Lawmakers discuss environment concerns in NEPA
SWIFTWATER, Pa. — State and local lawmakers gathered around the table at the Swiftwater Hotel in Monroe County to talk about environmental concerns in northeast Pennsylvania. Congressman Rob Bresnahan spearheaded the roundtable, and US Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin was alongside him.
Lee Zeldin, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, says, "There will be a lot of decisions to make here over the coming weeks and months to make sure we have the right policies to help unleash energy dominance. The core mission of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment."
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Congressman Rob Bresnahan (R) PA-08 says, "The significance of having dominant energy here in the United States and the inability to harvest natural gas right in our backyard which would lead to almost a 1 billion dollar industry that would allow us to reinvest in our schools our public roadways our recreation activities."
Zeldin says, "to reduce the timeline it takes to get a permit to add more certainty to the process to reduce the cost involved in permitting because there are a lot of companies overseas and there are potential investments overseas that will be made in the us if we can address this permitting reform."
"I think the recurring message from today's meeting was we have a responsibility to the environment. There is a pragmatic way the things we spoke about can be achieved," Bresnahan says.
Administrator Zeldin says he will now take these talking points back to Washington to determine how the EPA can work to find solutions.