The proposed changes, among other measures, would give drillers a year to do leak inspections instead of just six months, and 60 days to make repairs instead of 30, the document said. Environmentalists are likely to oppose the plan, asserting the delayed inspections and repair schedules are likely to increase the amount of harmful gases released into the environment, and that the proposal opens the door to further rollbacks of climate regulations. The proposal follows other moves by the EPA earlier this year to ease climate rules, including measures to roll back restrictions on carbon emissions from both power plants and automobiles. Carbon and methane are considered to be two big drivers of climate change. Methane, however, is an even more potent greenhouse gas than carbon over the short term and frequently leaks from oil and gas wells, storage tanks and processing plants. Former President Barack Obama’s administration set […]