Page 8A
BUSINESS
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Trump order to re-open drilling
By MATTHEW DALY
and JILL COLVIN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
—
Working to dismantle his
predecessor’s environmental
legacy, President Donald
Trump signed an executive
order on Friday aimed at
expanding oil drilling in the
Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
With one day left to rack
up accomplishments before
he reaches his 100th day in
office, Trump signed an order
reversing some of former
President Barack Obama’s
restrictions and instructing
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke
to review a plan that dictates
which federal locations are
open to offshore drilling.
It’s part of Trump’s
promise to unleash the
nation’s energy reserves in
an effort to reduce oil imports
and spur jobs, regardless
of fierce opposition from
environmental activists who
say offshore drilling harms
whales, walruses and other
wildlife and exacerbates
global warming.
U.S. oil production has
boomed in recent years,
primarily because of improved
drilling techniques such as
fracking that have opened up
production in areas previously
out of reach of drillers.
“This executive order
starts the process of opening
offshore areas to job-cre-
ating energy exploration,”
Trump said during a White
House signing ceremony. “It
reverses the previous admin-
istration’s Arctic leasing ban
and directs Secretary Zinke
to allow responsible devel-
opment of off-shore areas
that will bring revenue to
our treasury and jobs to our
workers.”
“Today,” he said, “we’re
unleashing American energy
and clearing the way for
thousands and thousands of
high-paying energy jobs.”
The executive order aims
to reverse part of a December
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File
The oil drilling rig Polar Pioneer is towed toward a dock in Elliott Bay in Seattle.
Working to dismantle his predecessor’s environmental legacy, President Donald
Trump signed an executive order on Friday aimed at expanding drilling in the Arctic
and opening other federal areas to oil and gas exploration
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
President Donald Trump gestures as he answers
a question from a members of the the media after
signing an Executive Order in the Roosevelt Room of
the White House in Washington, Friday.
effort by Obama to deem the
bulk of U.S.-owned waters in
the Arctic Ocean and certain
areas in the Atlantic as indefi-
nitely off limits to oil and gas
leasing.
It also directs Zinke to
review the locations avail-
able for offshore drilling
under a five-year plan Obama
signed in November. The
plan blocked new oil and gas
drilling in the Atlantic and
Arctic oceans. It also stopped
the planned sale of new oil
and gas drilling rights in
the Chukchi and Beaufort
seas north of Alaska, but
allowed drilling in Alaska’s
Cook Inlet southwest of
Anchorage.
The order could lead
to the opening of oil and
gas exploration areas off
Virginia and North and South
Carolina, where drilling has
been blocked for decades. It
could also re-open the door
to the use of seismic surveys
by energy companies to map
potential drilling sites for oil
and natural gas in the Atlantic
Ocean.
The oil and gas industry
has pushed for Atlantic
drilling and pledged that
exploration would be done
safely, with lessons applied
from the disastrous 2010
BP oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Many lawmakers from
Georgia to Virginia support
offshore drilling, but the
plan faces broad opposition
from the fishing industry,
tourism groups and even
the U.S. military, which
has said Atlantic offshore
drilling could hurt military
maneuvers and interfere with
missile tests the Navy relies
on to protect the East Coast.
More than 120 coastal
cities and towns from New
Jersey to Floridaincluding
cities such Wilmington,
North
Carolina, Myrtle
Beach and Charleston, South
Carolina, and Savannah,
Georgia have passed resolu-
tions against Atlantic drilling
and seismic testing.
Court agrees to hold off ruling on carbon restrictions
WASHINGTON (AP) —
In a blow to environmental
groups, a federal appeals
court agreed Friday to post-
pone a ruling on lawsuits that
challenge Obama-era limits
on carbon emissions.
The limits are part of the
Clean Power Plan, a center-
piece of President Barack
Obama’s efforts to reduce
emissions from existing
power plants. The plan was
challenged by a coalition of
states and industry groups
that profit or benefit from the
continued burning of coal,
the dirtiest of fossil fuels.
The
Environmental
Protection Agency asked the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit
to put the legal fight on
hold after President Donald
Trump signed an executive
order to roll back the plan.
Friday’s order from the
court agreed to postpone the
case for 60 days and asks
the parties for guidance on
whether the rule should be
sent back to the EPA to poten-
tially be revised or repealed.
While not final, the
postponement is letdown
to environmentalists who
vehemently opposed the
request for delay. They have
urged the court to rule on the
merits of the case, despite the
change in administration.
“We are in a race against
time to address the climate
crisis,” said Vickie Patton, a
lawyer for the Environmental
Defense Fund. “Climate
progress and clean energy
cannot be stopped by the liti-
gation tactics of polluters.”
The Supreme Court
last year blocked the plan
from taking effect while the
appeals court considered
whether it was legal. Ten
judges on the court of
appeals in Washington heard
arguments in the case last
year and could have issued a
ruling at any time.
“Today’s decision by the
court is a positive step toward
protecting West Virginia
coal miners and those who
depend upon their success,”
said West Virginia Attorney
General Patrick Morrisey,
who was among those who
challenged the rules. “The
court recognized the land-
scape has changed and that a
decision on the merits is not
appropriate at this time.”
BRIEFLY
Workforce board
seeks one stop
operator
LA GRANDE — The
Eastern Oregon Workforce
Investment Board is
offering an opportunity
to qualified applicants to
complete a Request for
Proposal for a One Stop
Operator.
The proposal includes
seven One Stop Centers in
the Eastern Oregon region,
which encompasses Baker,
Grant, Harney, Malheur,
Morrow, Umatilla,
Union and Wallowa
counties. The operator
will serve a significant
role in coordinating and
streamlining access in
regards to employment,
education, training and
support to individuals,
particularly those with
barriers to employment, in
the Eastern Oregon area.
All interested parties
are encouraged to attend
a bidders conference.
A detailed review
of non-competitive
information on the RFP
will be discussed during
the conference, which is
Tuesday, May 9 from 2-3
p.m. at the WorkSource
Center, 1901 Adams Ave.,
La Grande.
An electronic letter of
intent to bid is requested
to be sent to info@eowb.
org by Friday, May 12.
Although not required, the
Workforce board wants to
ensure bidders receive any
subsequent guidance prior
to the submission due date
of Thursday, May 25.
The request for proposal
package is available
at www.eowb.org. For
questions, contact Brenda
Frank, grants & contracts
administrator, at 541-963-
3693 or brenda@eowb.org.
Job fair set
for May 16
PENDLETON — A
regional job fair will
feature businesses from
around the area that are
recruiting for a variety of
positions.
The event is Tuesday,
May 16 from 2-6 p.m. at
the Pendleton Convention
Center, 1601 Westgate.
Attendees are encouraged
to bring their resume and
be prepared to apply on
the spot. Blue Mountain
Community College will
set up its business clothing
closet and offer resume and
interview tips.
Participating
businesses include St.
Anthony Hospital, Lamb
Weston, Boise Cascade,
Wildhorse Resort &
Casino and Mid-Columbia
Bus Company. Other
businesses can purchase
booth space for $35.
The job fair is
presented by the BMCC,
the Pendleton Chamber
of Commerce and
WorkSource Oregon.
For booth space, call the
chamber at 541-276-7411.
U.S. economy
expansion
weakest in 3 years
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The U.S. economy
turned in the weakest
performance in three years
in the January-March
quarter as consumers
sharply slowed their
spending. The result fell far
short of President Donald
Trump’s ambitious growth
targets and underscores the
challenges of accelerating
economic expansion.
The gross domestic
product, the total output
of goods and services,
grew by just 0.7 percent in
the first quarter following
a gain of 2.1 percent in
the fourth quarter, the
Commerce Department
reported Friday.
The slowdown
primarily reflected slower
consumer spending, which
grew at a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 0.3
percent after a growth rate
of 3.5 percent in the fourth
quarter. It was the poorest
quarterly showing in more
than seven years.
Despite the anemic
first-quarter performance,
the U.S. economy’s
prospects for the rest of the
year appear solid. Growth
is expected to be fueled
by a revival in consumer
spending, supported by
continued strong job
growth, accelerating wage
gains and record stock
levels.
Weakness in the first
quarter followed by a
stronger expansion in
the spring has become a
pattern in recent years. The
government’s difficulty
with seasonal adjustments
for the first quarter has
been a chronic problem
and may have shaved as
much as 1 percentage point
off growth this year.
The sharp slowdown
in consumer spending
in the first quarter was
attributed to a collection
of temporary factors:
warmer weather, which
shrank spending on
heating bills, a drop-off in
auto sales after a strong
fourth quarter and a
delay in sending out tax
refund checks, which also
dampened spending.
$
WHY ADVERTISE IN THE EAST OREGONIAN AND HERMISTON HERALD CLASSIFIED SECTION?
EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS. CHOOSE A PROVEN SOURCE FOR
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
You should be advertising in these tough economic times.
BAHA’I FAITH
“The Unity of All Mankind”
Baha’i Community is deeply appreciative
“ of The the Pendleton
good Customer Service and treatment by the
staff of the East Oregonian newspaper.
”
Pendleton Baha’i Center at
1015 SE Court Place
Devotions
Sundays @ 11:00am;
Everyone invited!
541.276.9360
visit us at
www.pendletonbahais.org
To advertise in the most powerful local media
available, call Dayle or Terri at 1-800-962-2819 .
Dayle Stinson
Terri Briggs