DENVER — Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who is now running for U.S. Senate, criticized the Environmental Protection Agency and President Donald Trump's administration Friday for the expected roll back of methane emissions regulations, according to a press release.
"This shameful announcement by the Trump Administration that they are rolling back methane regulations shows exactly why we so desperately need a change in Washington," Hickenlooper said in the release. "We should also ask why the energy industry is not loudly protesting this proposed rollback; their employees breathe the same air the rest of us breathe, and we all inhabit the same planet."
The EPA announced Thursday it would no longer require the oil and gas industry to install technologies that monitor and limit leaks from new wells, tanks and pipelines.
Dominant greenhouse gases released into the Earth's atmosphere -- carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide -- have reached record levels in 2018, and their global warming power is now 43% stronger than in 1990, according to a new report by the American Meteorological Society released Monday.
In the press release, Hickenlooper also criticized Sen. Cory Gardner for his role in the matter.
“I was proud when Colorado became a model for our country when we passed landmark methane regulations in 2014 and the EPA followed our lead shortly after. Yet irresponsible politicians like Donald Trump and Cory Gardner are still working to roll back that progress. It’s clear we need a change in Washington; it’s time for Colorado to elect an independent leader who will stand up for our state and planet,” Hickenlooper said in the release.
