Tag: Energy

Daines Introduces Bill to Roll Back EPA Regs

“A War on Coal is a War on the Crow People” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce legislation that ensures Montanans have access to affordable energy and protects good-paying coal jobs. Daines is an original cosponsor of The Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act (ARENA), which holds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable and protects states’ rights by requiring the EPA to demonstrate how their proposed regulations could impact each state. This legislation preempts the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan, set to be released this summer, which could shutter Montana’s coal-fired power

Daines Slams EPA Administrator on Job-Killing Coal Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today slammed Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy for pushing forward new EPA carbon regulations without fully consulting affected states and tribes or addressing the plan’s detrimental impacts on coal production and jobs in Montana. During today’s Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Daines emphasized Montanans’ concerns that the EPA’s proposed “Clean Power Plan”  could shutter the state’s coal-fired power plants and hinder Montana tribes’ and the state’s abilities to develop their coal resources. Daines also pressed McCarthy on the EPA’s failure to take into account how allowing State Implementation Plans under

Montana Delegation Introduces Legislation to Ensure Completion of Montana Hydro Projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, along with Representative Ryan Zinke, are introducing legislation in the Senate and House to ensure the completion of two hydroelectric facilities in Montana. The delegation’s bills will provide for the reinstatement and three-year extension of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for Clark Canyon Dam Hydro Project in Dillon, Montana and a six-year extension of the FERC license for the Gibson Dam Hydro Project near Augusta, Montana. “Hydropower is a critical component of our state’s all-of-the-above energy portfolio that provides a reliable and affordable source of electricity for hardworking Montana families,” Daines stated. “The completion of

Daines Works to Prioritize State Based Sage Grouse Conservation Plans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today helped introduce legislation that prioritizes state-created conservation and management plans for the recovery of the Sage Grouse. Daines is an original cosponsor of S. 1036, the Sage-Grouse Protection and Conservation Act, which would require the Department of the Interior to share scientific data with states, assist states in crafting and implementing their plans, and recognize the state plans for a minimum of six years. The Act empowers states to take the lead in Sage Grouse conservation while preventing a listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). “Montana is best equipped to manage and

Helena Independent Record: Daines pushing for disaster funding for wildfires

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said he is looking to add certainty to federal fire managers’ budgets by reforming the way the worst wildfires receive federal funding. Daines was in Clancy on Friday discussing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2015 with a roundtable of state and federal forest managers, conservation and forest dependent business interests. Daines signed onto the act as a senator in January, which would likely end the practice of “fire borrowing” when suppression funding runs out and must be pulled in from other programs. “The agencies have this cloud hanging over them,” said Richard Stem, retired deputy

Daines Investigates Importance of Coal to Tribal Economies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today chaired a Senate Indian Affairs Committee (SCIA) field hearing in Crow Agency, Montana on empowering Indian Country. Daines examined the need to responsibly develop coal resources as a vital component of the tribal economies along with the importance of access to international markets. Daines spoke with Crow Chairman Darrin Old Coyote regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) harmful policies that stand in the way of the tribes’ ability to develop their coal resources and create good paying jobs. Daines also questioned Chairman Old Coyote on the economic benefits of making permanent the Indian Production Coal Tax Credit. 

KULR-8: Senator Steve Daines Talks Jobs and Coal in Indian Country

CROW AGENCY – Senator Steve Daines emphasized unemployment, the coal industry and jobs in Indian Country as part of a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs field hearing in Crow Agency on Wednesday. The hearing at the Little Big Horn College Health and Wellness Center lasted nearly two hours, and Attorney general Tim Fox and Crow Tribe Chairman Darrin Old Coyote were among the speakers. Sen. Daines discussed the importance of passing a permanent Indian coal tax credit. The temporary tax credit, which provides millions of dollars for the Crow’s economy, expired in December 2013. Daines and Old Coyote both testified

Daines Slams New Fracking Rule As Direct Attack on American Jobs, Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today blasted the Department of Interior’s new regulations on hydraulic fracturing on federally-owned lands as a direct attack on American jobs and American energy. “The Obama administration is at it again. States like Montana have successfully overseen hydraulic fracturing for years, but once again, the Obama administration seems more set on overregulating our energy industry than promoting the responsible development of our nation’s vast energy resources,” Daines stated. “This top-down regulation is duplicative, burdensome and ultimately, a direct attack on American energy production, critical tax revenue for our schools and communities, and thousands of good-paying jobs across

Daines Outlines Priorities for American Prosperity

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today delivered his maiden speech on the Senate floor and outlined his priorities as Montana’s new United States Senator. During his speech, Daines discussed the need for state-based solutions to restore economic growth that keeps America safe and secure. Key excerpts from Daines’ speech are below: We are blessed to live in the greatest nation on earth. And it is the solemn responsibility of the United States Senate to do everything in its power to keep it that way.  Washington is more concerned with its own self-interest and self-gain than the well being of the

Daines Calls for Montana Solutions to Land Management, Coal Jobs and Increasing Access to Public Lands

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Steve Daines today advocated for the Department of Interior to better incorporate Montana-driven solutions in the management of Montana’s public lands, energy resources and wildlife habitats. During this morning’s Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing on the Department of Interior’s fiscal year 2016 budget request, Daines pressed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to work more collaboratively with Montana in the conservation and management of the state’s sage grouse population. Daines also called for Department funds to be better utilized to expand access to public lands and pushed back against the Department’s recently proposed energy regulations that could have