Statement of Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the Bureau of Land Management’s Proposed Delay and Suspension of Requirements of the 2016 Methane Waste rule:

“The Department of the Interior’s decision to revert to outdated policies of the past is fiscally reckless. By suspending or delaying most of the 2016 BLM methane waste rule, Secretary Zinke has locked taxpayers into the outdated NTL-4A guidance that has led to billions of dollars in wasted natural gas and lost taxpayer revenue. The administration should allow the waste prevention rule to take effect while it works on new fixes instead of reverting to the broken policies of 1979 – before production dramatically increased with the introduction of fracking.

Natural gas waste is growing and so are taxpayers losses. It is, of course, within the administration’s right to revisit the rule – and if they come up with an approach that gets a better deal for taxpayers, we will be the first to applaud them. But taking a step away from fixing the problem is a lose-lose for taxpayers.”

– Ryan Alexander, president