Dakota Resource Council members near oil and gas development applaud nationwide methane emission rules

Bismarck, ND – In response to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of New and Existing Source Methane Pollution Standards for the Oil and Gas Industry, Lisa DeVille, founder of Fort Berthold POWER (an affiliate of Dakota Resource Council), from Mandaree, ND, responded:

“I am pleased to see the EPA release a new rule aimed at curbing harmful methane emissions from the oil and gas industry,” said Lisa DeVille. “The people of my tribe, The Three Affiliated Tribes, have lived on and cared for our land for millennia. We hold all of Mother Earth sacred, including the air. Since the start of the Bakken oil boom, the oil and gas industry has polluted our air and harmed our health by flaring and venting methane from wells and pipelines. It is time for the US Government, and the EPA, to look out for the health and well-being of the Indigenous communities like mine, and the health of Mother Earth, by finalizing a strong rule curbing harmful methane emissions.”

Dakota Resource Council (DRC) and its affiliate Fort Berthold Protectors of Water and Earth Rights (POWER) are hopeful that the new rulemaking on methane pollution for new and existing sources in the oil and gas industry. POWER is a local organization living in the heart of the Bakken (Fort Berthold) that has been working with DRC to limit methane emissions for years.

Earlier this year DRC members met with EPA Administrator Regan in Bismarck to discuss environmental issues facing North Dakotans. Our members let Administrator Regan know that the health and well-being of POWER members has and continues to be impacted by oil and gas extraction, as has the social fabric of their communities. Not only are POWER members affected immediately by direct exposure to methane pollution, they, along with the rest of us, are being impacted by the effects of climate change. According to the April report from the United Nations, methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and is responsible for 30% of current warming. Severe drought and fires have been seen all over, and Fort Berthold is no exception.

For more information on why methane regulations are being prioritized by the Administration, see the recent media tip sheet from the Western Organization of Resource Councils.

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DAKOTA RESOURCE COUNCIL – SINCE 1978

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