WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the non-profit, multi-stakeholder, educational organization known as STRONGER. The name, STRONGER, is an acronym for State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations.
“This MOU will provide more opportunities for EPA and STRONGER to work together to improve both environmental protections and economic outcomes,” said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “By collaborating with STRONGER, we can enhance our enforcement and compliance efforts while ensuring America’s historic energy production under President Trump continues.”
“We are very excited to enter this MOU with EPA and look forward to new opportunities for cooperation as we continue STRONGER’s important work enhancing protection of human health and the environment,” said STRONGER Executive Director Ryan Steadley.
While STRONGER will continue to develop guidelines and conduct reviews of state oil and natural gas programs, the MOU will provide the parties with greater opportunities for collaboration that are in the mutual interest of both STRONGER and EPA. In the coming months, EPA and STRONGER will work together to identify specific areas for collaboration. Such areas of collaboration may include providing platforms for meaningful stakeholder engagement, the identification of emerging issues impacting states and tribes, or the development of improved compliance assistance tools. The MOU is yet another example of the Trump EPA’s commitment to protecting human health and the environment through the creation of strategic partnerships.
Background
STRONGER’s mission is to enhance protection of human health and the environment by educating and providing services for the continuous improvement of state oil and gas environmental regulatory programs.
STRONGER’s Board of Directors includes representatives from state oil and natural gas regulatory agencies, environmental nongovernmental organizations (eNGOs), and the oil and natural gas industry. The current Board of Directors includes: Bradley C. Lambert, STRONGER Chairman and Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy; Gary E. Slagel, STRONGER Vice Chairman and Government Relations Coordinator, Steptoe and Johnson; and Jon W. Goldstein, STRONGER Treasurer, Senior Energy Policy Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.
More information, visit EPA’s unconventional oil and natural gas web page at http://www.epa.gov/uog or STRONGER’s web page at http://www.strongerinc.org.