National Park Groups Thank President for Methane Announcement

Three leading groups working to protect national parks from the harmful impacts of oil and gas development – the National Parks Conservation Association, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, and Park Rangers for Our Lands – sent a letter to President Obama on March 23 thanking him for his recent announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will begin controlling methane waste from existing sources. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that escapes in large quantities from oil and gas facilities, and reductions in this waste are needed in order to help protect national parks from climate change. President Obama’s announcement will expand the EPA’s draft rules for new and modified sources of methane waste to cover existing sources, which account for about 90 percent of all methane waste.