Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, the Holt-Peters-Polis amendment would allow the Secretary of Interior to minimize fugitive methane emissions on public lands.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that commonly leaks during the drilling and transportation of oil and gas. If you look at the entire production process, excess methane emissions can make natural gas energy just as dirty as coal energy. Moreover, methane and Volatile Organic Compounds emitted from oil and gas wells interact with sunlight to create ozone, another greenhouse gas.

Although national methane emissions fell between 2011 to 2012, emissions in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and other energy producing states have risen due to oil and gas operations. Colorado has approximately 50,000 wells which contribute to the state's current non-attainment status for the EPA's 2008 national ambient air quality standard for ozone. In addition, rural areas in the Upper Green River Basin in Wyoming have recorded dangerously high levels of smog that rival the worst pollution days in Los Angeles due to drilling. This is concerning since ground level ozone or ``smog'' can trigger asthma attacks and aggravate conditions of people with bronchitis and emphysema.

Earlier this year I introduced the BREATHE Act, H.R. 1154 because oil and gas wells and their associated infrastructure contribute to air pollution. Despite the overwhelming evidence that oil and gas production causes air pollution, oil and gas operators are still exempt from the basic federal protections afforded by the Clean Air Act. The BREATHE Act would close the loopholes in the Clean Air Act carved out for the oil and gas industry.

Energy companies can easily and cheaply curb methane emissions by simply fixing the leaks in oil and gas equipment. Also, methane control technology is inexpensive and readily available. Industry also stands to benefit from capturing emissions because they can sell the captured methane and other valuable hydrocarbons for a profit instead of leaking them into the air.

Reducing methane leaks will in turn reduce ground level ozone pollution and protect the quality of life for our communities and our families. Please support the Holt-Peter-Polis amendment.

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