FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 29, 2025
CONTACT: Liane Jollon, Executive Director, 970-769-0354, liane@westernleaders.org
Jessica Pace, Program Director, 615-294-2049, jess@westernleaders.org
WLN, ALN respond to EPA delay of compliance deadline for methane protections
Delaying compliance deadline for federal methane safeguards ignores local, tribal, and state elected official voices, harms frontline communities, exacerbates climate change
Statement from Western Leaders Network Executive Director Liane Jollon:
“By delaying the deadline by which the oil and gas industry must comply with the EPA methane rule, Administrator Zeldin and the Trump administration are disregarding widespread, bipartisan support for these commonsense safeguards, as well as the voices of local, tribal and state elected officials who want clean air and sound economies for their constituents. The 2024 EPA methane rule would not only bolster the growing methane mitigation industry, but also help address the ever-worsening impacts of climate change. What’s more, many oil and gas-producing states are already making great strides on implementing the new standards at the state level. The longer we wait to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, the longer our communities suffer the health, environmental, and economic impacts of this pollution.”
Background
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved to delay the deadlines for oil and gas producers to comply with the 2024 federal EPA rule to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. Reducing methane pollution is the fastest, most cost-effective way to slow the impacts of climate change, which include poor air quality, extreme temperatures and wildfire seasons, prolonged drought and the depletion of water resources, all of which place an undue burden on local, tribal, and state governments and their communities.
Apart from being a powerful climate pollutant, methane is also released alongside other emissions such as volatile organic compounds that degrade air quality and increase health risks for children, the elderly and other vulnerable community members.
Western Leaders Network and Appalachian Leaders Network harness the influence of more than 1,000 local, tribal, and state elected and appointed officials across the Interior West and Ohio River Valley region to advance energy transition, clean air and water initiatives, and democracy protections.