06.23.15

Grijalva, Lowenthal, Polis Lead Call for Interior Secretary to Reduce Methane and Carbon Emissions on Public Lands, Increase Royalties

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Ranking Member Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) sent a letter today with 28 colleagues to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell urging strong regulations to reduce methane emissions from public lands. By capturing more of the gas, the authors write, federal agencies could limit greenhouse gas emissions from public lands and generate more revenue for taxpayers at the same time.

During oil and gas development, excess gas is often burned or released into the atmosphere, resulting in unnecessary methane and carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. Methane has 25 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.

Furthermore, wasted methane does not generate royalties for taxpayers. Requiring that methane be captured and sold could result in up to $58 million annually in revenues, according to the Government Accountability Office.

“Requiring the utilization of [emission capture] technologies nationally would not only be good for the wellness and wallets of the American taxpayer, but it would support the growing U.S. methane mitigation industry,” the lawmakers write. The letter points out that “many cost-effective technologies are already on the market that would reduce emissions at a minimal cost to developers.”

A new report released today by the environmental consulting firm ICF and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund finds that a significant portion of methane emissions could be captured with minimal cost to producers.

“It is time for national leaders to develop solutions that provide cost-effective, reliable energy resources and address the imperative to safeguard public health and the environment from the impacts of global warming,” the members write to Jewell. “Given the vast energy resources managed by the Department of the Interior, it is crucial that you lead the effort to ensure our public lands are part of the national solution to climate change, not part of the problem. Strong regulations to significantly reduce methane waste will ensure that someday our public lands will change from being a carbon source to a carbon sink, and be hailed as a major component of the U.S. climate change strategy.”

The full list of signatures is below. The full letter is available at http://1.usa.gov/1Fzu9Hp.

Signatories

Grijalva (D-Ariz.)

Lowenthal (D-Calif.)

Polis (D-Colo.)

Schakowsky (D-Ill.)

Tsongas (D-Mass.)

Norton (D-D.C.)

DeGette (D-Colo.)

Beyer (D-Va.)

Honda (D-Calif.)

Levin (D-Mich.)

Waters (D-Calif.)

DeFazio (D-Oregon)

Ryan (D-Ohio)

Van Hollen (D-Md.)

Capps (D-Calif.)

Cartwright (D-Pa.)

Lieu (D-Calif.)

Cleaver (D-Mo.)

Peters (D-Calif.)

Eshoo (D-Calif.)

Israel (D-N.Y.)

Quigley (D-Ill.)

Pingree (D-Maine)

Sarbanes (D-Md.)

Lee (D-Calif.)

McDermott (D-Wash.)

Pocan (D-Wisc.)

Edwards (D-Md.)

Langevin (D-R.I.)

Ellison (D-Minn.)

Castor (D-Fla.)