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Armendariz to energy producers: We’re gonna crucify you

If you wish to destroy petroleum, natural gas and coal production Al Armendariz is your man. Armendariz, the EPA administrator for the region of America best known for hydrocarbon production, Texas, gave a presentation to colleagues telegraphing the Obama Administration’s strategy for driving non-green industries into submission.

Al Armendariz

Al Armendariz told the audience what he described as a “crude” analogy he once told his staff about his “philosophy of enforcement.”

“It was kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they’d crucify them. And then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years,” he said.

Armendariz went on to say that “you make examples out of people who are in this case not complying with the law … and you hit them as hard as you can” — to act as a “deterrent” to others.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney tried to step back from the controversy created by Armendariz by stating Thursday that the remarks did not reflect President Obama’s view.

“What he said is clearly not representative of either this president’s belief in the way that we should approach these matters or in the way that he has approached these matters — either from this office here in the White House or at the EPA,” Carney said.

Armendariz issued a statement apologizing after Senator James Inhofe (R-Ok.) slammed the comments on the Senate floor and fired off a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

“I apologize to those I have offended and regret my poor choice of words,” Armendariz said. “It was an offensive and inaccurate way to portray our efforts to address potential violations of our nation’s environmental laws. I am and have always been committed to fair and vigorous enforcement of those laws.”

What’s fair about making an example of your self-defined enemies? Armendariz didn’t say they should choose the most flagrant violators and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Armendariz’s comments were intended to send a message to other EPA regulators to move in and set the tone; his analogy to Romans slaughtering innocent villagers to keep the rest in line speaks volumes.

Senator Inhofe was not impressed by Armendariz’s apology and will launch an investigation to determine if the EPA used heavy-handed tactics to unfairly or unjustly apply regulatory actions in order to frighten energy producers into obedience.

Inhofe stated that the remarks of an EPA regulator are “all a part of Obama’s war on domestic energy,” particularly on a process known as hydraulic fracturing — which is used to extract oil and natural gas from rock. Inhofe based his remarks in to response to Armendariz’s comments following actions he took on natural gas firms in three states attempting to link hydraulic fracturing to water contamination.

“You read his whole statement, and it’s pretty revealing,” Inhofe said. “And I think when he comes out and apologizes for using the word crucify he’s still getting his message across there — intimidation, threats.”

The EPA responded to Armendariz’s comments by defending its enforcement strategy.

Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance, said in a statement that “strong, fair and effective enforcement” is “critical to protecting public health” and making sure everyone is playing by the same rules.

The problem with Armendariz’s words are obvious; he is merely following the administration’s lead of using false arguments to accomplish their goal of deconstructing the U.S. hydrocarbon industry. Armendariz claimed that hydraulic fracturing, the process of using high-pressure water, sand and inert chemicals to tap resources that could not be accessed using older technology, has caused underground water contamination. The claim is a complete falsehood. Not one instance of water contamination from fracturing has ever been proven. Hydraulic fracturing has been used increasingly since the 1950’s and despite assertions of negative environmental impact the facts have shown that other issues, such as faulty wells, have been the cause.

Since fracturing became widely adopted this past decade America’s natural gas production has increased dramatically. Hydraulic fracturing and other new technologies have also allowed production of U.S. oil to soar; a fact that hasn’t proven very popular with Mr. Armendariz and other administration officials.

Regulatory action against hydrocarbon producers has increased each year since President Obama took office.

Could the message be any clearer? If President Obama and his minions, such as Mr. Armendariz, are granted another four years to vilify energy producers we can expect greater dependence on foreign sources of fuel and higher prices for all forms of energy.

While the president takes credit for saving General Motors he might want to consider what he’s going to put in the tank.

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