MILLS: Trumps New Policies Increase Energy & Economic Independence

Insiders ENERGY REPORT: Sue & Settle" was a game Obama Regulators played By Alex Mills AUSTIN Texas (Texas Insider Report)  Anyone who had a connection to the oil and gas industry felt the power of federal bureaucracy during the eight year Barack Obama governed the nation from the White House. The industry however did not know magnitude of all of the new federal regulations until last week when House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California wrote in the Washington Post that the Federal Register where all new regulations are published hit 97110 pages in 2016 alone.

Washingtons many agencies bureaus and departments propagate rules that weigh down businesses destroy jobs and limit American freedoms" McCarthy wrote.

Career bureaucrats who never face the voters wield punishing authority with little to no accountability. If theres a swamp in Washington this is it."

McCarthy said federal regulations cost the American people about $1.89 trillion every year according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Thats more than 10 of GDP or roughly $15000 per American household."

He said the House of Representatives has a plan to strip power from the bureaucracy and give it back to the people." The House already has passed the Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act which would require congressional approval before new regulations that cost at least $100 million can become law and the Regulatory Accountability Act which would require agencies to choose the least-costly option available to accomplish their goals. That bill would also prohibit large rules from going into effect while they are being challenged in court. Further it would end the Chevron deference" a doctrine that stacks the legal system in favor of the bureaucracy by directing judges to defer to an agencys interpretation of its own rules. Also the House next week will begin repealing specific regulations using the Congressional Review Act which allows a majority in the House and Senate to overturn any rules finalized in the past 60 legislative days McCarthy wrote. Perhaps no aspect of Americas economy has been as overregulated as energy" he noted in the column. So the House will repeal the Interior Departments Stream Protection Rule which could destroy tens of thousands of mining jobs and put up to 64 of the countrys coal reserves off limits according to the National Mining Association.

Likewise the Obama administration moved at the 11th hour to limit the oil-and-gas industry through a new methane regulation. It could cost up to $1 billion by 2025 the American Petroleum Institute estimates even though the industry is already subject to the Clean Air Act and has leveraged technological advances to dramatically reduce methane emissions.

The additional regulation would force small and struggling operationsin the West in particularto close up shop which is why it will be one of the first to go."

The House will also take the axe to the Securities & Exchange Commissions disclosure rule for resource extraction which adds an unreasonable compliance burden on American energy companies that isnt applied to their foreign competitors he said. This rule which closely mimics a regulation already struck down by the courts would put American businesses at a competitive disadvantage. President Trump delivered on a campaign promise in his first full day in the White House on Jan. 23 by directing the State Department to begin a re-examination of approving the Keystone XL Pipeline which will transport crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. He also implemented action to get the Dakota Access pipeline completed in North Dakota where protesters have blocked further construction. The actions of the president and the House are clear signals that the energy and economic policies of the nation are headed in a new pro-growth era designed to increase employment and bolster energy independence. Pruitt Believes EPA Has A Very Important Role Scott Pruitt Donald Trumps choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) faced Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on Jan. 18th during his confirmation hearing. Democrats explored his record as Oklahomas Attorney General trying to create some sort of problem with his relationship with the oil and gas industry and Pruitts lawsuits against former President Obamas federal regulatory agencies including EPA Fish and Wildlife Service Department of Interior and others. Actually Pruitt had little official oversight of the oil and gas industry as Attorney General. Several Democrats criticized Pruitt for sending a letter in 2011 to EPA stating problems he saw with its proposed methane rule. They alleged the letter appeared to closely resemble a similar letter from Devon Energy Corp. an oil and gas company based in Oklahoma City. It was sent not on behalf of one company Pruitt said. It was sent on behalf of industry. The oil and gas industry worked with Pruitt and other attorney generals from Texas and some 30 other states in several cases challenging federal overreach that infringes on states rights. One such case was a lawsuit filed by Pruitt and the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance which included the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers in 2014 against the Department of Interior and Fish & Wildlife Service regarding a practice known as sue and settle." Sue and settle" was a game regulators within the Obama administration played with environmental groups who would bring legal action against a federal agency to enforce a regulation by a specific deadline. The agency frequently would miss the deadline and the environmental groups and the agency would then work out an agreement behind closed doors. A draft consent decree or settlement agreement would be lodged with the court. The court finalizes the decree or agreement. In many cases the environmental group was awarded funds from the federal agency to pay their legal fees. Pruitt stated in the petition sue and settle" violated the 5th Amendment of the Constitution the Endangered Species Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. The process is also described in a 49-page study conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2013 that outlined settled agreements involving the Clean Air Act Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Pruitts actions focused on the close relationship between federal regulators and environmental groups which circumvented the rights of other citizens to participate in the process. Before the aggressive behavior and overreach of the Obama regulatory machine states seldom brought legal action against the federal government. However President Obama decided he would use the power of the executive order and regulatory process to achieve the changes he desired because working through the legislative process took too much time and effort. The only remedy the states had was legal action. Pruitt told the committee he did not believe climate change is a hoax but the amount of human involvement is subject to debate. Pruitts opponents have alleged that he is a climate denier because he has participated in many lawsuits against federal agencies and some involved the EPA. However Pruitt believes in the rule of law and states rights. Pruitt said he believes that states and federal agencies should partner together to protect the environment. He said the EPA has a very important role."