U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, said Friday that the country needs government policy that finds a common balance between helping the environment and helping industry.
Speaking at the 48th annual Arkansas Environmental Federation Convention and Trade Show at the Hot Springs Convention Center, Westerman said he was thankful for the AEF and the work it does across the state.
"When you look at the purpose of the AEF and what you try to decipher and where you focus on practical, common-sense laws and regulations based on sound science because you want to help industry, and help the environment, and find that common balance, I'm glad to see that Becky (Keogh, director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality) is where she is because she has a chemical engineering degree and understands a lot of the science," he said.
He said ADEQ plans to bring in technical expertise and there is real opportunity for the state "if we can get everybody on the same page working together and working for the common goals."
"I think we argue a lot of times about how we get to certain areas, but at the end of the day, I think we have some common goals," he said.
Westerman said former President Theodore Roosevelt stated, while working with Gifford Pinchot to lay out the nation's first national forests, that "if the nation behaves well and treats its natural resources as assets that it must turn over to the next generation, then we'll have been successful."
"We'll have behaved well if we do that. Neither Roosevelt nor Pinchot ever said that we shouldn't use the resources we have, but that we should use them in the right way and turn them over to future generations; not impair them, but increase them in value," Westerman said.
He said if everyone, whether working in the federal government, the Department of Environmental Quality, industry or business across the state, is responsible and behaves well, "we'll realize it's our job to leave the world a better place than we found it."
"We need to base decisions on sound science, not on political agendas, one way or the other," he said.
Westerman, who played football in high school and for the University of Arkansas, said one thing he learned from playing the game is that "you need to be prepared." He said practice may not be fun or glamorous and a long way from the time when a player can get on the field and show what he can do, "but the key thing is that it prepares you."
"I can remember coaches saying you have to be able to react; you don't have time to think when in the game. You do the thinking in practice when you are preparing for the game. You get it all down in your mind so when you get in the game you can react to whatever situation comes about and can make the right decision," he said.
"I think it's important we look at the issues that challenge us in the future and that we get more technical people in ADEQ, that we understand the laws, and rules, and before we put rules in place, know how they can positively or negatively impact the ultimate goal we're trying to reach," he said.
Westerman said that as he looks at the effects of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act and everything that has happened since the Environmental Protection Agency put them in place, he can see some very good things that have happened as far as better air and water quality.
"We have some pretty good air and water quality standards in place, but we're seeing things come out now that really aren't about protecting the environment, but about pushing agendas and gaining control of certain areas. I think those run contrary to what the purpose of having the EPA was in the first place.
"It seems like, especially in the last part of the current administration, that we're seeing more and more and more of those rules coming out, and I think they are going to have a negative effect on our economy, especially in the 4th Congressional District of Arkansas, because it's a rural economy," he said.
Westerman said the district's economy relies heavily on manufacturing, and there is a lot of opportunity for more manufacturing, but if rules are put in place that stifle manufacturing, more jobs will be lost and plants will move overseas.
"If you look at some of the rules that are being put in place and ask the question 'Will this ultimately help us leave the world a better place than when we found it?' I think the answer is no. We may put regulations in place, like clean power plants, that shut down a coal-fired plant in the 4th District, and we'll figure out a way to get electricity but it may be more expensive electricity.
"And when a manufacturer comes to the district to look at our resources and thinks about investing in building a facility and creating jobs, but sees the electric rates are too high, he'll go somewhere else. They will find that they can manufacture their stuff in another country that may not have as high quality air and water standards as we do here. So in the end, we haven't helped the environment and we've driven jobs away from our country," he said.
Westerman said he is "a huge proponent" of renewable energy, but is also an engineer and has studied a lot of economics and done the math on most forms of renewable energy and "right now, it's just not as economically competitive as our traditional energy sources."
"That doesn't mean that someday we can't develop renewable energy that is compatible with traditional fuels we have, but the only way we're going to be able to do the research and develop that technology is to have a robust economy.
"We have to get government policy more in the direction that is about prevention and doing things based on sound science, and making not only the environment a better place, but the economy a better place," he said.
Local on 10/03/2015