WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released the following statement on President Trump’s executive order on promoting energy independence and economic growth.

"It is an important day for energy-producing states like Wyoming,” said Barrasso. “The Obama administration’s punishing regulations have done far more harm to our economy than good for the environment. I applaud President Trump for taking action on behalf of America’s families and energy workers. Federal agencies will now have the opportunity to identify ways to improve the environment without hurting job growth.”

This order rescinds a number of the Obama administration’s climate-related initiatives. It also directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Interior, to review and – if appropriate – suspend, revise, or rescind regulations affecting the oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, and electric-generation sectors of our economy.

Finally, it directs the EPA administrator and the secretary of the Interior to notify the attorney general of these reviews, so the attorney general can take appropriate action regarding pending litigation.

Among other things, the executive order will rescind:

  • the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) National Environmental Policy Act guidance document relating to greenhouse gasses, issued on August 1, 2016;
  • the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) coal-leasing moratorium, issued January 15, 2016;
  • the Presidential Memorandum on Mitigation, issued on November 3, 2015; and
  • the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases and other technical and supporting documents.

Among other things, the order instructs EPA and BLM to review, and if appropriate suspend, revise, or rescind:

  • the EPA’s final rule on carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants;
  • the EPA’s final rule on carbon dioxide emissions from new or modified power plants;
  • the EPA’s final rule on methane emissions from new or modified oil and gas sources;
  • the BLM’s final rule on hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian land; and
  • the BLM’s final rule on methane emissions from oil and gas operations on federal and Indian land.

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