In The News
Wall Street Journal: An Obama War on Coal?
Monday May 14, 2012
After criticism from members of Congress and conservative bloggers, the Obama campaign put "clean coal" back on the "all of the above" energy list. The Obama administration now says that coal is an "essential" part of the administration's energy strategy. Coal accounts for well over one-third of electricity production in most states, and coal mining is a major source of union jobs. Even after the Obama campaign put clean coal back on the list, the attacks and controversy live on, and there is now speculation that Mr. Obama may have done his campaign real damage in battle ground states like Virginia and Ohio.
New EPA Cap and Trade Game! EPA Simulator Shows Potential Cost, Power Losses From Utility CO2 Cap
Friday May 11, 2012
The simulator is already prompting questions from a spokesman for Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the ranking member on the environment committee and a long-time critic of CO2 caps, who questioned why EPA is “spending time and financial resources developing a global warming cap-and-trade game for the classroom to begin with?”
An EPA spokeswoman was unable to respond to a request for comment by press time.
NRDC Acknowledges Spikes in Energy Costs for Consumers Thanks to Obama EPA Regulations
Tuesday May 8, 2012
Posted by Katie Brown Katie_Brown@epw.senate.gov
NRDC Acknowledges Spikes in Energy Costs for Consumers Thanks to Obama EPA Regulations
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) wrote a letter to Senator Inhofe yesterday taking issue with a sentence included in his opening statement at a recent Environment and Public Works hearing.
What NRDC did not challenge however, was the overall point Senator Inhofe was making - in fact, in drawing attention to one particular statistic, NRDC actually admitted that energy prices will spike due to the Obama-EPA's air regulations.
As NRDC said in its letter, "MISO (Midwest Independent Transmission System Operates) has never estimated that the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards could increase electricity rates by as much as 50%. An October 2011 MISO report on the impact from four EPA regulations on the power sector, not just the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, indicated that factoring in ‘all the costs to maintain regulation compliance and system reliability, retail rates could increase 7.0 to 7.6 percent.'"
We very much appreciate NRDC reaching out to us, because by doing so, we have the chance once again to show how much the Obama-EPA is costing American families. Even NRDC cannot deny that electricity rates will increase; and whether NRDC wants to admit this or not, these increased rates will hurt the poor disproportionately, acting as a regressive tax imposed by the EPA.
NRDC asked that a correction be made in the Congressional Record. We are happy to submit this piece as a clarification while pointing out the bottom line: the American people are feeling the economic pain from the Obama-EPA agenda - and under these rules, it's only going to get worse.
In fact, future capacity prices, a significant component of future electricity rates, increased in the May 2011 PJM auction by 350% in the western region of PJM (an area covering parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois.). PJM attributes the majority of this increase to the "installation of emission control technologies that are required to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations."
In explaining the effect of these capacity price increases, the Chicago Tribune reports that a four-fold increase in capacity prices translates into annual electricity price increases between $107 to $178 for ComEd customers (one of the utilities in the western region of PJM). But this is just the beginning. At this May's annual auction (we anticipate the results to be released within the next few weeks), future capacity prices in northern Ohio could go as high as $500/MW-day (according to Deutsche Bank). This represents a change in 2 years of 1,700%.
And what does this mean for Americans? Manufacturers are the backbone of the US economy and affordable electricity is essential to their ability to grow and prosper. As an example of how electricity costs can affect a company's bottom line, according to Nucor Steel, one of the largest steel producers in the US, a 1 cent increase in the price of electricity results in cost increases of $120 million annually. So even small increases in electricity costs mean lost jobs and productive capacity.
According to the National Economic Research Associates, EPA's rules will cost the economy 1.65 million jobs by 2020. This is echoed by the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University, which concludes EPA's rules are threatening up to 1 million jobs in addition to the job losses that could occur in the coal and utility sector. These are the real outcomes of the Obama EPA's policies.
NRDC is a well known enemy of coal and an avid supporter of President Obama's war on affordable energy. This agenda is not about saving lives or improving the environment. It's a calculated effort to kill coal in American electrical generation - and as NRDC and the President know all too well, in order to achieve that goal, electricity prices will have to "necessarily skyrocket." We're just glad that NRDC is willing to admit that.
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WASHPOST EDITORIAL: The EPA is earning a reputation for abuse
Friday May 4, 2012
Posted by Matt Dempsey matt_dempsey@epw.senate.gov
In Case You Missed It...
Washington Post
Editorial: The EPA is earning a reputation for abuse
By Editorial Board
Thursday, May 3, 7:57 PM
MAYBE AL ARMENDARIZ - until Monday, one of the Environmental Protection Agency's top administrators - didn't mean his comments to sound quite how they did. But they didn't sound good. In a 2010 speech, now circulating online, Mr. Armendariz compared his "philosophy of enforcement" to ancient Roman soldiers' practice of crucifying random victims in recently conquered territory.
The most reasonable interpretation is also among the most disturbing - that Mr. Armendariz preferred to exact harsh punishments on an arbitrary number of firms to scare others into cooperating. This sort of talk isn't merely unjust and threatening to investors in energy projects. It hurts the EPA. Mr. Armendariz was right to resign this week, while EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson denied that his comments reflected the agency's approach. Yet the question will remain: Is an aggressive attitude like the one Mr. Armendariz described common among EPA officials?
Maintaining the legitimacy of the EPA's broad regulatory authorities requires the agency to use its powers fairly and, in so doing, avoid the impression that its enforcement is capricious or unduly severe. Mr. Armendariz's comments violated the latter principle. Another recent, high-profile miscalculation on the part of the EPA violated the former.
Earlier this year, Mike and Chantell Sackett brought a case against the EPA to the Supreme Court, challenging a "compliance order" commanding the couple to halt work on a home near Priest Lake, Idaho. The Sacketts pointed out that the land was adjacent to other vacation homes and came with a sewer hookup. The EPA said that the couple was building on protected wetlands and that they couldn't challenge that determination in court until much later, possibly after large fines accrued.
The justices sided with the Sacketts, granting them - and others in their situation - legal review of the EPA's judgments. Yet the agency ought to have asked itself years ago whether it really needed to hassle a couple seeking to build a home in an existing subdivision, helping to justify every negative caricature of the EPA that Republican presidential hopefuls peddled during the primary race. Perhaps the agency would have been able to keep more of its regulatory power if it had been more judicious.
The lesson for Ms. Jackson and her boss, President Obama, from these two episodes is clear: The agency's officers must have a clear sense when to deploy its mighty power and when to exercise discretion. That's true for the sake of the economy and to ensure that the EPA will be able to continue its necessary work for years to come.
STRASSEL: The 'Crucify Them' Presidency
Friday May 4, 2012
Posted by Matt Dempsey matt_dempsey@epw.senate.gov
In Case You Missed It...
Wall Street Journal
The 'Crucify Them' Presidency
By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
Al Armendariz, the EPA official who resigned in disgrace this week, was no outlier among the Obama administration's regulators.
May 3, 2012, 8:05 p.m. ET
Al "Crucify Them" Armendariz resigned from the Environmental Protection Agency this week, for the mistake of telling it like it is. All he leaves behind is an entire administration of Al Armendarizes.
EPA chief Lisa Jackson was quick to assure the public that her regional administrator-who was caught on video describing his desire to "crucify" oil and gas companies-was not "representative of the agency." Mr. Armendariz's views, she said, "don't reflect any policy that we have, and they don't reflect our actions over the past two years." At least she didn't say it under oath.
The Armendariz story matters precisely because he is the model Obama regulator. Hamstrung by both public opinion and Congress, President Obama has turned to these types to enact his broader agenda.
The regional EPA administrator was no rogue appointee. Rather, "there are Armendarizes all throughout this administration" says Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, who first drew attention to the "crucify" video. They were chosen for a purpose.
Consider the broader tale of Mr. Armendariz, lost in the wake of the sensational video. Prior to being appointed by President Obama in late 2009 to serve as EPA's point man for south-central states, Mr. Armendariz was at Texas's Southern Methodist University. His then-résumé showed a scant three years of private-sector experience, with far more time devoted to his work as an adviser to the militant fringe of the environmental community.
Mr. Armendariz's expertise-take note-was working with groups like the Environmental Defense Fund and "Downwinders at Risk" against hydraulic fracturing. Among his achievements: a cameo appearance in "Gasland," the anti-drilling propaganda film, as well as authoring a 2009 study making the wild claim that gas drilling was the cause of more air pollution in Dallas than even cars.
In other words, he was a perfect general for Mr. Obama's war against natural gas. The White House is hostile to fossil fuels, yet it has been unable to get Congress or the public to act. So it has unleashed the EPA to crack down on those industries.
The bonanza in natural gas has nonetheless been tricky for the feds, since hydraulic fracturing regulation is technically left to the states. The agency's solution has been to invent enforcement actions out of existing federal law to harass drillers.
Mr. Armendariz was on the front lines. By early 2010, the EPA boss was already making his "crucify them" comments at a public-meeting-cum-activist-rally in Dish, Texas. At this gathering, Mr. Armendariz also bragged that one of his "really special moments" had been getting the overall chief of EPA enforcement, Cynthia Giles, to watch "Gasland." He lamented that he did not have a "Way of Life Act" that he could enforce-to deal with the "truck traffic," "noise," "water use" and "waste pits" associated with natural-gas drilling.
Though he reminds the crowd that the laws he can use, like the Clean Water Act, aren't exactly "toothless."
As he proved. Within a year of arrival, Mr. Armendariz had found his first target: Fort Worth-based gas driller Range Resources. While Texas regulators had found no evidence that Range had polluted local water wells, Mr. Armendariz in December 2010 publicly bypassed them and issued an emergency order giving Range 48 hours to begin supplying water to residents and to clean up.
Emails show that Mr. Armendariz was communicating with his activists on the day of the action. "We're about to make a lot of news," he crowed in an email, advising them: "Time to Tivo Channel 8."
As it happens, "Channel 8" had the news before an aide for Mr. Armendariz had bothered to notify the state. One of Mr. Armendariz's email buddies (who included members of the Environmental Defense Fund and Public Citizen) wrote back: "Yee haw! Hats off to the new Sheriff and his deputies!" When a Texas official told Mr. Armendariz that he felt the action was "premature," the EPA appointee forwarded the email to his staff with this word: "Stunning."
Or not. Fifteen months later-after Texas regulators unanimously concluded that Range was not the cause of natural gas in local wells, after Range had sued, and after EPA was unable to find any evidence of wrongdoing-the agency withdrew its order. Turns out Mr. Armendariz had nothing more against Range than his, and his activists', disdain for fossil fuels.
His actions are no aberration. This is the "Crucify Them" presidency. Mr. Obama couldn't get a card check law passed, so his National Labor Relations Board's union lawyers sue Boeing for locating in a right-to-work state. He couldn't outlaw offshore drilling, so Interior activists continue a permitorium in the Gulf. He can't make ObamaCare work, so Health Department officials threaten to exclude insurers from exchanges if they raise premiums. He couldn't outright kill nuclear energy, so his top nuclear regulator has shut down the Yucca Mountain waste repository to strangle industry growth.
Mr. Armendariz apologized for his "words," though you might wonder why. He was picked to do a job-to "crucify" industry-and he did it. His real mistake was admitting it.
It is not just Armendariz: Inhofe EPW Press News Roundup
Tuesday May 1, 2012
Posted by Katie Brown Katie_Brown@epw.senate.gov
"It is not just Armendariz" - "Crucify" official resignation doesn't quiet critics - "continue pressing the EPA for answers"
Inhofe EPW Press News Roundup
WATCH: "In no case have we made a definitive determination that the fracking process has caused chemicals to enter groundwater," Jackson told Fox News on Friday. - EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Friday, April 27 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsBWGsuOPBg&list=UUk3W3ilX8vGG-300qzNpG7w&index=1&feature=plcp
Inhofe April 25, 2012 Letter to Jackson on Range Resources
Daily Caller: Inhofe on ‘crucify' EPA official's resignation: ‘It is not just Armendariz': "It is not just Armendariz. There are a lot of other Armendarizes around," Inhofe told TheDC, explaining the problem has not been solved with the Region 6 administrator's exit. "We watch these guys. We get the complaints from people who are being run out of business by the EPA, and he's one but there are several others also," he said. Inhofe added that his investigation into the manner the EPA dealings with oil and gas companies - particularly those engaged in hydraulic fracturing - will continue. The Oklahoma senator's investigation will include a look into how the EPA treated Range Resources - the Fort Worth-based drilling company that the EPA imposed an expensive emergency order on alleging water contamination on the part of the company, only to withdraw the order 15 months later. He noted, however, that there are many companies that have not been able to fight the EPA's mandates."The big question nobody talks about is, what about all those companies that didn't fight it? ‘$33,000 a day? I'm out of business.' How many companies today are out of business because they just couldn't stand up to them?" he said. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/30/inhofe-on-crucify-epa-officials-resignation-there-are-a-lot-of-other-armendarizes-around/#ixzz1tdYOVDnZ
Oklahoman: Inhofe says EPA official was right to resign over crucifixion comments: Inhofe has accused the Obama administration of waging a war on fossil fuels and charged last week that the EPA targeted hydraulic fracturing - in which water, sand and chemicals are injected into a well to free oil and gas from rock formations - as a way to slow the boom in energy exploration in the United States. Inhofe said Monday that Armendariz was "just being honest" with his crucifixion comments and that his resignation "in no way solves the problem of President Obama and his EPA's crucifixion philosophy." Inhofe said he would continue pressing the EPA for answers on why the agency had accused three companies of contaminating water but then "quietly walked back their accusations" when they had no definitive evidence. Read more: http://newsok.com/u.s.-sen.-jim-inhofe-says-epa-official-was-right-to-resign-over-crucifixion-comments/article/3671223#ixzz1tdZWsSdf
National Journal: "Armendariz's resignation won't end the clamor from Inhofe": Inhofe has been investigating EPA's actions in Texas for quite some time. The senator's much-publicized floor speech was a response to EPA actions in three states (Wyoming, Texas, and Pennsylvania) regarding natural gas drilling. In all three of those states, EPA intervened in state authority to assess hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," a controversial method to extract natural gas. And in all three cases, EPA later withdrew when it was determined that no wrongdoing or water contamination (a concern with hydraulic fracturing) had been found. "In no case have we made a definitive determination that the fracking process has caused chemicals to enter groundwater," Jackson told Fox News on Friday. Inhofe said on Monday he will continue his investigation into why EPA intervened-and then subsequently backed out-in those three states. Read More http://www.nationaljournal.com/member/energy/inhofe-scores-victory-with-epa-resignation-20120430
WashingtonPost: EPA official who compared enforcement to crucifixion resigns: But it appeared unlikely that the departure of Alfredo Juan "Al" Armendariz - who had served as EPA administrator for Region VI, encompassing Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma - would quell Republican attacks targeting the EPA during an election year. GOP lawmakers have seized upon his comments, made during a May 2010 speech in Dish, Tex., and captured on video, as an example of what they say are administration efforts to curtail U.S. energy development. Read More http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/epa-official-who-compared-enforcement-to-crucifixion-resigns/2012/04/30/gIQAucsisT_story.html?tid=pm_national_pop
Politico: 'Crucify' official resignation doesn't quiet critics: This isn't the first Obama environmental official to be forced out the door. Van Jones, a green jobs adviser in the White House Council on Environmental Quality, became conservative cable news catnip in 2009 after he made controversial comments about congressional Republicans and his name appeared on a petition calling for hearings into whether the government was responsible in some way for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Jones resigned that September. Here, the public debate over Armendariz's remarks, coming in the heat of Obama's reelection campaign, has also gotten intense. White House press secretary Jay Carney and Jackson distanced themselves from Armendariz's comments last week, while Jared Bernstein, a former economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, called them "absolutely reprehensible." Read More http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75760.html
Bloomberg: "cozy relationship with environmentalists...": Before the notice was issued, the top official in Texas for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alerted health advocates that an emergency order was being issued against gas-driller Range Resources Corp. (RRC) "We're about to make a lot of news," Al Armendariz, who resigned yesterday as administrator for EPA Region 6 in Dallas, wrote in the 2010 e-mail. "Thank you all for your continued support and friendship." For critics, the advance word is just one example of a cozy relationship with environmentalists, ties they say led Armendariz to be an adversary to the oil and gas industry and a symbol of what lobbyists say is a hostile administration. Before he took over in 2009, a study he wrote said drilling is the major cause of air pollution in Dallas, a finding disputed by industry and state regulators. He had a cameo in the anti-hydraulic fracturing movie "Gasland" and was promoted to President Barack Obama by environmentalists, who said the civil engineering professor from Southern Methodist University would be tough on polluters. He quit yesterday after comments from a 2010 video surfaced in which he linked regulation and crucifixion. Read More http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-05-01/oil-industry-fought-epa-texas-chief-who-quit-in-crucify-furor.html
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Politico Pro: 'Crucify' official resignation doesn't quiet critics
Monday April 30, 2012
From Austin to D.C., Republicans and energy industry officials amplified their calls for an investigation into EPA's enforcement record in the energy rich five-state region that Armendariz oversaw.
"This isn't just one person, this is an entire, agency-wide philosophy," said Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "He stepped down, but unfortunately the agency is still there and that whole mindset is still there."
Scalp in hand after first drawing public attention to Armendariz's remarks, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Monday that he planned to continue using his perch as top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee to probe EPA's work policing oil and gas companies.
House Calls for Hearings on Crucify Them Philosophy
Monday April 30, 2012
Posted by Katie Brown Katie_Brown@epw.senate.gov
House Calls for Hearings on "Crucify Them" Philosophy
Roundup of Latest News Over EPA Administrator's Crucifixion Agenda
Check this site for updates as the Armendariz "Crucify Them" Story Unfolds...
WATCH Highlights from "Crucify" Coverage on the Inhofe YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JimInhofePressOffice
Inhofe on Twitter: http://twitter.com/inhofepress
Congressional Hearings
The Hill: House GOP wants to haul EPA official before Congress over 'crucify' comments: House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans want an Environmental Protection Agency official to testify on his 2010 comments comparing enforcement of air pollution laws to crucifixion.??Republicans pounced this week on EPA Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz's comments soon after Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) drew attention to them in a Wednesday floor speech... "[T]he Committee anticipates that it will request your presence at a hearing in the near future to examine enforcement priorities and practices of the agency," the committee Republicans wrote to Armendariz in a letter Friday.??The letter notes that the committee invited Armendariz to testify at a field hearing in Texas last year, but EPA clean air chief Gina McCarthy testified in his place.??The lawmakers suggest that they would consider subpoenaing Armendariz if he declines to testify.??"As this will be our second request to have you appear before our Committee, and in light of the seriousness of the concerns that need to be addressed, the Committee is prepared to use all authorities at its disposal to ensure your attendance," the letter says.??The letter also seeks information about the agency's enforcement practices.? Read More: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/224343-house-gop-wants-to-haul-epa-official-before-congress-over-crucify-comments
Calls For Resignation
Daily Caller: More than half of congressmen in EPA Region 6 seek removal of ‘crucify them' official: Twenty nine of the 42 representatives in the states contained within EPA's Region 6 - as well as Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King and Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks - are pushing for the removal of Al Armendariz from his post as EPA Region 6 Administrator for his "crucify them" enforcement philosophy against U.S. oil and gas companies. Rep. Mike Conaway announced a letter Friday calling on EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to relieve Armendariz from his position. The letter was signed by all the Republican House members from the Texas delegation as well as New Mexico Republican Rep. Steve Pearce, King, and Franks. Region 6 serves Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and 66 Native American tribes. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/27/more-than-half-of-congressmen-in-epa-region-6-seek-removal-of-crucify-them-official/#ixzz1tODvZAsR
Wall Street Journal Editorial: 'Crucify Them': An EPA bureaucrat lets the mask slip: It's no secret that the bosses at the Environmental Protection Agency hate fossil fuels. But few are as candid as Al Armendariz, the regional administrator who says the agency's "general philosophy" is to "crucify" oil and gas producers. That's how EPA chief Lisa Jackson's point man for Texas, Oklahoma and other south-central states put it in 2010 lecture. Mr. Armendariz explains that his staff's "philosophy of enforcement" is "like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they'd find the first five guys they saw and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years." The point is to "make examples" of alleged lawbreakers. Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe released video of the speech on Wednesday as part of his investigation into the EPA's now-discredited claims of water contamination due to hydraulic fracturing, including in Parker County, Texas. In that case Mr. Armendariz's shop targeted Range Resources, a driller that has since been exonerated, and his remarks about executions raise questions not only about his own work but the EPA's larger impartiality and judgment.Julius Caesar probably would have suggested a different remedy, but Mr. Armendariz's resignation would suffice. Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304723304577368292876696550.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Investor's Business Daily Editorial: The EPA's 'Crucify' Politics On Energy Development: An EPA official who apparently made good on a threat to "crucify" an oil company to make the entire energy industry "easy to manage" should resign or be fired. So why is the White House protecting him? EPA regional administrator for Dallas Al Armendariz told a city council meeting in a taped speech two years ago that his "philosophy" of enforcement was to single out an oil company, punish it "as hard as you can," and make an example of it to scare others into submission."The Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean," said Armendariz. "They'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they'd find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years."...But incredibly, the White House, already mired in scandals involving other abuses of power in other agencies, has said Armendariz would stay. "I think he's apologized, and what he's said is clearly not representative of either the president's belief" or EPA practices, said White House spokesman Jay Carney. In light of the evidence telling another story, the only conclusion is that Armendariz is doing exactly what the White House wants. He just made the error of saying it.The White House has blocked drilling in U.S. waters, halted the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and sent regulators out like flying monkeys to harass the oil and gas industry. Why it's protecting this lawless regulator with a grotesque "philosophy" bears investigating, too. Read more: http://news.investors.com/articleprint/609419/201204261900/white-house-protects-epa-official-who-would-crucify-oil-companies.aspx
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
Washington Post: Jackson "Distanced Herself" " Continue To Review" the Case Friday: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson distanced herself Friday from comments by a top agency official who told a Texas community two years ago that his approach to enforcement was to make an example of polluters the way Romans crucified people to quash rebellions... "Frankly, [the comments] were inflammatory but also wrong," Jackson said Friday when asked about a YouTube video discovered this week by Oklahoma Republican Sen. James M. Inhofe's staff. "They don't comport with either this administration's policy on energy, our policy at EPA on environmental enforcement, nor do they comport with our record as well." She noted that Armendariz has apologized for what he called a "poor choice of words." Jackson said she will "continue to review" the case. But she stopped short of saying he will resign and declined to say whether he faces discipline. Read More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-administrator-rejects-officials-crucifixion-comments/2012/04/27/gIQAHCLdmT_story.html
White House
CNN: EPA official blasted over 'crucify' oil and gas comments: The White House and the Environmental Protection Agency are distancing themselves from controversial remarks that surfaced this week by a regional administrator attacking the oil and gas industry. In a video made in 2010, Al Armendariz, who heads the EPA's Dallas office, suggested his approach to dealing with noncompliant oil and gas companies is "like when the Romans conquered the villages in the Mediterranean, they'd go into little villages in Turkish towns and they'd find the first five guys they saw and crucify them."...The EPA did not respond to multiple attempts from CNN to answer questions regarding Armendariz's future with the agency, whether he'll face disciplinary action or if EPA Chief Lisa Jackson has spoken with him directly. Read More: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/26/politics/epa-comments/
ABC NEWS: The White House today distanced itself from comments made by a regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in which he suggested government officials should take lessons from ancient Romans and "crucify" people not complying with environmental laws. In a 2010 video brought to light by frequent EPA foe Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., EPA Region VI Administrator Al Almendariz said that he gave the following analogy to his staff about his "philosophy of enforcement," which he acknowledged being crude and perhaps inappropriate, but shared anyway: "It is kind of like how the Romans used to conquer villages in the Mediterranean - they'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere and they'd find the first five guys they saw, they'd crucify ‘em, and that little town was really easy to manage for the next few years." Read More: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/white-house-says-epa-officials-crucify-comments-are-inaccurate/
About Armendariz
Daily Caller: EPA ‘crucify' official received $540k in federal taxpayer-funded research grants: EPA official who bragged about his "crucify them" enforcement philosophy against oil and gas companies - a story The Daily Caller was the first to report on Wednesday - has collected or shared in at least $540,522 in taxpayer dollars from the federal government to fund environmental projects that stretched from 2004 to 2010. President Barack Obama appointed Alfredo "Al" Armendariz as the administrator for EPA's South Central Region (Region 6) in Nov. 2009. Since his appointment he has been a thorn in the side of energy producers. The "Obama-appointed" label often indicates a movement liberal, and the former Southern Methodist University professor's Web pages - still hosted on SMU's website and divided into "teaching," "research," and "clean air community service" - indicate both his past environmental activism and the grant money he has collected to carry it out. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/27/epa-crucify-official-received-540k-in-federal-taxpayer-funded-research-grants/#ixzz1tO6tgIL2
Forbes: EPA Official Not Only Touted 'Crucifying' Oil Companies, He Tried It And not only has Armendariz talked about crucifying oil companies, he's tried to do it. In 2010 his office targeted Range Resources, a Fort Worth-based driller that was among the first to discover the potential of the Marcellus Shale gas field of Pennsylvania - the biggest gas field in America and one of the biggest in the world. Armendariz's office declared in an emergency order that Range's drilling activity had contaminated groundwater in Parker County, Texas. Armendariz's office insisted that Range's hydraulic fracking activity had caused the pollution and ordered Range to remediate the water. The EPA's case against Range was catnip for the environmental fracktivists who insist with religious zealotry that fracking is evil. Range insisted from the beginning that there was no substance to the allegations. The Armendriz video (which appears to have been taken off YouTube late late night) was shot around the same time he was preparing the action against Range... The former professor at Southern Methodist University is a diehard environmentalist, having grown up in El Paso near a copper smelter that reportedly belched arsenic-laced clouds into the air. (Here's a profile of him in the Dallas Observer.) Texas Monthly called him one of the 25 most powerful Texans, while the Houston Chronicle said he's "the most feared environmentalist in the state." Nevermind that he couldn't prove jack against Range. For a year and a half EPA bickered over the issue, both with Range and with the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas drilling and did its own scientific study of Range's wells and found no evidence that they polluted anything. In recent months a federal judge slapped the EPA, decreeing that the agency was required to actually do some scientific investigation of wells before penalizing the companies that drilled them. Finally in March the EPA withdrew its emergency order and a federal court dismissed the EPA's case. Read More: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/04/26/epa-official-not-only-touted-crucifying-oil-companies-he-tried-it/
Video Take Down
Politico: YouTube yanks EPA 'crucify' video: Sen. Jim Inhofe's staff wants to know more about why YouTube took down a video that showed an EPA regional administrator comparing the agency's enforcement philosophy to Roman crucifixions. The takedown, which POLITICO noticed early Friday, apparently took place at the behest of a "citizen media" activist who had originally posted the video on YouTube, Inhofe spokesman Matt Dempsey said by email. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75678.html#ixzz1tO8XpfjJ
Hot Air: Whodunit: The case of the missing EPA "crucifixion" video: YouTube routinely pulls videos any time there is a copyright complaint [see update II below for clarification as to why], but even a cursory examination in this case would show it to be spurious. The clip used by Inhofe's office was a brief part of a longer clip, involved a government official discussing public policy, and the clip was used for editorial purposes, not just for republication. It's called "fair use," and this is precisely the circumstances intended for the fair-use exception to copyrights. Furthermore, it seems doubly ironic that a so-called "citizen media activist" would suddenly fight against openness and transparency. Isn't that the whole point of citizen-media activism? Their YouTube page brags that they bring viewers "videos that you will not see in the Corporate Media." Well, congratulations - you found one that scooped the "Corporate Media"! And .... now McFatridge wants it hidden? Hmmmm. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that McFatridge didn't realize just how people would react to a high-ranking EPA official bragging about crucifying taxpayers, and got embarrassed when it created a firestorm. Read More: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/04/27/whodunit-the-case-of-the-missing-epa-crucifixion-video/
EPA Apology
AP: EPA official apologizes for use of word 'crucify': Armendariz's apology was issued Wednesday by the EPA's headquarters in Washington. "I apologize to those I have offended and regret my poor choice of words. It was an offensive and inaccurate way to portray our efforts to address potential violations of our nation's environmental laws," he said. "I am always and have been committed to fair and vigorous enforcement of those laws." Cynthia Giles, the assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance, also issued a statement. "Strong, fair and effective enforcement of the environmental laws passed by Congress is critical to protecting public health and ensuring that all companies, regardless of industry, are playing by the same rules," she wrote. Read More http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/epa-official-apologizes-word-crucify-16222009#.T56gd9lmQtE
CNS News: The EPA official who said his agency's "philosophy" is to "crucify" oil and gas companies apologized for his comments on Wednesday night. But, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who exposed the comments, says the apology falls far short. "I apologize to those I have offended and regret my poor choice of words," Region 6 EPA Administrator Al Armendariz said yesterday: "It was an offensive and inaccurate way to portray our efforts to address potential violations of our nation's environmental laws. I am and have always been committed to fair and vigorous enforcement of those laws." Sen. Inhofe, who has launched an investigation into the EPA's "crucify" philosophy, said today that Administrator Armendariz apologized for his words, but not for EPA's actions: "Administrator Armendariz apologized yesterday for his 'poor choice of words' when he admitted that EPA's 'general philosophy' is to 'crucify' and 'make examples' of oil and gas companies, but he did not apologize for EPA's actions towards its apparent crucifixion victims. Read More: http://cnsnews.com/node/538800
Obama Administration's Agenda
RightSideNews: Krauthammer: EPA administrator's ‘crucify' remarks a perfect choice of words: Like most of us, Krauthammer isn't buying the apology made by Armendariz over his ‘crucify' remarks or Carney's spin on it today. He says it wasn't a poor choice of words, but rather a perfect choice of words and it accurately depicts how the EPA has treated the oil and gas industry. Read More: http://www.therightscoop.com/krauthammer-epa-administrators-crucify-remarks-a-perfect-choice-of-words/
WashingtonTimes Editorial: Obama crucifies business: EPA issued no press release highlighting the fracking exoneration. "They hope they can admit they were wrong quietly," Mr. Inhofe said. "But we're not going to let them get away with it." Americans might not be happy should they learn by November that such sordid tactics are contributing to their pain at the pump. Read More: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/25/obama-crucifies-business/
Malkin: One of President Obama's radical eco-bureaucrats has apologized for confirming an indelible truth: This White House treats politically incorrect private industries as public enemies who deserve regulatory death sentences. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Al Armendariz, an avowed greenie on leave from Southern Methodist University, gave a little-noticed speech in 2010 outlining his sadistic philosophy. "I was in a meeting once, and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement, and I think it was probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting, but I'll go ahead and tell you what I said," he began. In a video obtained and released by Sen. James Inhofe (R., Okla.), Armendariz then shared his bloody analogy: It was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they'd find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. . . . So, that's our general philosophy. Echoing President Obama's "punch back twice as hard" treatment of his political enemies, Armendariz explained to his underlings: "You hit them as hard as you can, and you make examples out of them, and there is a deterrent effect there. And, companies that are smart see that, they don't want to play that game, and they decide at that point that it's time to clean up." Read More: http://michellemalkin.com/2012/04/27/crucify-them-its-the-obama-way/
Beauprez with Town Hall: The Obama Administration is dismissive of Armendariz's revelation, but others see it as exposing the real agenda. Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana, where thousands of jobs have been lost due to the heavy handed moratorium imposed in the gulf by the Obama Administration, nailed it. "The use of threats and intimidation to force energy companies to submit to an extremist agenda may be fitting under a totalitarian regime, but it is never acceptable in the United States," Fleming said. Inhofe cites some hard evidence of the EPA's regulatory hard ball. Despite a natural gas boom on private land, the Energy Information Agency (EIA) reports natural gas sales of production from federal lands are down 17% since 2008, Inhofe said in a recent Senate floor speech. Investor's Business Daily connected the dots correctly in a scathing - and accurate - editorial, "the only conclusion is that Armendariz is doing exactly what the White House wants. He just made the error of saying it." We agree. Read More: http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/bobbeauprez/2012/04/29/white_house_shrugs_off_crucify_them_comments/page/full/
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The Hill: EPA chief: Crucify comments disappointing
Friday April 27, 2012
But Jackson declined to say whether the official would be fired or face any disciplinary action, saying the agency "will continue to review" the situation.
Jackson spoke publicly Friday about the comments by Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz for the first time since Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) drew attention to them in a floor speech Wednesday, setting off a firestorm in Washington.
"I have spoken to Dr. Armendariz, I have made clear to him that I am glad he apologized because his comments were disappointing, they are not representative of the agency, they don't reflect any policy that we have, and they don't reflect our actions over the past two years, and we will continue to review and talk to Dr. Armendariz," Jackson told reporters Friday after giving a speech at American University.
Jackson stressed that the comments do no reflect EPA's philosophy on enforcing environmental laws.
