Clean Air Council and Sierra Club — challenged the stay in a lawsuit filed at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Two of the judges on the three-judge panel — David Tatel and Robert Wilkins — ruled in favor of the environmental groups, saying that the EPA lacks the authority to stay the methane rule, while Judge Janice Rogers Brown dissented.

The ruling marks a legal setback for President Donald Trump, who has vowed to roll back former President Barack Obama's environmental regulations.