Shell Oil Company has announced it must scrap efforts to drill for oil this summer in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska. The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. The move has angered some in Congress and triggered a flurry of legislation aimed at stripping the EPA of its oil drilling oversight.Four bureaucrats from the EPA shut down a $4 billion investment just because they could. That's what this government is all about. Shutting things down they don't like.
Shell has spent five years and nearly $4 billion dollars on plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The leases alone cost $2.2 billion. Shell Vice President Pete Slaiby says obtaining similar air permits for a drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico would take about 45 days. He’s especially frustrated over the appeal board’s suggestion that the Arctic drill would somehow be hazardous for the people who live in the area. “We think the issues were really not major,” Slaiby said, “and clearly not impactful for the communities we work in.”
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is considering legislation that would strip the EPA of its regulatory role. I think that's long overdue.
Hat Tip to Billy Beck.
2 comments:
Driving up the cost... all part of the grand plan... sigh...
The Environmental Appeals Board has four members: Edward Reich, Charles Sheehan, Kathie Stein and Anna Wolgast. All are registered Democrats and Kathie Stein was an activist attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund. Members are appointed by the EPA administrator.
Anyone surprised? Just like having long time ardent union activists in other important 'unaccountable bureaucrat' slots.
The permits were denied because the board claims Shell failed to take into account 'greenhouse gas emissions' from an icebreaking boat.
A boat. Exhaust from a boat. I feel so much better knowing how the EPA is protecting us. From exhaust from a boat. When I'm walking to work because fuel costs go through the roof and our economy keeps suffering while we send billions to hostile countries for energy instead of using our own resources, I'll try to keep that warm fuzzy thought in mind.
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