Washington, DC – ConservAmerica recently sat down with the Senate’s newest member, Senator Alan Armstrong (R-OK), for a chat about his time so far in Congress, his thoughts on permitting reform and energy infrastructure, and how to balance environmental protections with development. Before being appointed to fill the term of Markwayne Mullin, who is now the Secretary of Homeland Security, Armstrong had been the executive chairman of the board of the Willams Companies, one of the nation’s largest providers of energy infrastructure. Previously, he had served for almost 15 years as the company’s CEO and president. Armstrong is also a former chair of the National Petroleum Council.
To watch the full interview, click here.
Highlights:
We have such abundant resources here in the US that we know how to responsibly produce … and we have the growing need for it. But the thing that stands in between that literally is connecting those resources to the demand that desperately needs it. (5:33)
The 401 water quality certificate is by far the most weaponized tool. So that has to be fixed. That is not just a pipeline issue. If we ever get around to building bigger power transmission lines … that same tool is going to be used. (18:36)
I don’t think you could be perfect on these things, but I think for them to pass, you need balance. (25:25)
I wouldn’t accept incremental that doesn’t make a pretty big step forward that solves some of these current problems. (27:39)
Timelines work for the courts, but they do not work for the agencies … what we have actually seen is it pits the agency against you rather than working toward solving a problem and coming up with solutions. (25:49)
If we would focus our energy on getting to better solutions, there’s a lot of money to be spent in the name of improving the environment. (33:54)