In The News
State Journal: Inhofe Seeks Answers From EPA On Spruce No. 1 Mine Permit
Thursday October 7, 2010
U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on Oct. 4 that asks for more information about the agency's handling of a permit for Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County.
The EPA issued the permit in 2007 for the Arch Coal operation after a 10-year review, and Inhofe told Jackson he does not believe federal law allows the EPA to revoke an existing permit. Coal companies, he said, deserve some level of certainty in their dealings with regulators.
Coal industry observers believe the EPA's handling of the Spruce permit has interfered with the mining operation's ability to earn a return on its substantial investment, thus justifying a lawsuit to recover damages from the federal government.
The EPA issued the permit in 2007 for the Arch Coal operation after a 10-year review, and Inhofe told Jackson he does not believe federal law allows the EPA to revoke an existing permit. Coal companies, he said, deserve some level of certainty in their dealings with regulators.
Coal industry observers believe the EPA's handling of the Spruce permit has interfered with the mining operation's ability to earn a return on its substantial investment, thus justifying a lawsuit to recover damages from the federal government.
METAPHYSICAL SUBTLETIES
Wednesday October 6, 2010
For businesses facing growing regulatory uncertainty from Washington, EPA's greenhouse gas regime must be downright vexing. We don't refer only to EPA's mere rewriting of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in its greenhouse gas tailoring rule. We also mean EPA's rather bizarre invitation to states to change their laws by having them simply change the interpretation of those laws to mean, well, what they clearly don't.
To understand such strangeness, one must know that EPA is acting desperately in hopes of avoiding the "glorious mess" that regulating GHGs will surely create. As a means to that end, the agency recently proposed a "SIP" (State Implementation Plan) call for states whose laws and/or regulations are deemed deficient in that they don't authorize GHG regulation. EPA has granted states one year to correct those deficiencies; EPA in the meantime would become the backstop GHG permitting authority-permanently so, if states refuse to make the necessary changes.
To understand such strangeness, one must know that EPA is acting desperately in hopes of avoiding the "glorious mess" that regulating GHGs will surely create. As a means to that end, the agency recently proposed a "SIP" (State Implementation Plan) call for states whose laws and/or regulations are deemed deficient in that they don't authorize GHG regulation. EPA has granted states one year to correct those deficiencies; EPA in the meantime would become the backstop GHG permitting authority-permanently so, if states refuse to make the necessary changes.
Oklahoman Editorial: EPA dust proposals would pinch farm country
Wednesday October 6, 2010
A draft assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency that could lead to regulations on pesticides, herbicides, farm dust and other items suggests a fundamental question: Do these Washington bureaucrats know anything about farm country?
The EPA has hired 23 independent scientists to see how much dust and other material is floating in the air, with an eye on stricter rules for airborne particulate matter. EPA is looking at replacing the current standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter with a standard of between 65 and 85 micrograms per cubic meter - essentially cutting in half the amount of particulate matter allowed in the air.
Members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation believe this would be especially devastating in farming areas. Last week Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, called the proposals job killers.
The EPA has hired 23 independent scientists to see how much dust and other material is floating in the air, with an eye on stricter rules for airborne particulate matter. EPA is looking at replacing the current standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter with a standard of between 65 and 85 micrograms per cubic meter - essentially cutting in half the amount of particulate matter allowed in the air.
Members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation believe this would be especially devastating in farming areas. Last week Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, called the proposals job killers.
New York Post: Op-Ed: O's quietest jobs-killing machine
Tuesday October 5, 2010
One insidious force keeping unemployment high is regulatory uncertainty: Companies that could hire (or re-hire), don't -- because they're worried about what new restrictions will be coming down from Washington.
Congress bears much of the blame -- especially for the new "financial reform" law, which leaves so many details to be filled in later. But a major contributor to businesses' worries is the Obama Environmental Protection Agency, which is issuing a daily barrage of rules and regulations threatening jobs in American industry.
So concludes "EPA's Anti-Industrial Policy: Threatening Jobs and America's Manufacturing Base" -- a new report from the minority staff of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (on which I serve as ranking member).
Congress bears much of the blame -- especially for the new "financial reform" law, which leaves so many details to be filled in later. But a major contributor to businesses' worries is the Obama Environmental Protection Agency, which is issuing a daily barrage of rules and regulations threatening jobs in American industry.
So concludes "EPA's Anti-Industrial Policy: Threatening Jobs and America's Manufacturing Base" -- a new report from the minority staff of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (on which I serve as ranking member).
Inhofe Calls 10:10 Global Warming Shock Video Outrageous, Last-Ditch Effort
Monday October 4, 2010
Richard Curtis, the British director of Love Actually (2003), has produced a new climate-change awareness video that includes gruesome images of exploding schoolchildren. In the spot, students who refuse to comply with carbon-cutting standards are slaughtered by their teacher.
The video - dubbed an "eco-fascist snuff movie" by James Delingpole of the Daily Telegraph - has caused a stir across the pond. Due to public outcry, the video has since been removed from the web by its sponsor, the 10:10 group.
Sen. James Inhofe (R., Okla.), the ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, tells National Review Online that the clip is an "outrageous, last-ditch effort" by the green movement to "scare little kids into thinking that they could be killed if they don't believe what they're told to believe."
The video - dubbed an "eco-fascist snuff movie" by James Delingpole of the Daily Telegraph - has caused a stir across the pond. Due to public outcry, the video has since been removed from the web by its sponsor, the 10:10 group.
Sen. James Inhofe (R., Okla.), the ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, tells National Review Online that the clip is an "outrageous, last-ditch effort" by the green movement to "scare little kids into thinking that they could be killed if they don't believe what they're told to believe."
NYT: Science Foundation Backs Climate-Change Play
Monday October 4, 2010
The National Science Foundation has awarded a $700,000 grant to the Civilians, a New York theater company, to finance the production of a show about climate change. "The Great Immensity," with a book by Steven Cosson ("This Beautiful City") and music and lyrics by Michael Friedman ("Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson"), tells the story of Polly, a photojournalist who disappears while working in the rain forests of Panama. The grant is a rare gift to an arts organization from the foundation, a federal agency that pays for science, engineering and mathematics research and education. The company says it plans to spend the money on the development and evaluation of the show, as well as on a tour and educational programs, including post-show panel discussions with experts in related scientific fields. No performance dates have been announced.
Politico: EPA rules could hurt Obama in 2012
Monday October 4, 2010
President Barack Obama's Environmental Protection Agency is putting some hazardous speed bumps on his 2012 electoral road in key swing states.
Controversial rules covering everything from power plants to petroleum refiners, manufacturers, coal mines and farmers could come back to haunt the White House in industrial and Midwestern states that carried Obama to the presidency two years ago.
Political battlegrounds like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia that Obama won in 2008 will be watching how the EPA moves on climate change. Coal-reliant states such as Missouri - which Obama lost by less than 1 percentage point - will be monitoring clean air rules and coal ash standards. And farm states that Obama carried, including Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are waiting on a proposal to tighten air quality limits for microscopic soot.
Obama's situation is tricky. He campaigned on the need to address climate change and faces pressure on his left to tackle a range of issues that environmentalists complain were neglected by former President George W. Bush.
But with EPA regulations expected to come out in rapid-fire succession over the next two years, Republican presidential hopefuls are already adding them to the larger, anti-Obama narrative against expansive government.
Controversial rules covering everything from power plants to petroleum refiners, manufacturers, coal mines and farmers could come back to haunt the White House in industrial and Midwestern states that carried Obama to the presidency two years ago.
Political battlegrounds like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia that Obama won in 2008 will be watching how the EPA moves on climate change. Coal-reliant states such as Missouri - which Obama lost by less than 1 percentage point - will be monitoring clean air rules and coal ash standards. And farm states that Obama carried, including Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are waiting on a proposal to tighten air quality limits for microscopic soot.
Obama's situation is tricky. He campaigned on the need to address climate change and faces pressure on his left to tackle a range of issues that environmentalists complain were neglected by former President George W. Bush.
But with EPA regulations expected to come out in rapid-fire succession over the next two years, Republican presidential hopefuls are already adding them to the larger, anti-Obama narrative against expansive government.
Spotlight on Oklahoma
Friday October 1, 2010
As the Ranking Member of the EPW Committee, Senator Inhofe was pleased to invite a number of Oklahoma officials to testify in Washington before the EPW Committee in the 111th Congress. As a result, Washington heard about the local concerns and successes from Oklahoma.
The Oklahoman: Lucas, Inhofe say environmental regulations threaten jobs, rural America
Thursday September 30, 2010
WASHINGTON - Oklahomans on both sides of the U.S. Capitol attacked the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, saying proposed regulations would kill jobs.
Lucas, Inhofe say environmental regulations threaten jobs, rural America Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, the top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, led a discussion on how EPA proposals would hurt agriculture and rural areas. And Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said proposed EPA regulations threaten a number of U.S. industries.
At a forum sponsored by the House Rural America Solutions Group, Lucas, one of the leaders of the group, said the EPA's "in-your-face approach to more government regulation has increased the cost of doing business for America's farmers and ranchers."
Lucas, Inhofe say environmental regulations threaten jobs, rural America Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, the top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, led a discussion on how EPA proposals would hurt agriculture and rural areas. And Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said proposed EPA regulations threaten a number of U.S. industries.
At a forum sponsored by the House Rural America Solutions Group, Lucas, one of the leaders of the group, said the EPA's "in-your-face approach to more government regulation has increased the cost of doing business for America's farmers and ranchers."
EPAs Anti-Industrial Regulations - Regulations Could Kill 800,000 Jobs - Inhofe Report Blasts Series of EPA Rules
Wednesday September 29, 2010
Fox News: Inhofe Says EPA's New Boiler Rule Could Kill Nearly 800,000 Manufacturing Jobs - But the Inhofe report -- written by the Senate Environment and Public Works minority staff titled and titled "EPA's Anti-Industrial Policy: Threatening Jobs and America's Manufacturing Base," -- found that the proposed rule, known as "Boiler MACT," could put nearly 800,000 jobs at risk over requirements on commercial and industrial boilers, cement plans and ozone standards. "Reducing emissions of mercury, hydrogen chloride and other hazardous air pollutants from commercial and industrial boilers is good policy," the report reads. "But the manner in which EPA set standards to reduce those emissions is impracticable and costly." That's because the proposed standards are so stringent that not even the best performing sources can meet them, according to the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, (IECA), an industry group that represents companies with 750,000 employees and $800 billion in sales and is cited in the report. The IECA is "enormously concerned that the high costs of this proposed rule will leave companies no recourse but to shut down the entire facility, not just the boiler," the report reads
NYT / Greenwire: Republicans Blitz Obama Over EPA's 'Anti-Industrial' Regulations - With the November midterm election nearing, Republicans in Congress are focusing their fire on U.S. EPA, describing the agency's regulations on greenhouse gases and air pollution as the product of a "job-killing" Obama administration. Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, has put together a laundry list of grievances about the agency's regulatory agenda. "Unfortunately, the Obama EPA favors bureaucracy and heavy-handed intervention more than jobs and growth," says a draft of the new report that was reviewed by Greenwire. "In many cases, outmoded provisions of the [Clean Air Act] are no longer tools to achieve clean air, but blunt instruments for EPA to enact anti-industrial policies." The report tallies potential job losses and economic impacts from the agency's new greenhouse gas regulations, emissions standards for cement plants, proposed emissions rules for industrial boilers and the proposed tightening of the ozone standard. ... "All this silly stuff that they're doing over at the EPA costs money," Inhofe said, "and it disadvantages the poor more than anybody else."
NYT / Greenwire: Republicans Blitz Obama Over EPA's 'Anti-Industrial' Regulations - With the November midterm election nearing, Republicans in Congress are focusing their fire on U.S. EPA, describing the agency's regulations on greenhouse gases and air pollution as the product of a "job-killing" Obama administration. Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, has put together a laundry list of grievances about the agency's regulatory agenda. "Unfortunately, the Obama EPA favors bureaucracy and heavy-handed intervention more than jobs and growth," says a draft of the new report that was reviewed by Greenwire. "In many cases, outmoded provisions of the [Clean Air Act] are no longer tools to achieve clean air, but blunt instruments for EPA to enact anti-industrial policies." The report tallies potential job losses and economic impacts from the agency's new greenhouse gas regulations, emissions standards for cement plants, proposed emissions rules for industrial boilers and the proposed tightening of the ozone standard. ... "All this silly stuff that they're doing over at the EPA costs money," Inhofe said, "and it disadvantages the poor more than anybody else."
