HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 55
(
By Delegates Overington, Amores, Anderson, Argento, Ashley, Azinger, Barker, Beane, Blair,
Boggs, Browning, Butcher, Canterbury, Carmichael, Crosier, DeLong, Doyle, Duke, Eldridge,
Ellem, Evans, Frederick, Hall, Hamilton, Hartman, Hatfield, Howard, Hrutkay, Hunt, Lane, Leggett,
Long, Louisos, Moore, Morgan, Paxton, Perdue, Perry, Pethtel, Pino, Poling, Porter, Roberts,
Romine, Rowan, Schadler, Spencer, Staton, Stemple, Stephens, Sumner, Swartzmiller, Tabb, Tansill,
R. Thompson, Trump, Varner, Wakim, Walters, G. White, Williams and Wysong
)
Urging the Congress of the United States to provide for a domestic
energy policy that ensures a reliable, adequate and affordable
supply of energy, recognizes the strategic importance of
energy to the national economy, causes development of
appropriate energy-related infrastructure, embraces a
concerted national effort to promote greater energy
efficiency, promotes the use of environmentally-responsible
alternatives to natural gas for power production, and opens
promising new areas for environmentally-responsible natural
gas production.
Whereas, Natural gas is a key raw material to the chemical and
polymer industries, a basic building block for the majority of
chemistry-related products; and
Whereas, The price of natural gas in the United States, already the highest in the industrial world, has again spiked and shows
continued volatility; and
Whereas, The volatility of gas prices is having a devastating
effect on chemical, plastics, glass, fertilizer, aluminum and steel
producers as well as metal-treating and agriculture; and
Whereas, Tens of thousands of jobs in the State of West
Virginia are threatened in industries using natural gas as a raw
material; and
Whereas, The chemical and plastics industries of the United
States, once leading exporters, now have large trade deficits; and
Whereas, The skyrocketing natural gas prices threatens the
livelihood of thousands of workers who rely directly or indirectly
on the business of chemistry; and
Whereas, Higher natural gas costs are passed through to
consumers in the form of more expensive food, spiraling home
heating bills and higher prices for many pharmaceuticals and
consumer goods; and
Whereas, According to the Energy Information Administration,
the total natural gas demand is projected to grow 48% over the next
twenty-five years; and
Whereas, The United States is increasingly reliant on natural
gas in our national energy supply, creating a tremendous imbalance
between natural gas supply and demand; and
Whereas, The natural gas imbalance is not a free market problem and cannot be corrected solely by the importation of natural gas;
and
Whereas, The high price of natural gas is created by
governmental policies that increase demand for natural gas while
impeding the development of a greater supply by discouraging
domestic exploration and production, and by discouraging the use of
alternative forms of energy production, including nuclear and coal;
and
Whereas, The Appalachian Basin, which extends through West
Virginia, may contain more natural gas reserves than those of the
Gulf Coast; and
Whereas, Supporting the development of nontraditional
exploration methods and nontraditional sources, such as deep wells
and the use of coal-bed methane, will yield increased supplies; and
Whereas, Coal-fired power plants represent an
environmentally-sound option for electricity production; and
Whereas, Coal provides more than $3.5 billion of the West
Virginia gross state product, nearly 13% of the total; and
Whereas, Coal reserves in West Virginia are estimated at nearly
53 billion tons, which can be used responsibly to move the nation
forward toward easing the energy imbalance; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Congress of the United States is hereby urged to
provide for a domestic energy policy that ensures a reliable, adequate and affordable supply of energy, recognizes the strategic
importance of energy to the national economy, causes development of
appropriate energy-related infrastructure, embraces a concerted
national effort to promote greater energy efficiency, promotes the
use of environmentally-responsible alternatives to natural gas for
power production, and opens promising new areas for
environmentally-responsible natural gas production; and, be it
Further Resolved, That copies of this resolution be
transmitted to the presiding officers of each house of the United
States Congress, the Governor and West Virginia Delegation in
Congress.
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