THE SENATE last week delivered a surprise victory for environmentalists. Three Republicans joined with several energy-state Democrats to slow the Trump era’s wave of deregulation, preventing Congress from killing one of the Obama administration’s most rational global warming rules. Now the action turns to the Interior Department, which is reviewing the same regulation that just survived Congress’s scrutiny. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who insists he shares Teddy Roosevelt’s commitment to stewardship, should show similar restraint.

The Methane and Waste Prevention Rule concerns methane emissions from oil and gas drilling on federal land. As the primary component in natural gas, methane is a valuable commodity. When drillers allow it to waft uselessly into the air, national resources are wasted and the government loses…