Johnson - EPA Should Be "Catalyst" For Energy Development (Not A Joke)

[hatrack]

"The Environmental Protection Agency should encourage energy development and ease the permitting process rather than derail it, agency Administrator Stephen Johnson said Monday.

"Rather than the EPA being a stumbling block for energy development, I want it to be a catalyst for energy development while protecting the environment," Johnson said at the annual conference of the Western Governors' Association.

His comments were met with sharp criticism from the environmental lobby. "Wouldn't it be great if the EPA was a catalyst for environmental protection rather than a stumbling block?" said Rob Perks, spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The EPA should concern itself with air quality and water quality and toxic-waste cleanups, not promoting energy exploration."

EDIT

Johnson's remarks fueled criticism of the Bush administration's environmental policies. Perks said areas where the EPA is failing its duties include cutbacks in funding for the EPA's Superfund program, which cleans up the nation's most contaminated sites, and acceptance of a controversial underground gas-exploration process potentially linked to groundwater pollution. "We don't believe our federal environmental protections are stumbling blocks," he said."

EDIT

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_2801940

[blindpig]

1. Just when you think you've seen/heard it all..................n/t

[phantom power]

2. What next? Put the DOE in charge of the environment?