The Environment

Throughout his career, Rep. Petri has been a strong supporter of sensible legislation to protect the environment and encourage conservation practices. He opposed efforts to drill for oil and natural gas in national monuments and in the Great Lakes. He also opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Furthermore, Rep. Petri has cosponsored many bills that would provide sensible environmental protection, promote the cleanup of contaminated lands, enable small communities to comply with federal environmental requirements, and provide for better research and response into environmental problems.

Rep. Petri has taken the lead on a number of environmental issues, including, for example, opposition to environmentally damaging federal water projects such as the billion dollar Auburn Dam that would have destroyed a canyon along the American River in California. He is happy to say that, with the help of some of his friends, Congress was successful in finally stopping the Auburn Dam after a ten year battle. He also has consistently voted to maintain the roadless rule in the Tongass National Forest in order to preserve one of the last remaining pristine forests in America.

Rep. Petri also has joined many of his colleagues in confronting the issue of global warming. He believes that any climate change legislation adopted by Congress needs to strike a balance between what is right for both our environment and the economy. Rep. Petri will continue to support policies that encourage innovation and the development of transformational technologies that will help grow our economy and protect the environment.

Rep. Petri has long been a leading Republican cosponsor of the Salmon Economic Analysis and Planning Act (SEAPA) which will help protect wild salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Salmon born in the Snake River in Idaho and Washington are having problems returning upriver to spawn due to a series of dams that have been erected to provide hydro-electric power to the region. One of the primary provisions of SEAPA would require the General Accountability Office to study the impact that the removal of the four dams would have on the energy situation in the Pacific Northwest, and to identify possible alternative sources of energy production.

There can be no doubt that we urgently need to clean up our environment and protect our natural resources for the future. Although Rep. Petri considers economic development to be very important, he believes that reasonable regulations can provide for both economic growth and high environmental standards.