The news out of Washington D.C. just seems to get worse by the day. That’s why we are asking you to do something different. Please take a minute and contact Senator Jon Tester to thank him for his continued efforts to successfully fight climate change and protect taxpayers. Today the U.S. Senate refused to overturn the common sense Obama era “Methane and Natural Gas Waste Rule.” The rule was adopted to prevent the valuable and highly potent greenhouse gas, methane, from being vented, flared or leaked by oil and gas companies operating on public and tribal lands. These companies release this pollutant during the extraction process instead of capturing it and putting it to good use. The rule forces companies to capture those emissions instead of wasting $330 million worth of this public resource each year.
On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Senate tried to overturn the rule using the obscure Congressional Review Act. This vote would also have prevented the Bureau of Land Management from ever adopting a similar rule in the future without express Congressional approval. Senator Tester and 50 other U.S. Senators (all of the Democrats and three Republicans), voted NO! That’s good news for taxpayers and the environment.
Senator Tester also showed leadership by being the first Montana Senator to support eliminating the extra fee that the Bonneville Power Administration places on Montana energy – including wind energy – that is exported to west coast markets. Renewable energy advocates in the West have been working for years to eliminate this extra fee. The Montana Public Service Commission supports the elimination of the fee. The 2017 Montana House of Representatives passed a resolution by Rep. Zolnikov (R-Billings) supporting the elimination of this fee. Now Senator Tester has weighed in and asked BPA to eliminate the extra fee as well. That’s good news for Montana’s wind energy.
Please take a minute and tell Senator Tester “Thank You.” You can use our online petition form, or reach his D.C. office at (202) 224-2644. His leadership on clean energy, as well as fighting climate change and protecting taxpayers, deserves our appreciation. While you’re at it, call Senator Daines at (202) 224-2651 and ask why he’s not standing up for Montanans on these important issues.
