Washington, D.C.– At a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, U.S. Congressman Patrick Meehan (PA-07) today questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Lisa Jackson, about the regulatory impediments threatening nearly 7,000 jobs at or related to oil refineries in the 7^th Congressional District. 

Click here to watch Congressman Meehan’s questioning of EPA Administrator Jackson:

“Today’s hearing was an opportunity to address some very serious concerns I have about EPA regulations that are directly impacting two major employers in my district,” said Congressman Meehan.  “I was disappointed in Administrator Jackson’s response to my question about whether the loss or creation of jobs are taken into consideration by the EPA when developing regulations. Burdensome regulations related to the swimming patterns of fish should not take precedent over thousands of jobs. Refineries, and other industries, are having to make large capital investments to keep up with new regulations. Should one of these facilities be forced to close due to the cost of compliance with regulations, the economic impact on the entire region would be catastrophic.”

Congressman Meehan visited ConocoPhillipsearlier this year and had the opportunity to hear firsthand how EPA regulations are impacting the refinery.

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