Trump's EPA Moves to Scrap Biden's Methane Rules for Oil and Gas Wells

Trump announced Oct. 27, 2026, at a Lubbock rally that his administration is rolling back the 2024 Biden-era methane rule for oil and gas wells. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal eases restrictions on low-producing "marginal" wells, loosens flaring requirements, and ends the agency's Methane Super Emitter Program, which investigates large leaks. Trump said the changes would free up 210 million barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of gas and save $45 billion in compliance costs; Zeldin put the Biden rule's cost at $18 billion.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Biden-era officials had projected the original rule would prevent about 58 million tons of methane emissions by 2038; Trump's EPA disputes that calculation. The Environmental Defense Fund said the rollback creates "huge loopholes for low-producing, high-polluting well sites," and its president said it gives industry "a free pass," adding, "EPA should be fighting this waste, not making it easier."

The change is a proposed rule, not final; it must go through notice-and-comment rulemaking.