Texas attorney general fights methane tax

Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton filed a lawsuit Jan. 16 against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to halt a methane tax.

The EPA proposed the tax that would force many energy producers to pay the government money for “climate benefits,” Paxton said. The tax would be bad policy, and it is unlawful, he said.

After the announcement of the plan, Paxton joined 22 other states’ attorneys general to urge the EPA to abandon the effort. Since then the EPA has issued a final ruling approving the plan so the lawsuit is aimed at preventing the regulation from taking place.