Bishop, McCarthy voice concerns about BLM methane venting and flaring rules

U.S. Reps. Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) voiced concerns on Wednesday about regulatory burdens caused by the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) methane venting and flaring rule.

Bishop and McCarthy raised their concerns in a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell that was signed by 57 members of Congress.

“This rule adds another layer of duplicative federal regulation on top of already existing federal and state regulations,” the legislators wrote. “The rule oversteps BLM’s regulatory jurisdiction, and completely fails to address crucial failures by the BLM to capture methane emissions through common sense methods such as timely right-of-way permitting.”

The letter asks Jewell to explain what steps the Department of the Interior would take to address right-of-way permitting backlogs, which were identified as a contributor to venting and flaring in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

“Energy development is a generator of jobs and revenue that impact federal, state and local budgets,” the letter states. “Most importantly, domestic energy production has helped to lower energy prices for American families, manufacturers and businesses, which in turn have helped to further stabilize our economy. Rather than put all of these benefits in jeopardy, the BLM should continue to work collaboratively to drive more innovative technologies that build upon existing methane emissions decreases, while also promulgating common sense reforms to address the ongoing delays that plague the current right-of-way permitting process.”

U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Mac Thornberry (R-TX), John Shimkus (R-IL), Evan Jenkins (R-WV), Mimi Walters (R-CA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-PA), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Larry Bucshon (R-IN) were among the 57 legislators who signed the letter.