Economic
Alliance Houston Port Region says employers concerned that EPA takeover
will stifle local job growth, economic recovery
Local
employers are deeply concerned about the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s
(EPA) unprecedented decision to take over a successful Texas
environmental
permitting
program. The move could impose new requirements on manufacturers that
will do little to help the environment, but can
stifle the state’s economic recovery and result in job losses for
locally owned and operated businesses.
EPA
Regional Administrator Al Armendariz has promised that his federal
agency will block
permitting
for dozens of refineries and chemical plants across Texas and threatened
to take over the state’s air permitting program
if EPA’s demands are not met.
Deer
Park Mayor Wayne Riddle said, “Thousands of jobs in our region depend
on flourishing chemical and refining industries.
For decades, our region’s manufacturing investment has spawned
entrepreneurship and small business job growth.”
“We
need these employers to remain sustainable and continue to provide the
tax base and support for quality schools,
resulting in continued prosperity and job growth for Deer Park and
our surrounding communities,” said Riddle.
“Just
as our local businesses were starting to see new capital investment and
a semblance of economic expansion and job growth,
the federal government is threatening to stop our region’s economic
recovery,” said Chad Burke, President and CEO of Economic Alliance,
Houston Port Region.
Paul
Chavez, Marketing Director for the Bay Area Houston Economic
Partnership, agreed
saying,
“EPA’s regulatory encroachment will have enormous impact on the
country’s largest industrial state and could
jeopardize existing and planned capital projects that many of our local
employers depend on for their livelihoods.”
“The
EPA’s recent announcement will create regulatory uncertainty in our
industry, making it difficult for me to predict if
there will be as many projects out there to keep our employees busy,”
said Robert Nussmeier, Director of Business Development at Baker
Concrete Construction, Inc.
“This
EPA takeover creates so much confusion that I can’t see down the road
how to make sound business decisions,” Nussmeier
continued. “How can I expand my workforce and grow my
company when our biggest customers are being forced to reconsider
capital improvements at their facilities, while
they wade through new EPA regulations? This is no way to prop up our
economy.”
“Our
business depends on the economic vitality and stability of the chemical
manufacturers and refineries across the state,”
said David Hartsell, Vice President of The Mundy Companies, a maintenance
services contractor to manufactures. “When our customers face
regulatory uncertainty, local contractors and
suppliers suffer the consequences.”
“Suppliers
like my company employ hundreds of Texans who depend on a robust oil and
gas sector,” said John Collins, Business
Development Manager of Bendco, Inc., which bends steel and
pipe for oil and gas facilities. “This latest EPA action couldn’t
come at a worse time and threatens my company’s
ability to compete for new industrial projects. Yet again, the federal
government’s unnecessary intrusion creates uncertainty
for oil and gas producers and in turn makes the
future unclear for me, my employees and the families who depend on my
company to remain sustainable and secure new jobs.”
For
Bob Kostelnik, CEO of Houston-based Cinatra Clean Technologies, EPA’s
focus is
misplaced.
Kostelnik said, “EPA should be looking to Texas as the model for tough
regulatory programs that gets remarkable results
because our state’s air quality is vastly improved over the past
two decades.” Kostelnik added, “I can’t think of anything that EPA
has done to improve our air quality in Texas.”
The
Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, a non-profit organization created
in 1985,
provides
professional economic development services on behalf of 16 communities
surrounding the 25-mile Houston Ship Channel -
home to one of the world’s most influential energy corridor and
trade ports. In addition to the port region cities, the Economic
Alliance services are also funded by 12 Chambers
of Commerce, Harris County, the Port of Houston Authority and private
businesses. Since 2004 alone, the Economic Alliance has
facilitated activities to help bring approximately
320 million dollars of capital investment to the area.
