Markey Statements on EPA's Greenhouse Gas Requirements and Dept of Interior Wilderness Policy

Friday December 24, 2010

Markey Statement on EPA's Project for Greenhouse Gas Requirements for Power Plants and Oil Refineries

WASHINGTON (December 24th, 2010) - Below is the statement from Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) on the E.P.A.'s release of a schedule for setting new greenhouse gas Requirements for power plants and oil refineries:

"The timetables announced by the E.P.A. for curbing global warming pollution from power plants and oil refineries make clear the careful and committed approach that the administration is taking to protecting public health and the environment.

"The new sources to be regulated are among the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases and businesses will benefit from the stable planning horizon that these rules will afford.

"The E.P.A. Requirements won't be created in a vacuum.

"They will be based on technology that is already accessible and that these industries can affordably implement.

"We will wait to see the content of the actual rules but all can benefit from a clear timetable and an open and transparent process, which is what I will expect from Administrator Jackson.

"Putting Requirements for new power plants and oil refineries on the table is a good place to start moving us to a new clean energy economy that saves lives, helps halt global warming and makes us more efficient and globally competitive."

Markey Statement on Suggested Interior Dept. Wilderness Policy

WASHINGTON (December 24, 2010) -- Today, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the incoming ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, issued the following statement in response to a new Interior Department policy to identify and protect wilderness quality public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The new Interior Department directive will instruct the BLM to identify public lands that have wilderness characteristics and to manage those areas in a way that protects their wilderness qualities.

"Protecting pristine wilderness areas for future generations is not a wild idea," said Representative Markey. "When it comes to managing our special public lands, for too long the Interior Department had been lost in the wilderness. Secretary Salazar's new directive will restore a common sense management policy to ensure that we do not despoil these special places."

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