The Environmental Protection Agency’s new air pollution rules
for the oil and gas industry may seem like odd timing, as President
Obama has been trying to deflect Republican criticism that he
overregulates energy industries. But the rules weren’t the Obama
administration’s idea.
Several years ago,
communities in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming complained about air
pollution from natural gas booms in their local areas.
Jeremy
Nichols and his group, the WildEarth Guardians, decided to sue the EPA
to force the agency to clean up the drilling industry.
“The drilling has pushed smog levels in very rural areas to unbelievable highs, higher than Los Angeles,” Nichols says.
