Cramer Welcomes EPA Administrator to North Dakota

Press Release

Today Congressman Kevin Cramer welcomed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to North Dakota as he joined Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp in hosting her visit.

"I am grateful to Ms. McCarthy for her visit and was pleased to join her in engaging the North Dakota public in the heart of lignite coal country. Today the Administrator met the citizens who are contributing to the American energy revolution and toured our production facilities reliably providing families with some of the lowest electricity rates in the nation. I hope she listened to those who are in the field every day, enjoyed our clean air, and took note of the fastest growing economy in the nation," said Cramer.

Tribal concerns

During a morning meeting with North Dakota Tribal Chairmen in Bismarck, concerns over energy development delays on tribal lands were expressed to Administrator McCarthy. Cramer noted the House of Representatives passed the Native American Energy Act in November to protect the sovereignty of tribal land against unfounded federal regulation and disruptions from interests outside of the affected tribe including frivolous lawsuits.

"The federal government needs to empower Tribal members with more control over their energy resources. These nations are sovereign but their energy projects are unjustly being treated as public at the federal level, opening them up to disruptions from faraway activists in other states," Cramer added.

Renewable fuels

At a stakeholders forum on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) at Bismarck State College, Cramer said the best thing the EPA can do for the future of renewable fuels is get out of the way to help states like North Dakota build a job-creating economy which will grow consumer demand for renewables.

"Renewable fuel producers, petroleum producers, and their markets are facing a great deal of uncertainty due to unanticipated 2014 fuel volume requirements announced by the EPA. The industry should be able to handle uncertainty of consumer choice, consumer demand, and other forces natural to a free market, but not last minute decisions of government officials," said Cramer.

Coal and utilities

Cramer also joined the Administrator for a tour of the Dakota Gasification Plant in Beulah and a forum with coal and utilities stakeholders. He is an original cosponsor along with Senator John Hoeven of the bipartisan, bicameral Electricity Security and Affordability Act which would require congressional approval of EPA rules aimed at existing fossil fuel-fired power plants and require greenhouse gas standards to be achieved before rules for new power plants can be issued. The House of Representatives is expected to bring this bill to the floor for a vote next week.

Since last year, Congressman Cramer has repeatedly requested McCarthy hold an EPA listening session in North Dakota on its proposed regulations for existing coal plants. The agency held 11 listening sessions in cities including Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston, while bypassing all ten states most experienced with coal generated electricity including North Dakota. Cramer expressed his disappointment when the EPA also declined to make any public record of the original 11 listening sessions.

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