Reaction to Obama’s Draconian Plan to Cut “Fugitive” Methane 45%
Yesterday President Obama signaled now the war on coal is largely won (coal lost), he’s moved on to a war on the oil and gas industry. The White House announced their intent to have the federal EPA and other agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management, impose onerous new “rules” on so-called fugitive methane emissions in the oil and gas industry (see White House Pledges to Cut “Fugitive” Methane by 40-45%). Here’s what you need to know about yesterday’s announcement: So far, there are no specifics as to how the EPA will cut those emissions by 40-45%–what draconian measures they will adopt. That’s coming along this summer. Yesterday’s announcement was simply “get ready for the next shoe to drop.” It was Obama, like the bully he is, telling his intended victims he’s coming and he’s going to beat them up, real bad. So now we wait until “summer” when the shoe will drop. Below we have reaction, both praising and condemning Obama’s plan to regulate methane emissions…
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It’s interesting to MDN that several of the seven Pennsylvania towns that sued the state over the Act 13 law and its zoning provisions–presumably because they didn’t want any Marcellus drilling in their borders–have done a 180 degree turnabout. It happened first in Robinson Township (Washington County), PA–the very township whose name is forever (shamefully) emblazoned on the case, which is called “Robinson v Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” Voters in Robinson tossed their anti-drilling leaders out of office (see
In a huge disappointment, Gov.-elect Tom Wolf has tapped two members of the same anti-drilling “environmental” organization–PennFuture–to head up the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Both also once worked for Gov. Ed Rendell (Wolf is acting more like Fast Eddie every day). Wolf is tapping John Quigley, who was Secretary of DCNR under Gov. Ed Rendell, to be Secretary at the DEP. Lately, Quigley has hung his hat at PennFuture as its government relations manager. His boss at PennFuture, Cindy Dunn (president of that organization), will become the Secretary of DCNR for Wolf. She served as deputy secretary of the DCNR under Rendell. It’s all kind of incestuous, isn’t it? PennFuture has a history of opposing the Marcellus industry–and now these two Rendell retreads are put in charge of managing the Marcellus industry. Unfortunately, we take that has an bad harbinger of what Wolf plans for Marcellus drilling in the Keystone State. His true colors are starting to show…