Environment groups ask Biden to crack down on methane emissions from landfills

More than a dozen environmental groups are asking the Biden administration to crack down on methane emissions from landfills. 

Methane is a planet-warming gas that is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period and comprises nearly 12 percent of the country’s contribution to climate change. Landfills are the third-largest source of methane in the U.S.

The groups, in the petition they are filing Thursday, say the rules the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently has in place do not go far enough to control these emissions.

The petition argues the current standards do not reflect the best ways to cut emissions. It says implementing two additional practices, upgrading technology that’s used to burn off landfill gas and expanding systems that capture the gas for burning off or other uses can save about 466,000 metric tons of methane per year.

The petition says the agency should take additional actions including lowering the threshold for which landfills have to install pollution controls and improve monitoring. 

“We’re asking EPA to look at its regulations and to revise them,” said Leah Kelly, senior attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project. “We think they very clearly do not meet the legal standard required … the fact that states are issuing stronger regulations clearly demonstrates the fact that more can be done.”

The Hill has reached out to the EPA for comment.