Washington, D.C. – Following the end of the comment period for a proposal to weaken methane standards, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Bob Casey (D-PA) today sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to raise the agency’s failure to respond to their concerns and request a meeting to address the proposal. 

“As the Senators from two states with robust standards to reduce methane emissions, we are concerned that more children will breathe harmful air pollution as a result of the rollbacks you are recommending,” Bennet and Casey wrote. “In addition, our states may have to impose additional measures in order to adhere to EPA’s ozone standards due to methane pollution coming into Colorado and Pennsylvania from other states without similar methane standards.”

Ahead of the public comment period in October, Bennet led 21 Senate colleagues in urging the EPA to extend the public comment period for the rule and provide adequate justification for modifying the national standards. The senators asked specific questions regarding the modification’s effects on the public health and the cost of the rule. The EPA has not responded, and the comment period ended yesterday.

“We are concerned by your failure to reply to our October letter and to take our questions seriously. We owe it to our constituents to obtain more clarity about the effect of the rollback on our respective states.  Accordingly, we request a meeting with you within the next month to discuss our constituents’ issues with you personally,” the senators concluded.

A copy of the letter is available HERE.