The Wilderness Society http://bit.ly/2frYsOM applauds the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management for finalizing their natural gas waste rule today. The rule will help clean up oil and gas operations by reducing the amount of natural gas that companies intentionally release into the air and requiring them to detect and fix gas leaks.

In response to the Department of the Interior’s announcement today of the final rule, The Wilderness Society is releasing the following statement from Josh Mantell, energy and climate campaign manager:

“These guidelines will reduce the unnecessary and capricious waste of American energy. Public resources must be used for the public good, and this rule will put in place standards to ensure taxpayers are seeing their fair share.

“BLM’s wasted gas rule will have the added benefits of reducing both harmful air pollution and powerful emissions like methane that contribute to climate change.

“The Obama administration has been working diligently to ensure that when energy development does occur it is done safely, responsibly and in the right places—with consideration of the importance our public lands hold for the American people, as well as their impact on the climate. This rule is an important component of the administration’s substantial legacy in modernizing development on federal lands.

“We look forward to helping make sure the rule is fully implemented and enforced to have the maximum positive effects for our shared lands and resources.”