Regulatory Grinches Threaten Obama’s Natural Gas Christmas Wish

Santa may see a similar item on this year’s Christmas wish lists from members of both sides of the political aisle — more natural gas development. The administration reiterated its support of the clean burning fuel yesterday, just one week after U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-Michigan) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) — future chair and ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee respectively — issued a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on the very same subject. Though this bi-partisan support marks a positive step forward, extensive regulatory obstacles still threaten to hinder this potential tool of economic recovery. With a handful of officials pushing for onerous restrictions on hydraulic fracturing — the process necessary to extract gas resources — potential investors in this lucrative industry have taken a wait-and-see approach. Development is further hampered by another limiting factor: agencies’ inability to handle increased demands brought about by added rules in a reasonable timeframe...more