Senate votes to cancel Trump EPA deregulation in effort to reinstate methane emissions curbs

The Senate voted Wednesday to cancel a Trump administration action that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from controlling methane emitted by the oil and gas industry.

If signed by President Joe Biden, the measure, which passed 52-42 with some Republican support, would reinstate requirements for oil and gas companies to monitor and repair equipment leaking methane, a greenhouse gas dozens of times more potent than carbon dioxide in contributing to climate change.

It also would clear the decks for the Biden administration to fulfill a promise of setting strict controls on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.