WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today welcomed an announcement from the Obama administration that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue new rules to help reduce emissions of methane and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from new oil and gas facilities.    

“If you care about having clean air to breathe and averting the worst impacts of climate change, you have to care about curbing methane emissions. The EPA announcement, finalizing limits on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry for the first time, is a significant step toward meeting our commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement, cutting pollution and winning the war against climate change. Climate change is a global problem with local impacts. It negatively affects every Marylander. From more intense heat waves and more dangerous storms to rising sea levels on the coast and in the Chesapeake Bay, every resident and every business will be affected if we do not slow, stop and reverse climate change. I applaud this announcement and President Obama’s leadership on this issue.”