Even Closed Oil Wells Are Still Spewing Methane Into The Air, Scientists Warn
29 APRIL 2021
The legacy of abandoned oil wells in the US isn t hard to see, even leaving gaping holes in the landscape that are frightening to look at. But their invisible aftermath is more alarming still.
Across the US and Canada, there are millions of abandoned or inactive oil and gas wells left behind by their former operators, and often improperly sealed. These stranded reserves – sometimes called orphan wells – may have been deserted by humans, but they are not a spent force.
Abandoned wells, hundreds of thousands of which are thought to be undocumented, are estimated to spew vast amounts of heat-trapping methane emissions into the atmosphere, far exceeding the projections of environmental authorities such as the US EPA.
The 52-42 vote sets up the first official reinstatement of one of more than 100 climate regulations dismantled by the Trump administration. Regulating methane, a primary component of natural gas, is critical for advancing President Joe Biden s goal to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half from 2005 levels over the next decade and achieve a net-zero economy by 2050.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, Angus King, I-ME, and Edward Markey, D-Mass., introduced the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, a law which allows Congress to quickly overturn a previous administration s regulations with a simple majority vote and a signature from the president.
WASHINGTON
Senate Democrats voted Wednesday to reverse a Trump-era Environmental Protection Agency rule that limits regulation of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas and a major contributor to climate change.
Wednesday’s 52-42 vote marks Democrats’ first use of the Congressional Review Act to overturn a policy put in place by a Republican president. The House must still vote before it reaches President Biden’s desk. The White House has said Biden supports overturning the Trump rule.
That tightening methane regulations is the Democrat’s first use of the law shows how important it is, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) said at a news conference Wednesday morning. “It’s really vital,” Schumer said.