"Climate, Poverty Woes Fuel BLM Rule Debate In N.M. Gas Patch"

"GOBERNADOR, N.M. — Desert sand crunches beneath Don Schreiber's boots as he approaches a gas well on his sprawling ranch in the heart of the San Juan Basin.

The equipment is painted yellow and green to blend in with the scrub. But there's no hiding the odor of rotting eggs that wafts across the arid terrain.

"Smell that?" Schreiber asks.

Methane itself has no scent, but the gas is often emitted alongside chemical compounds like benzene and xylene that can be detected in the air by their pungent aromas. That persistent fragrance on his Devil's Spring Ranch lit a fire under Schreiber to get involved in the Obama administration's efforts to craft a rule to limit emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from energy production on federal lands."

Pamela King reports for EnergyWire July 5, 2017.