California Lawmakers Say State Energy Regulations May Increase Reliance on Imports
New permitting regulations put into law in California on Sept. 30, as part of the California Environmental Quality Act (here), could further curtail the states’ oil and natural gas production, potentially forcing an increased reliance on gas imports, said a group of U.S. House members from California in an Oct. 17 letter to Governor Edmund (Jerry) Brown, D-Calif. Oil and natural gas production in the state create nearly a million jobs and more than $60 billion in labor income, said the lawmakers, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. “California today relies on 50 percent of its oil from foreign sources,” read the letter. “This is troubling because it results in billions of dollars being sent overseas that could otherwise be invested in our state's economy to create jobs and build energy infrastructure.” House Majority Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., led the letter submission.
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The new permitting regulations threaten to overburden industry businesses, they said. “The development of these regulations must not impose significant barriers to the potential development of the Monterey shale formation, nor require oil and gas companies to disclose confidential trade secret information to their competitors,” said the lawmakers. “Imposing a new permitting structure on the oil and natural gas industry that is intentionally designed to take months to approve permits or slow energy development will discourage investment in our state and potentially force many small, independent oil and natural gas producers out of business.”
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the letter.