The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency is rolling back key methane pollution rules for the oil and gas industry. On November 26, 2025, the EPA finalized a delay of the 2024 Methane Rule. The delay affects hundreds of thousands of oil and gas sources across the country.
The EPA has finalized a delay of the 2024 Methane Rule, impacting hundreds of thousands of oil and gas sources nationwide.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin used a process called an Interim Final Rule to issue the delay. An Interim Final Rule allows the EPA to implement rules while accepting public comments, rather than waiting for the full comment period before implementation. Environmental groups say that’s illegal under federal law.
The delay pushes back several key requirements. These include monitoring of flares and combustion devices, limits on vented gas from closed systems, and requirements for process controllers. The super-emitter program is also postponed. States also get more time to submit compliance plans.
The EPA says the delay saves oil and gas companies about $750 million in compliance costs over 11 years. According to environmental analyses, the original 2024 rule was expected to cut 58 million tons of methane by 2038, but the delay is projected to block approximately 3.8 million tons of those cuts. It also reportedly prevents reductions of 16 million tons of volatile organic compounds and 590,000 tons of hazardous air pollutants.
Health experts and environmental groups warn the delay puts people at risk. Health experts warn the delay could increase asthma cases and respiratory illness, particularly among children and seniors. Communities near oil and gas sites face greater exposure to harmful pollution. Latino communities and other frontline groups are said to be especially affected.
Legal challenges have already been filed. Legal challenges have been filed by environmental groups arguing the rule skipped required public input. A petition for review followed, reportedly on December 4, 2025. The Clean Air Council called the delay unlawful.
The delay follows requests from oil and gas companies that asked the EPA to reconsider the 2024 rule. The methane-mitigating technologies required under the 2024 rule are considered readily available and cost-effective. GreenLatinos condemned the delay, with Climate Justice and Clean Air Director Irene Burga stating the science is clear and that every day of delay brings injustice and danger to frontline communities.
A revised version of the methane rule was reportedly sent to the Office of Management and Budget on February 24, 2026. A final revised rule was released, by some accounts, on April 6, 2026.
References
- https://cleanair.org/unlawful-delay-of-methane-protections/
- https://www.greenlatinos.org/greenlatinos-epas-methane-delay-is-a-dangerous-betrayal-to-frontline-communities/
- https://www.mifamiliavota.org/trump-epas-delay-of-2024-methane-standards-threatens-the-health-safety-and-economy-of-the-latino-community/
- https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker/epa-voc-and-methane-standards-for-oil-and-gas-facilities-2/
- https://www.edf.org/media/trump-epa-delays-methane-pollution-protections-oil-and-gas-industry-despite-health-risks
- https://www.epa.gov/controlling-air-pollution-oil-and-natural-gas-operations/2025-interim-final-rule-extend-compliance
- https://www.edf.org/media/trump-administration-epa-moves-weaken-federal-methane-standards
- https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/groups-file-lawsuit-challenging-trump-epa-final-rule-delays-methane-pollution
