Energy In-depth: Former ADEQ Director Teresa Marks Joins EPA

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FORMER ADEQ DIRECTOR TERESA MARKS JOINS EPA
Former Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Teresa Marks has joined the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. as a principal advisor to agency administrator Gina McCarthy. Marks, who served as ADEQ director for more than seven years under Gov. Mike Beebe, will advise McCarthy on unconventional oil and gas.

“Teresa Marks will help further our mission in protecting people’s health and the environment,” said EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia.

Prior to heading up the ADEQ, Marks served in the state’s Attorney General’s office.

SURVEY: ARKANSAS VOTERS SUPPORT EPA’S CARBON EMISSION RULES
As the Hutchinson administration prepares to battle the federal Environment Protection Agency on its plan to shutter the state’s fleet of coal-fired power plants, the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) released a poll Thursday (March 19) saying that most Arkansas voters strongly support “advanced energy and a transition to a low carbon economy.”

According to the AAEF poll, 81% of Arkansas voters said it was important for Arkansas’ political leaders to develop policies that encourage energy efficiency and expand access to renewable energy. Another 72% of voters believe it’s a good idea to retire one or more coal-fired power plants and replace them with natural gas-fired power plants as well as using more renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. Read more here from both sides of this debate.

AG RUTLEDGE: EPA’S PROPOSED OZONE RULE IS HARMFUL TO ARKANSAS
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is going all out against the EPA. Not only has the state’s chief attorney testified before Congress and joined a federal lawsuit decrying President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, she recently sent a letter to the EPA lambasting its proposed revision to the nation’s rules on ground-level smog and particulate matter.

The EPA’s proposed rule states that the agency is considering a standard somewhere between 65 and 70 parts per billion, but that it is also seeking comments regarding a standard as low as 60 parts per billion.

“I am very concerned that the proposed levels are unnecessary and unachievable, and would bring great harm to Arkansas through significant job losses and a lack of economic development opportunities,” Rutledge said in a statement.

AS DRILLERS CUT SPENDING, NAT GAS SEVERANCE COLLECTIONS HIT WALL
As natural gas drillers and oilfield equipment firms continue to cut their capital spending in the Fayetteville Shale, there are early signs that severance tax collections in Arkansas are beginning to weaken at the start of the year.

The state’s record tax revenues from natural gas production – which have been supported by former billion dollar capital budgets that poured into the Arkansas shale play over the past decade – will eventually start to slide because of lower capital spending in the shale, according to John Shelnutt, chief economist at the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA). Read more of his comments and what this portends for state tax collections at this link.