The next administration's hands will be tied as it will not be able to conduct the reviews and evaluations it should properly undertake. And finally, the people who are responsible for these regulations will no longer be around to be held accountable for their decisions. Inhofe reiterated his specific concerns about the proposed sulfur diesel rule which was the subject of recent hearings. Lets look at the facts. Since 1990, the number of U.S. refineries has dropped from 205 to 159, with no new refineries having been built since the 1970s.
Experts predict that our demand for foreign refined products is going to continue to grow.
Each of these environmental regulations is putting another nail in the coffin of our domestic refining industry. In addition, these regulations lead to the price spikes that American consumers face at the gas pumps. The Administration's own Department of Energy agreed this past summer that the environmental regulations were causing the price spikes in the Midwest. Unfortunately even after DOE reached that conclusion, Vice President Gore and Carol Browner continued to place all of the blame on the oil industry, instead of taking responsibility for their lack of an energy policy.