Twenty AGs Filed Brief Opposing a Motion to Stay EPA’s Methane Rule
MAY 6, 2024
California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in opposing a motion to stay a recent rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would significantly decrease methane and other emissions from existing oil and gas sources. Texas, Oklahoma, and several industry groups sued EPA over the rule. The cases were consolidated, and the petitioners asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the rule while litigation is ongoing. In their opposition brief, the California-led coalition explained that staying the rule would cause irreparable harm to their states, which are “experiencing climate change and public health harms firsthand, and urgently seek the reductions in methane and smog-producing volatile organic compounds provided by the rule.” Granting the stay would irreparably delay emissions reductions, while denying the stay would not cause any harm beyond the “economic costs of regulatory compliance that are inherent to every EPA rulemaking,” the AGs argued. The same group of AGs previously filed a motion to intervene defending the rule.
- Documents: Opposition
- Document Type: Briefs
- States: California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Illinois Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont Washington Washington, D.C. Wisconsin
- Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency
- Issues: Clean Air & Climate Climate Fossil Fuels Greenhouse Gas Emissions Methane Oil and Gas Public Health
- Era: Biden Administration
- Outcome: Pending
- Action Type: Litigation