Letter from our State Senator
December 11, 2013
November has been a busy month that included many visits in the 12th District. Hopefully we had an opportunity to meet and share ideas. If not, we are planning another round of “Town Hall” meetings to begin after the first of the year. Locations will be published on my website and in my newsletters.
In addition to District visits, much of the time between now and the May session will be spent working on the 5 interim committees/commissions for which I was honored to be selected: Environmental Resources, Emergency Management, Energy Policy, Workforce Development, Civilian Credits for Military Training and State AG Selection Criteria. All of these are related to job creation and economic growth, therefore, they will help meet my commitment to you to stay focused in getting our economy back on track.
Here is a breakdown of the different committees:
The Environmental Research Committee is focused on removing regulations that stifle business and regulations not necessary in protecting critical environmental issues. The Emergency Response Committee is concerned with our security and recovery given a natural disaster and/or terrorist attack. It is reviewing resources, command and control, capabilities, adequacies and availability.
The Workforce Development Committee focuses on our future workforce needs to ensure they are analyzed and that our K-12 schools, community colleges and university system are preparing our young people to meet the needs in the workforce.
The Civilian Credits for Military Training LRC has yet to have its first meeting. The purpose of the LRC is to determine the best way to operationalize Governor McCrory’s goal of retaining talented military personnel in NC.
During the latter part of the month, the Energy Policy Commission sponsored a trip to Arkansas to review and observe first-hand how that state is developing its natural gas industry which is based on hydraulic fracturing technology. The team was composed of 4 Senators (including myself) and 4 representatives.
The Commission team received detailed briefings from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, The Nature Conservancy, an independent environmental protection entity, Southwestern Energy, the major natural gas producer in Arkansas, local government officials and a variety of consultants. They gave detailed presentations and answered our questions tirelessly. All of these experienced experts and local government representatives were convinced that hydraulic fracturing is environmentally safe and of great economic growth advantage.
It has been used in the United States for over 60 years on over 1 million wells. I personally saw cattle grazing and crops growing a stones’ throw from well sites. During pad preparation there are numerous amounts of machinery and tall well drilling rigs that can be seen, however, once the wells go productive they are virtually unobservable from a few hundred yards away. Compressors are noisy but abatement is possible and when applied it is very effective. Interestingly, the State of Arkansas uses less than one third of one percent of its water resources in the process.
The economic story supports the idea that huge economic benefits may result from developing this natural gas resource. The data suggests that in areas where this resource is being developed 800,000 jobs will be created between 2012 and 2015. If NC can capture only 1% it would mean 8,000 jobs, many of which would be in Lee County and the 12th District. Do the math! It should be noted that these jobs are not only oilfield “roughneck” jobs but include high tech jobs like engineers and computer operators as well. One County Commissioner indicated that tax revenues were paying for schools and roads, etc. and had dollars to spare. The royalties in one county of 12,700 persons was $400-million. If only 10% remains in the county that’s over $3,000 per person. One final note: in the United States, the only states not impacted by the recent recession were oil and gas producing states – including Arkansas.
Based on my personal observations and group discussions, I believe Hydraulic Fracturing to be a safe process that will add jobs to our economy and put this natural resource to work for the 12th District and the State of North Carolina. I believe this is the responsible thing to do as long as we abide by world-class rules that make the process safe for people and the environment.
I am looking forward to sharing the Christmas Season with many of you in Harnett, Lee and Johnston Counties over the next several weeks. Please check out my public schedule below to see where & when I will be. As always, call or stop by anytime.
With kindest regards, I am
