Court Blocks EPA Effort To Suspend Obama-Era Methane Rule (pbs.org)

Michael Biesecker reports via PBS: A federal appeals court in Washington ruled Monday that the head of the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped his authority in trying to delay implementation of a new rule requiring oil and gas companies to monitor and reduce methane leaks. In a split decision, the three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the EPA to move forward with the Obama-era requirement that aims to reduce planet-warming emissions from oil and gas operations. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced in April that he would delay by 90 days the deadline for oil and gas companies to follow the new rule, so that the agency could reconsider the measure. Last month, Pruitt announced he intended to extend the 90-day stay for two years. In a detailed 31-page ruling, the court disagreed with Pruitt's contention that industry groups had not had sufficient opportunity to comment before the 2016 rule was enacted. The judges also said Pruitt lacked the legal authority to delay the rule from taking effect.

Comments

Rebublicans are Lawless

[Required Snark]

All the comments claiming that the EPA can do whatever it wants whenever it wants, along with all the attacks on the Obama administration, are a prime example showing that Republicans do not care about the law. They do not understand how the law works, how the Congress works, or how the Constitution works. That's what it means to be lawless: not having a clue about legal vs illegal behavior.

It is beyond irony that the party that claims to support law and order has no idea what these words actually mean. There is a lot more to our legal institutions then cops arresting people and throwing them in jail. Watching a "reality" show about cops on the beat and thinking you understand how the system works seems to be the level of stupidity that these comments express.

What these Republicans are actually describing is authoritarianism.

Re:Regulation, not law, right?

[colinwb]

Err... there are no senators in congress.

Are you sure about that AC? Wikipedia: The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. ...

For those who think that Wikipedia is written by left-wing SJW's I will - very reluctantly - quote from Conservapedia: Congress (Congress of the United States) (a word derived from the Latin "congressum", from "congredior", meaning "to come together") is the term for the legislative body of the United States of America, composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. ...

Incidentally, I note with amusement that at the top of that Conservapedia page it says: "This article was last edited in 2014. Some of its information may be outdated" and that immediately following that definition of Congress is: "In the current 112th Congress, the House is controlled by the Republican Party while the Senate is controlled by the Democratic Party." Apparently the contributors to Conservapedia are less interested in updating Conservapedia than in adding news feed items like this currently on the main page: In the News. what the MSM isn't fully covering currently has as a first item "Unplug CNN - and Sesame Street, too. Those two organs are teaming up to spread Islamist propaganda directly to children. linking to ConservativeNewsAndViews