BY ANTOINETTE REYES
SOUTHERN NM ORGANIZER
In just a few short months, the federal government has swung an axe at the foundation of US clean air protections – and the splinters are already hitting our lungs.
Six months ago, on March 12, the Environmental Protection Agency under Administrator Lee Zeldin launched what it proudly called the “biggest deregulatory action in US history.” Thirty-one safeguards were targeted, including oil and gas methane rules, all in the name of “unleashing American energy.” Translation: Polluters profit, people choke.
That followed Congress’s February move to repeal the methane fee. Companies that spew above legal limits were supposed to pay $900 per ton in 2024, rising to $1,500 by 2026. Now? The fee is gone, and with it one of the only real financial deterrents against methane emissions.
On May 1, the Senate went further, voting to overturn an EPA rule that had restricted seven of the most toxic air pollutants — including mercury, lead and, dioxins, – marking the first time in history that such a safeguard fell under the Clean Air Act.
By July, the EPA issued an “interim final rule” delaying compliance for methane and smog-forming Volatile Organic Compound standards until January 2027. The cost of that “flexibility”? An extra 3.8 million tons of methane, nearly a million tons of VOCs and tens of thousands of tons of toxic emissions, translating into lost lives, particularly in frontline states like New Mexico. Submit your comment opposing this rollback at sc.org/methane.
Now the agency is preparing to gut the 2009 Endangerment Finding – the legal backbone that declares greenhouse gases a threat to public health and gives EPA authority to regulate them. Without it, climate protections collapse entirely. Some 400 of you commented to defend EPA’s right to regulate greenhouse gases. Thank you!
This is deregulation on steroids, rolled out while wildfires rage hotter, droughts cut deeper and climate disasters become our daily news. The federal government hasn’t just tapped the brakes on climate action – it has ripped them out entirely.
Our response must be louder, sharper and impossible to ignore. The comment windows are open. Raise your voice now, continuing to resist but also acting locally.
We are lucky to live in a state where we can work to counteract deregulation. And our efforts are working. The Environmental Defense Fund recently reported that New Mexico’s Permian Basin has a methane pollution rate half that of Texas because of our state methane and smog rules.
(Featured photo by rawpixel.com)