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Groton Daily Independent
Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 102 ~ 16 of 63
panies to ease the mandates.
Asked about Reynolds’ call with Pruitt, an EPA spokesman said by email, “What Administrator Pruitt said
in his con rmation hearing still stands: he doesn’t want to take any steps to undermine the objectives in the statute of the RFS. We continue to work with RFS stakeholders to ensure EPA is applying the statute in a meaningful way, as Congress intended.”
Trump gained early support in Iowa during his presidential campaign in part of emphasizing his support for the RFS program. It’s a point U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa pointed out after meeting with Pruitt on Tuesday.
“It’s Administrator Pruitt’s duty to follow congressional intent and also make good on President Trump’s pledge to support biofuels,” he said in a statement. “I’ll oppose any effort to reduce blending levels or undermine the integrity of the RFS. I’m watching this issue closely and plan to hold the Administration accountable.”
On Wednesday, a Senate committee delayed consideration of four of Trump’s nominees for key EPA posts. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, also of Iowa, said in a statement she was not prepared to support the nomination of Bill Wehrum, Trump’s choice to lead the EPA’s Of ce of Air and Radiation. Wehrum, a lawyer in private practice whose clients have included pro-fossil fuel groups, would oversee the RFS program if con rmed.
“Holding the EPA’s feet to the re has put us on a path to receive strong reassurances on biofuel volumes and the EPA’s commitment to follow both the letter and the spirit of the RFS,” she said in a statement.
Reynolds’ press conference comes days after she and the Republican governors of Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota sent a letter to Trump about the RFS. She said Wednesday that a reduction in biofuels pro- duction would hurt Iowa’s economy. She plans to travel to Washington next week to drive the point home.
“They are feeling the pressure, and that’s why we need to keep it up,” she said.
Natural gas production tax gets life in Pennsylvania House By MARC LEVY, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The potential for a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production gained new life Wednesday, as a bill emerged from a state House committee and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf urged leaders of the Republican-controlled chamber to speed it to a oor vote.
Wolf, who has long sought the tax, called the proposal “fair and commonsense.”
Pennsylvania, the nation’s No. 2 gas state thanks to the proli c Marcellus Shale, is the only major natural gas producer that does not tax production. Wolf and other supporters of the tax say it is a fair way to help stitch up Pennsylvania’s de cit-riddled nances amid a four-month budget standoff.
Six Republicans on the House Finance Committee de ed party leaders to vote for the bill with all 10 Democrats.
The exploration industry opposes it, as does the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, and it still faces a climb to get to Wolf’s desk. House Republican leaders, who oppose it, could use procedural tactics to bottle it up or delay it.
The Republican-controlled Senate approved a similar tax in July, along with provisions designed to speed up the state’s issuance of pollution-control permits for the activities of various industries. The House bill did not include those provisions, and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said Republicans in his chamber would not support the tax without them.
The House bill imposes a volume tax that rises with the price of natural gas from 2 cents per thousand cubic feet to 3.5 cents per thousand cubic feet. A sponsor, Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-Bucks, said at the current price it would raise about $250 million in a full year, although others calculated a gure closer to $100 million, using 2016 production and current prices.
Opponents also warned that a provision in the bill changing the terms of landowner royalty contracts is unconstitutional. It would effectively prohibit producers from deducting costs before paying the 12.5 percent royalty in future contracts as well as tens of thousands of existing contracts, said James Welty, vice president of government affairs for the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a trade association.