Trump Administration Proposes Rollback of Methane Regulations

The Trump administration is moving to terminate Biden-era methane regulations, targeting requirements for leak detection, gas flaring, and the Super Emitter Program. President Donald Trump announced the plan during a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas held in support of Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Trump told the crowd: "Tonight I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations." He claimed the action would save consumers and energy producers $45 billion in costs, unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas, and produce 210 million barrels of oil.

The proposal would overhaul regulations meant to reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide. It would loosen federal requirements for oil and gas operators to detect and repair leaks, ease restrictions on gas flaring, and eliminate the Super Emitter Program created to find large methane leaks. The agency plans to rescind that program entirely. This fall, Trump has also moved to reduce fuel efficiency standards and has gutted regulations on emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants.

In early 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would reconsider the Biden-era regulations that would have cut methane pollution from the sector by 80%. In a news release, the EPA said those regulations "posed a monumental threat" to the energy industry. The draft summary shows officials are proposing to reduce requirements for a category of oil wells responsible for about half of the sector's methane emissions. That category, referred to as 'marginal' wells, produces 15 barrels of oil a day or less.

Legal and Authority Questions

The proposal raises questions about EPA authority following the rescission of a key legal finding and ongoing legal challenges. The EPA rescinded the 2009 endangerment finding in February, stating it does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change under the Clean Air Act. The agency is now accepting public comments on its proposed repeal of its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions for fossil fuel-fired power plants until November 2.

In 2024, the American Petroleum Institute filed a legal challenge over the methane rule, a lawsuit now paused while the agency reconsiders it. The EPA's proposal acknowledges stakeholders' concerns about its authority to regulate the oil and gas sector's greenhouse gas emissions. Legal expert Alejandro Camacho, a law professor at UCLA, stated that treating similar pollutants under the same statute differently, with no stated reason or evidence, is the very definition of arbitrary and capricious decision making. The EPA states it could use 'future rulemaking' to resolve the issue depending on its handling of power plant regulations.

Economic and Health Impacts

The rollback's financial implications for industry and consumers are weighed against documented climate costs and health risks. The Trump administration says $45 billion in estimated savings could come from lower compliance costs for the oil and gas industry, lower commodity prices for consumers, and increased fuel production. Under President Biden, the EPA estimated the original rule would have prevented the release of 58 million tons of methane and 16 million tons of volatile organic compounds.

EPA officials under Biden said the stricter emissions rules would have led to roughly $97 billion in net climate and ozone health benefits. Stopping methane emissions also would have allowed companies to recover that resource, increasing oil and gas revenue by more than $1 billion a year between 2028 and 2038. Climate change already is raising costs for American households by an estimated $400 to $900 annually, according to a 2025 Brookings report. A separate study reported a record high of 710,000 heat-related deaths in 2023, with almost 72 percent caused by climate change.

Zealan Hoover, a former EPA senior advisor for the Biden administration, said the proposal would put the cost of corporate pollution on communities. The Environmental Defense Fund said the move would lead to 'more wasted energy' and greater health risks. Jon Goldstein, Associate Vice President of the group, said at a time of high energy costs, the EPA should not give companies more room to waste a domestic resource, adding to nearly $7 billion in lost energy value since key protections stopped being enforced.

Industry Response and Stakeholder Views

Reactions from industry groups and environmental advocates highlight the deep divide over the proposed changes. The Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, founded by Trump donor Harold Hamm, wrote to the EPA thanking it for 'restoring the rule of law'. The group called methane requirements 'major regulations based on the Endangerment Finding'. An Environmental Defense analysis found that nearly half of all marginal wells are owned by just 93 corporations.

The EPA's proposed rule focuses on these marginal wells, and the administration claims the previous requirements were crippling small operators. Aaron Szabo, who led the Trump administration's regulatory rollbacks at the EPA and formerly lobbied for a company that bought marginal wells, resigned from the agency earlier this month. The EPA will provide at least 45 days for public comment after publication in the Federal Register, including a public hearing.