Don Santa, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s State of the Union address:
“We are encouraged that the President continues to prioritize development of critical infrastructure. Expanding natural gas infrastructure is essential to improving our environment and growing our economy, and serves as the indispensable link between a clean-burning, affordable domestic energy source and the needs of consumers and job creators.
“Nonetheless, over the past few weeks we’ve seen natural gas utilities make announcements about the possible curtailment of new natural gas hook-ups in some areas of the country that are driven by decisions made at the state level. The impact of these decisions is real and entirely avoidable. Homeowners that want to switch to clean-burning natural gas and businesses that are seeking to expand, can’t because of a lack of energy infrastructure. Streamlining the permitting process so that private capital can be deployed in an efficient manner will significantly spur job creation and allow for continued economic growth, without compromising on environmental protection. The alternative, as Senator Manchin notes, has been ‘ships from Russia’ that have supplied liquified natural gas to northeast markets in the time of need.
“INGAA applauds the Administration’s commitment to developing commonsense, bipartisan solutions that allow for a practical, timely and predictable review and approval process for proposed infrastructure projects and urges Congress to move forward with legislation that will expand access to clean-burning, affordable natural gas. Our economic and environmental health demands it.”
