​DENVER – Western Energy Alliance today called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to abandon its cook stove rule intended to ban new gas stoves and compel a transition to electric under the guise of energy conservation standards. The rule violates the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) by saving an insignificant amount of energy while reducing consumer choice and eliminating features only available from natural gas stoves. The rule saves the individual consumer a negligible amount of energy worth between $0.79 and $1.51 annually, and runs afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by using the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases to inflate supposed benefits.  
 
“Earlier this year, a Consumer Product Safety Commissioner made news by saying the federal government was working on banning gas stoves, citing debunked health claims. The White House went into clean-up mode, stating that President Biden doesn’t support a ban. Apparently he just doesn’t want to take responsibility, since his administration is moving forward with an energy conservation rule that would in effect ban new gas stoves,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance. “Only 4% of the marketplace—one model—meets the standard and the savings are negligible, 0.07% of residential energy and 0.001% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Such small savings justifies handcuffing neither America’s great culinary arts nor basic home cooking.

DENVER – Western Energy Alliance today called on the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to withdraw its interim guidance on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change analysis. In a letter to CEQ, the trade association said the guidance changes the original intent of NEPA from informing agency decision-making to becoming a tool to drive broad climate change policy and limit the use of oil and natural gas. The guidance slows the  development of vital energy and infrastructure projects and increases the threat of litigation.
 
“Congress has not granted federal agencies the authority to determine climate change policy nor to dole out an energy ration to Americans. In the absence of a law that transitions America off reliable energy sources, the Biden Administration is using every lever of government to try to achieve the same result. CEQ is attempting to stack the deck against fossil fuel projects while increasing uncertainty and the potential for litigation for all types of infrastructure projects.” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance. ​

​DENVER – Western Energy Alliance today urged Congress to pass the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1) currently being debated in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill addresses delays in federal oil and natural gas leasing, permitting, and environmental reviews. It also would repeal the methane emissions tax, escalated royalty rates, and higher fees included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
 
“Lawmakers are stepping up to address high gasoline and home energy prices after two years of the Biden administration’s unnecessary interference in energy markets. The growth of red tape over the past few years was not intended to protect the environment but to handcuff American oil and natural gas production in a misguided attempt to quickly transition to an alternative reality that does not exist. The result has been higher prices for all Americans,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance. “This bill is a welcome answer to government-imposed distortions to energy markets that have decimated the energy independence that America enjoyed just a few short years ago.”

​DENVER – Western Energy Alliance today submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the proposed new and existing source methane rules. Certain provisions in the proposed rules would render significant oil and natural gas facilities in the United States, particularly marginal wells, uneconomic to operate, further constraining domestic supply, increasing energy prices, and making America more dependent on oil produced overseas,
 
“We support cost-effective regulation that incentivizes innovation, rewards positive performance, and provides regulatory certainty, but EPA’s proposed rules fail on all accounts. Several provisions in the rules would be impractical to implement, technically infeasible, provide no environmental benefit, and discourage the use of innovative technologies. The so-called super-emitter program, which would outsource EPA and state regulatory authority even to community groups that lack technical expertise, is flat out unlawful,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance. “By EPA’s own admission, the rules will reduce American oil and natural gas production, forcing the country to become more dependent on oil produced overseas.

​DENVER – Western Energy Alliance’s president, Kathleen Sgamma, will testify at a hearing entitled­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ “Unleashing America's Energy and Mineral Potential” before the House Natural Resources Committee. Sgamma’s testimony will focus on addressing overregulation by federal agencies, delays created by excessive environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, and corrections needed within the Inflation Reduction Act. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8th, at 10:00 a.m. ET, and will be available on the committee’s website.
 
“We know we need more energy. The administration admitted that nearly a year ago when, after the
invasion of Ukraine, the White House tried to blame our producers for not developing on, interchangeably, 9,000 leases and/or permits,” said Sgamma. “The president says he wants more American production, but where he has the most control, on tribal and federal public lands, his Interior Department is making it more difficult to do so at every turn and with every policy decision.”