Commerce

America’s energy security risk is bad and getting worse under current policy and regulatory framework, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.

America’s energy security risk is bad and getting worse under current policy and regulatory framework, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.

A fourth company is considering plans to build an ethane cracker in West Virginia, according to state Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette.

A fourth company is considering plans to build an ethane cracker in West Virginia, according to state Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and White House to clarify language in a recent executive order creating an interagency working group on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Members of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s cabinet were joined by supporters from the state’s general assembly and local and regional officials Thursday at the Community College of Beaver County in Monaca, PA, to lobby for construction of a petrochemical complex, including an ethane cracker, in the southwestern Pennsylvania borough.

A ballot initiative to raise the Arkansas severance tax on natural gas production being promoted by former gas industry executive Sheffield Nelson recently drew a few more foes, according to the energy industry-backed anti-tax group Arkansans for Jobs & Affordable Energy (AJAE). The Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC), the Poultry Federation and the Northwest Arkansas Council recently signed on in opposition to the tax hike on producers. “…[O]ur association believes a natural gas severance tax increase would be harmful for Arkansas counties and for Arkansans,” said Chris Villines, executive director of the AAC.

Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider the results of a recent study that concludes that hydraulic fracturing contributes to acute and chronic health problems when examining the potential risks of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on water quality and public health.

Going to bat in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2013 budget request of $8.344 billion before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittees on Energy and Power, Environment and the Economy, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson last week testified that the proposal focuses “on fulfilling EPA’s core mission of protecting public health and the environment, while making the sacrifices and tough decisions that Americans across the country are making every day.” She said the proposal represents an approximate $105 million trim from current funding levels.