02.28.14

Hoeven Welcomes EPA Administrator McCarthy to ND, Showcases State's Clean Coal Technologies, Good Environmental Stewardship

BEULAH, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today welcomed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy to North Dakota to highlight the state’s high-tech energy development and good environmental stewardship.

Hoeven, along with Senator Heidi Heitkamp and Congressman Keven Cramer, hosted McCarthy on a tour of the Dakota Gasification Company in Beulah to see the cutting-edge technologies the plant has developed to produce natural gas from coal. The facility not only produces gas from coal, but pipes CO2, which is a byproduct of the process, to oil fields, where it helps produce more oil while sequestering carbon in the ground.

Hoeven invited McCarthy to visit North Dakota a year ago, prior to her confirmation as EPA Administrator. The senator wanted to showcase how the state is aggressively developing its energy resources and to help her better understand North Dakota’s comprehensive, states-first approach to energy development. More than a decade ago, Hoeven as governor initiated Empower North Dakota, the state’s first comprehensive energy plan. Empower North Dakota is a true all-of-the-above approach to energy development, which promoted all of the state’s varied energy resources in tandem, both traditional and renewable.

“We want Administrator McCarthy to see the remarkable progress we’ve made with our true all-of-the-above approach to energy development by deploying new technologies that are producing more energy with better environmental stewardship,” Hoeven said. “I have asked her before, and asked her again today, to work with us to do for America what we did for North Dakota. With sensible regulations and regulatory certainty, America’s energy industry can achieve the long-sought, long-elusive goal of true energy security for our nation – but we need the cooperation and willingness of the EPA to get there.”

The senator reviewed with McCarthy new comprehensive legislation he has introduced in the U.S. Senate that would similarly develop all of the nation’s energy resources. The Empower States Act is a measure Hoeven authored that will put states and Native American tribal governments first in the regulation of hydraulic fracturing. The senator said every state’s geology is different and nobody knows better than local professionals and authorities how best to protect their own environment. Earlier in the day at the United Tribes Technical College, Hoeven gave an overview of the bill at a meeting of tribal leaders attended by McCarthy, Senator Heitkamp and Congressman Cramer.

Hoeven has also introduced the Domestic Jobs and Energy Act (DEJA), which is a comprehensive package of 13 diverse energy bills, addressing both traditional and renewable development. The measure is designed to streamline and simplify regulations, boost domestic energy supplies, build American energy infrastructure, safeguard America’s supply of critical minerals used in modern high-tech manufactured products and create jobs.

The bill focuses on key areas to help guide the nation toward true energy independence. Those include establishing an American energy development plan, just as North Dakota did a decade ago with the Empower ND initiative. It requires the Interior Secretary to establish an “all-of-the-above” energy program for federal lands by reviewing the nation’s energy needs and then establishing goals for federal land energy production to meet those needs from all energy sources, including oil, natural gas, coal and renewables

The senator again challenged the EPA’s regulations on new power plants. North Dakota has a long history of responsible coal-fired power generation, he said, and the impact of the new rules would jeopardize the livelihoods of North Dakotans who have provided the residents and businesses of our state and region with reliable, affordable electricity for generations. He told the secretary that the rules for new and existing plants need to be practical and achievable.

“North Dakota’s states-first approach to energy development under Empower North Dakota has made us the fastest growing state in America,” Hoeven said. “Under the oversight and guidance of competent and experienced state authorities, our all of-the-above strategy to develop both our traditional and renewable resources has helped to produce the lowest unemployment rate and the fastest growing income in the nation. With the right approach, America can achieve the same success.”

Hoeven serves on the Senate Energy Committee.