Overview
- President Trump announced the EPA proposal at a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, saying the change would save about $45 billion and unlock an estimated 210 million barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of gas.
- The plan would create separate, looser standards for low‑producing ‘marginal’ wells to reduce compliance costs for small operators and ease requirements for routine flaring of associated gas.
- The administration is moving to end the Super Emitter Program that certified third‑party monitors and remote sensing to flag very large methane releases.
- The proposal must be published in the Federal Register, go through a public comment period and could face immediate lawsuits from environmental and public‑health groups that say the rollback will increase pollution near communities.
- The move reverses parts of a Biden‑era 2024 methane rule that regulators said would have cut roughly 58 million tons of methane by 2038, and it could affect near‑term fuel supplies, local air quality, and climate warming trends.