Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet
Washington, D.C. — Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet led U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) in urging the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to follow Colorado and New Mexico’s lead by eliminating routine venting and flaring from oil and gas operations on public and Tribal lands in the agency’s final Waste Prevention Rule.
“We write to urge the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to follow the lead of our states by eliminating the wasteful practice of routine venting and flaring from oil and gas operations in your final Waste Prevention Rule. Although we support the expressed intent of BLM’s proposed rule to collect royalties from vented and flared gas, the proposal does not go far enough to eliminate waste,” said the senators in the letter. “Our states understand the urgency of eliminating this waste and its accompanying pollution, and are actively demonstrating that these activities can be prohibited effectively.”
Routine flaring is the practice of regularly burning off excess gas during oil and gas production and processing as a waste product; venting allows excess gas to escape directly into the atmosphere without burning it. These practices occur when gas is not economically attractive enough to be sold, facilities lack the infrastructure to capture this excess gas, or equipment is faulty. Venting and flaring has increased significantly over the last 30 years, and according to a report from Synapse Energy Economics, oil and gas companies operating on public and Tribal lands wasted over $500 million worth of gas in 2019. Pollution from venting and flaring includes powerful methane emissions, a significant accelerant of climate change, as well as dangerous volatile organic compounds.
These practices unnecessarily waste valuable resources and harm public health, the environment, and nearby communities. BLM’s current proposed rule does not go far enough to eliminate the waste and pollution resulting from these practices, and the senators urge the agency to follow the lead of Colorado and New Mexico that have outlawed these activities.
“Our states have long recognized the harm of routine venting and flaring and moved to prohibit it,” concluded the senators. “We urge BLM to follow our states’ example and prohibit all routine venting and flaring at new wells and swiftly phase it out at existing wells on public and Tribal lands. The oil and gas resources on these lands belong to the American public and Tribal nations, respectively, and they deserve to benefit from cleaner air and the full value of their resources.”
In the Senate, Bennet has consistently worked to limit methane emissions and strengthen oil and gas protections, following Colorado’s lead. In 2021, he joined his colleagues in a critical bipartisan vote to restore EPA’s ability to regulate methane from oil and gas, and later that year, led members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation in a letter urging the EPA to swiftly adopt strong protective methane standards for the oil and gas sector.
Bennet’s Oil and Gas Bonding Reform and Orphaned Well Remediation Act would provide funding to clean up abandoned, or orphaned, oil and gas wells while strengthening bonding requirements and expanding opportunities for local input in lease sales on public lands, ensuring that irresponsible operators — not taxpayers — pay for the cost of cleanup. Last year, Bennet and Hickenlooper welcomed news that Colorado could expect $79 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to create jobs cleaning up orphaned oil and gas wells across the state, in line with Bennet’s bill.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Director Stone-Manning,
We write to urge the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to follow the lead of our states by eliminating the wasteful practice of routine venting and flaring from oil and gas operations in your final Waste Prevention Rule. Although we support the expressed intent of BLM’s proposed rule to collect royalties from vented and flared gas, the proposal does not go far enough to eliminate waste. Our states understand the urgency of eliminating this waste and its accompanying pollution, and are actively demonstrating that these activities can be prohibited effectively.
Routine flaring is the unnecessary and harmful practice of burning off associated gas as a waste product, instead of putting this valuable commodity to use; venting allows gas to escape directly into the atmosphere without combustion. As BLM has noted, venting and flaring from production on public lands has increased significantly over the last 30 years. Between 1990 and 2000, venting and flaring from federal and Tribal onshore leases averaged approximately 11 billion cubic feet per year in losses. Between 2010 and 2020, total annual losses rose to more than 44 billion cubic feet, enough to serve roughly 675,000 homes. A report from Synapse Energy Economics found that oil and gas companies operating on public and Tribal lands wasted over $500 million worth of gas in 2019. This growing waste robs taxpayers, Tribes, and local communities of valuable revenue and undermines America’s energy security.
Pollution from routine venting and flaring also hurts public health, the environment, and nearby communities. In 2019, routine flaring and venting from lands subject to BLM standards released about 150 billion cubic feet of methane emissions, a powerful accelerant of climate change. Venting and flaring also emits volatile organic compounds, such as benzene (a powerful carcinogen), and nitrogen oxides. These pollutants also promote the formation of harmful, ground-level ozone. These emissions – combined with the light and noise pollution from continuous flaring operations – inflict particular harm on nearby communities, many of which already suffer disproportionately from pollution exposure.
Our states have long recognized the harm of routine venting and flaring and moved to prohibit it. Colorado adopted regulations in 2020 that ended almost all venting and flaring in our state. New Mexico adopted similar requirements in 2021. In addition, many major oil and gas producers have voluntarily agreed to avoid routine flaring from new wells and end it for existing operations by 2030.
We urge BLM to follow our states’ example and prohibit all routine venting and flaring at new wells and swiftly phase it out at existing wells on public and Tribal lands. The oil and gas resources on these lands belong to the American public and Tribal nations, respectively, and they deserve to benefit from cleaner air and the full value of their resources. We appreciate your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,