The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it is ready to halt the Obama administration’s emission rules for fracking by two years, instead of the initial 90-day stay that it had announced weeks earlier.
“Under the proposal, sources would not need to comply with these requirements while the stay is in effect. Since issuing the final rule, EPA has received several petitions to reconsider certain aspects of the rule,” the EPA announced Tuesday evening.
The agency said the delay is necessary to conduct a review of the Obama administration’s oil and gas rules on methane emissions, or the 2016 New Source Performance Standards for the oil and natural gas industry.
The rules are part of former President Barack Obama’s climate change agenda, targeting methane, a short-lived, but potent, greenhouse gas. Many scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels for warming the Earth’s climate. The change in the length of the stay also follows President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement.
“Earlier this month, EPA used its Clean Air Act authority to issue a 90-day administrative stay of these requirements,” it said. “To ensure there is no gap in the stay between the 90-day stay and the proposed two-year stay if finalized, EPA also is proposing a three-month stay.”
The EPA will open a 30-day period to collect comments on the proposed timelines for staying the fracking rules. The comment period will go into effect once the proposed actions are published in the Federal Register.
