Newcomers in the 114th U.S. Congress, Representative-elect David Rouzer and Senator-elect Thom Tillis, discuss plans to support American energy independence and block two rule changes proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Everything has its place
Rouzer supports an all-of-the-above strategy in pursuit of energy independence, embracing hydraulic fracturing and offshore drilling as well as renewable energy sources.
“Everything has its place, everything from solar to wind to natural gas and oil,” Rouzer said. Policies that enable the United States to become an energy superpower, including operations to drill for oil and natural gas reserves underneath the sea floor off the coast of North Carolina, could contribute to economic prosperity, bringing both local and international benefits he said.
“I think energy has potential to be a real game changer for us economically,” Rouzer said. “The potential revenues that could come from the sale of natural gas and oil would really be a shot in the arm to this area, not only in terms of increasing economic activity and all the jobs associated with that, but bringing in revenue for our local beaches to help with infrastructure needs we have on the coast.”
Exporting oil and natural gas could provide geo-political advantages, Rouzer said.
“The lower we can get the price per barrel of oil, the less money going to Putin and other pirates around the world that are enemies of this country,” he said. “The countries around Russia would love to purchase natural gas from America, rather than from Russia.”
Rouzer said he trusts the experience and technological advancements in the oil and natural gas industry as well as the authority of state agencies to ensure drilling takes place without harmful consequences.
Tillis plans to work with Senators to create policy that encourages energy independence but “mitigates both environmental risk and the burden on taxpayers,” he stated in a Dec. 9 email, listing support for offshore drilling and passage of the Keystone XL pipeline as examples of efforts to decrease dependence on foreign energy sources.
Hardly makes a dent
The EPA was tasked with creating a plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in 2013, when President Barack Obama announced plans to address climate change. No national rule or regulation limits carbon pollution emitted from power plants, considered a leading source of greenhouse gases. The EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan seeks to slash carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, if enacted. A final rule is expected by June 2015. A public comment period closed Dec. 1.
Rouzer said scientists do not agree on how much human activities impact changing global temperatures. Public policy should be based on scientific fact, he said, not on hypotheses or scientifically ambiguous theories.
Reducing American emissions will “hardly make a dent in terms of what’s being produced by other countries,” Rouzer added, listing China and India as examples. “That’s a huge economic cost, a huge economic catastrophe, for states like West Virginia, and higher power bills for everybody else all across the country, to have little to no impact whatsoever.”
Tillis referred to broad bipartisan opposition to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which he said would put American industry at a competitive disadvantage.
“The EPA’s proposed carbon rule is another attempt by the Obama administration to implement job-killing regulations by sidestepping Congress,” Tillis said. He said he plans to work with other senators to delay and stop implementation of the rule.
Unnecessary regulatory burdens
The EPA partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to announce the Waters of the U.S. proposed rule in March, which would subject streams, wetlands and other headwaters that empty into major rivers and lakes to water quality standards outlined in the Clean Water Act. Almost 18,000 comments on the proposed rule poured in during a twice-extended public comment period.
Rouzer said most of the 7th Congressional District could fall within the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act under the proposed rule, requiring permits for any activity that might impact larger bodies of water flowing from local wetlands. He supported the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014, introduced in the House in July, to halt implementation of the proposed rule. It passed Sept. 9 with affirmative votes from Rep. Walter Jones Jr., R-3rd District, and Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-7th District.
The Senate introduced a similar bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr, in June, which has not emerged from its initial assignment to the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Tillis said he supported the bill to “prevent the EPA from imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens on landowners and businesses.”
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