11 May 2017•Update: 11 May 2017
By Ovunc Kutlu
NEW YORK
An attempt by President Donald Trump to repeal a methane rule enacted during his predecessor's tenure failed Wednesday, after the U.S. Senate voted in favor of keeping the legislation intact, marking a win for environmentalists.
The Senate voted 51-49 against the repeal as three Republicans, including John McCain, sided with the Democrats.
The result was regarded as a major blow against Trump who has promised to slash regulations in the energy industry by rolling back the Barack Obama administration's legislative impact on the sector.
“Today is a victory for our public lands and for the health of families across America ... Protecting our communities and our public lands from pollution isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s an American one," said Michael Brune, executive director of Sierra Club -- a major environmental organization in the U.S.
The U.S.' Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane prevention rule, which was adopted during the Obama era, limits the amount of methane gas released to the environment by companies during their oil and natural gas exploration and production activities.
Erik Milito, senior official at the American Petroleum Institute -- one of the biggest oil and gas trade associations in the U.S. -- said in response to the Senate vote: "The BLM’s technically flawed rule on methane emissions is an unnecessary and costly misstep ... The rule could impede U.S. energy production while reducing local and federal government revenues."
