Environmentalists triumph as Senate upholds drilling rule

Environmentalists notched a rare win in the Republican-led Senate on Wednesday as a GOP effort to reverse an Obama-era rule restricting harmful methane emissions unexpectedly failed. The 51-49 vote against the repeal measure was a blow to the fossil- fuel industry and groups linked to the conservative Koch Brothers, which had waged a public campaign to overturn the Interior Department rule.The rule, finalized in November, would force energy companies to capture methane that’s burned off or “flared” at drilling sites because it earns less money than oil. An estimated $330 million per year in methane — the component of natural gas — is wasted through leaks or intentional releases, enough to power about 5 million homes per year. The Interior Department said in a statement Wednesday that the rule imposes significant burdens on energy production and they would review it.