Gov. Mary Fallin told oil and gas producers Tuesday that Environmental Protection Agency regulations are hurting the industry in Oklahoma and she would do everything she could to fight what many see as the agency's overbearing oversight of hydraulic fracturing of wells and regional haze.
"You have my commitment . . . to do everything I can to further cement Oklahoma's position as an energy leader," the Republican governor said during a speech at an energy conference at the University of Oklahoma.
Fallin told The Associated Press she's for "fair" and "reasonable" EPA regulations but fears the federal agency's current efforts will harm the oil and gas industry and the manufacturing sector in Oklahoma. She said she's working with Attorney General Scott Pruitt "to see what we need to do to let Oklahoma's voice be heard."
Pruitt has said he is considering legal action against the EPA over the regional haze regulations, which the federal agency has said are needed to control greenhouse gases from power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities. EPA officials say the scientific consensus is that such gases cause global warming, although some in Congress - most notably Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. - have disputed that assertion.
Fallin said she has sent letters to the EPA and President Barack Obama's administration expressing her concern.
"We certainly want to protect the public from things that might harm the environment, but it has to be fair and balanced," she told the AP.
"You have my commitment . . . to do everything I can to further cement Oklahoma's position as an energy leader," the Republican governor said during a speech at an energy conference at the University of Oklahoma.
Fallin told The Associated Press she's for "fair" and "reasonable" EPA regulations but fears the federal agency's current efforts will harm the oil and gas industry and the manufacturing sector in Oklahoma. She said she's working with Attorney General Scott Pruitt "to see what we need to do to let Oklahoma's voice be heard."
Pruitt has said he is considering legal action against the EPA over the regional haze regulations, which the federal agency has said are needed to control greenhouse gases from power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities. EPA officials say the scientific consensus is that such gases cause global warming, although some in Congress - most notably Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. - have disputed that assertion.
Fallin said she has sent letters to the EPA and President Barack Obama's administration expressing her concern.
"We certainly want to protect the public from things that might harm the environment, but it has to be fair and balanced," she told the AP.
