David Miller, September 18, 2018
Columbus, Ohio – The following statement can be attributed in full, or in part to Trish Demeter, Vice President of Energy Policy at the Ohio Environmental Council:
“Today, the Trump Administration has chosen to steamroll communities across the country by gutting the BLM methane waste rule. Interior Secretary Zinke’s decision will harm Ohioans and American taxpayers by wasting public resources and polluting our air. His own agency found that rolling back the BLM methane rule will cost Americans more than $1 billion in wasted natural gas and pollution. This rollback will also mean less funding for our schools and communities, and less protection for visitors to Ohio’s only national forest, the Wayne.
“Despite bipartisan opposition in Congress, and a half-million Americans submitting comments in opposition to the rollback, Sec. Zinke chose to side with the biggest oil and gas companies over the will of the people. Sec. Zinke’s repeal of the BLM methane waste rule fails to meet the BLM’s legal obligation to protect the American taxpayer and communities, and a legal challenge to the repeal is almost certain.
“The Ohio Environmental Council will continue to diligently work to ensure all Ohioans have access to clean air.”