Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a much anticipated study looking at the impacts of hydraulic fracturing. As concluded by the EPA, hydraulic fracturing, or the innovative, high-tech process used to access our vast American natural gas resources, has “not led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources.”
This study is good news for manufacturers who are committed to a clean environment and the benefits of expanded American energy resources. As users of over 1/3rd the energy produced in the United States, manufacturers have benefitted from the recent energy boom and increasing innovation and technology in the extraction sector. A recent NAM-supported study by PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that shale gas development made possibly by hydraulic fracturing could create an additional 1.41 million manufacturing jobs between now and 2040.
In light of today’s report from the EPA, manufacturers renew their call on the Administration to remove roadblocks to production of all our energy resources like oil, natural gas, coal, solar, wind and geothermal and seek balance from regulations like the proposed ozone regulation. This proposed regulation to further limit ozone emissions could be the most costly regulation of all time and is exactly the kind of policy that would hurt manufacturing potential, job creation and economic growth.
Manufacturing is resilient and robust and with balanced regulation and leaders committed to responsibly harnessing our natural resources, manufacturers can continue to flourish.
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