Texas Oil and Gas Regulatory Chairman Applauds Supreme Court’s Rollback of EPA Clean Air Act Overreach

June 30, 2022

AUSTIN – Railroad Commission of Texas Chairman Wayne Christian issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision (West Virginia, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)) on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) federal overreach with the Clean Air Act.

“SCOTUS is on a roll and continues to get it right – defending the Constitution, protecting states’ rights and ensuring Americans don’t answer to unelected bureaucrats,” said Chairman Christian. “Today’s decision is a win for good government, American energy producers and for hardworking taxpayers who simply need cheap, plentiful and reliable energy.”

“Environmentalists would have you choose a world between reliable energy and environmental progress – but that is a false choice,” continued Christian. “Oil, natural gas, and coal have lifted people out of poverty, fed the hungry, warmed the cold, healed the sick, and created a more stable world. In fact, mankind is more prepared and safer from climate change than ever before thanks to fossil fuels. SCOTUS’ action today will ensure that – for now – we still live in a country that thrives on the use and production of reliable fossil fuels.”

 

A lifelong conservative businessman, Wayne Christian was elected as our 50th Texas Railroad Commissioner in November 2016. Prior to his time at the Commission, Christian served seven sessions in the Texas House of Representatives, accumulating a strong record of standing for free markets and against burdensome regulations. Christian is married to his wife, Lisa, and together they have three daughters, Liza, Lindsey and Lauren. You can learn more about Chairman Christian here: https://rrc.texas.gov/About-Us/Commissioners/Wayne-Christian/.


About the Railroad Commission:
Our mission is to serve Texas by our stewardship of natural resources and the environment, our concern for personal and community safety, and our support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans. The Commission has a long and proud history of service to both Texas and to the nation, including more than 100 years regulating the oil and gas industry. The Commission also has jurisdiction over alternative fuels safety, natural gas utilities, surface mining and intrastate pipelines. Established in 1891, the Railroad Commission of Texas is the oldest regulatory agency in the state. To learn more, please visit https://www.rrc.texas.gov/about-us/.