MANSFIELD CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, MOMS CLEAN AIR FORCE AND BLUE GREEN ALLIANCE COME TOGETHER TO DEMAND REGULATIONS ON INDUSTRIAL METHANE EMISSIONS TO MAKE FOR HEALTHIER COMMUNITES AND GOOD JOBS

Councilman Don Bryant calling for rules on industrial methane pollution in Ohio.

For Immediate Release:

Monday, June 8, 2015

Media Contact: joanne.pickrell@gmail.com, 614-364-1442


MANSFIELD, OH – Monday, June 8th, Mansfield City Council Member Don Bryant, Laura Burns of Moms Clean Air Force and Lee Geisse of the Blue Green Alliance came together to discuss how Ohioans would benefit from national policies that clean up industrial methane pollution for the oil and natural gas industry.

“Ohio’s oil and natural gas industry is an important contributor to the local and state economy, but industrial methane pollution is an invisible threat to public health and the environment,” said Councilman Bryant.  “Strong federal efforts are necessary to cut methane so this dangerous pollutant does not remain undetected and unreported.”

Methane pollution occurs as the result of leaks and venting from oil and natural gas wells, pipelines, tanks and other equipment. These leaks cost billions of dollars every year, and waste the amount of gas it takes to power nearly 6 million homes.

In Ohio, emissions data suggests oil and natural gas produced in the state wasted over 7,500 metric tons of methane in 2013. However, four out of five wells in Ohio are not required to report their emissions, indicating that the number may be actually higher.   

Industrial methane pollution from oil and natural gas production is also known to be harmful to children’s health and fuel climate change. In addition, recent reports show that much of the methane waste could have been avoided. Leaky, inefficient and polluting infrastructures release more than 9 million metric tons of methane, benzene and other toxics into our air every year.  

“Industrial methane pollution has significant public health consequences and must be taken seriously by regulators. Toxic pollutants like benzene are linked to cancer, respiratory diseases and neurological damage,” said Mansfield resident Lauran Burns on behalf of Moms Clean Air Force in Ohio. “These toxics contribute to smog that causes childhood asthma attacks, and even premature death.”

There are nearly 200,000 Ohio children suffering with asthma every day. Pollutants such as methane, ozone, and benzene increase the frequency and severity of their asthma attacks.  According to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report for 2015, no Ohio counties made the list for the cleanest counties in the nation for ozone pollution, with 19 counties receiving a grade of F in the report.  

“With summer vacation just beginning for our kids, we shouldn’t have to confine them to the indoors already because the air isn’t clean enough for them to breathe,” added Burns.

Currently, there are no federal standards requiring controls on industrial methane pollution in Ohio or nationally. National methane standards are a win-win. They would reduce the pollution that fuels climate change and other harmful pollution with low-cost, American-made technology and would reduce wasted energy that could be used for homes and industries in Ohio and across the nation.

“Proven, low-cost technologies can eliminate as much as half of all climate-warming methane emissions from the energy sector in the next 5 years,” said Lee Geisse of the Blue Green Alliance. “American companies in over 40 states are at the forefront of developing, manufacturing, and implementing these technologies, providing high-quality jobs and stimulating local economies.”

By repairing and replacing leak-prone natural gas distribution pipes, as well as continuing to develop and deploy technologies that prevent the escape of methane to the atmosphere, Ohio workers can be doing a lot to reduce emissions right here, right now. Ohio has the highest mileage of leak-prone bare steel distribution pipe in the nation, about 8,000 miles, or 14 percent of total distribution mileage. Modernizing these pipes with advanced materials now available would reduce leaks and create thousands of jobs, and improving upstream technologies would strengthen, not disrupt, our economy.

Some companies recognize this benefit and have adopted methane pollution reduction measures on their own accord. No national standards are in place to protect communities across the country and to effectively reduce the contribution of methane leakage to climate change.

With more than 6,000 oil and gas operators across the nation, only uniform standards can achieve comprehensive results. There are only about 25 operators who participate in voluntary programs, like the EPA’s Natural Gas Star program. If federal action is not taken, methane pollution from the industry is projected to increase around 25 percent over the next ten years.

Methane and air pollution know no state boundaries. The Untied States Environmental Protection Agency should take strong action to limit this industrial pollution from the oil and gas industry to protect our air and end the waste. We may not be able to see this deadly and wasteful pollution, but we can stop it.

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Mansfield resident and member of Mom's Clean Air Force, Laura Burns, speaks to the harmful effects of industrial methane pollution at Monday's press conference.

Lee Geisse, Blue Green Alliance Regional Program Manager for the Labor Climate Project in Ohio, speaking on the effect industrial methane has on climate change and to public health.