Where is Gov. Bullock on energy?
Why has Montana Gov. Steve Bullock gone mute on the important issues facing Montana’s energy economy? Energy jobs are critically important to the economic well being of all parts of the state, east and west, and are a vital pillar to our tax base. Our vast energy resources hold the potential for an economic boost in our state that no other sector can currently replicate.
The Obama administration’s war on coal (and Montana’s energy future) has been steadily ramping up over the past several months. Yet for all we’ve seen out the governor’s office, one would think all was well.
Well, such is not the case. As the Environmental Protection Agency tightens its noose around America’s dream of energy independence, other leaders are taking action.
Democratic governors from coal-producing states, like Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, of West Virginia, and Gov. Steve Beshear, of Kentucky, have been among the most effective critics of the EPA’s proposed regulations aimed at decimating the coal industry.
Gov. Bullock has been deafeningly silent. Even with a deadline looming for states to comment, Bullock’s administration has not even asked industry experts for their advice or input on what the rule will do to Montana’s economy.
This EPA rule will have widespread effects on our economy, on what Montanans pay for energy and on thousands of Montana jobs. Despite promises made in campaign speeches, we remember that as Montana Attorney General, Steve Bullock voted against developing the Otter Creek coal tracts.
Our current attorney general, Tim Fox, has joined with Republican and Democratic attorneys general in seeking to block the EPA rule. Montana Public Service Commissioner Travis Kavula recently provided condemning testimony to a Congressional committee on the problems Montana will have in implementing the EPA’s greenhouse gas rule.
Thank you Attorney General Fox and Commissioner Kavula for taking action to protect Montana jobs. But with all due respect, an issue of this magnitude requires leadership from the very top.
The infamous EPA rule isn’t the only issue being ignored by our governor. In late August, Oregon denied a proposed expansion at Port Morrow that would have increased the capacity of exporting Montana and Wyoming coal. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead is putting the full legal might of his state into an appeal of that decision in order to save jobs in his state. Gov. Bullock couldn’t even muster a statement registering his disappointment on the permit denial.
No one expects Gov. Bullock to condemn the Obama administration. But complete silence isn’t acceptable either. The EPA greenhouse gas rule will have real and widespread negative impacts on our state. Montanans deserve to have those impacts articulated and for our governor to do everything in his power to mitigate them. Right now that’s not happening.
Recently, the Montana Legislature’s interim legislative energy committee considered a motion to send a letter to the EPA merely expressing concern that their greenhouse gas rule would have negative impacts in our state. The proposal was as light a touch you could imagine. Yet, not a single Democrat on the evenly-split committee would vote for the motion — and no wonder, they’re simply following the lead of their governor.
There’s a war being waged from Washington, D.C. on American energy, and certainly no state has more to lose than Montana. At best, Gov. Bullock is dispassionate on this issue. At worst, he has the interests of the radical environmental movement at heart.
Let’s hope it’s not the latter. But unless Gov. Bullock starts to do something about this war, he’s going to go down in history as the governor who sat idle at the helm as Montana’s economy was systematically picked apart.
Sen. Eric Moore, R-Miles City, represents Senate District 20 in southeast Montana.