Gov. Matt Mead’s energy strategy is beginning to take shape. It is meant to provide a framework for balancing energy production and environmental protection, and should offer more certainty to industry and other stakeholders about energy development in the state.
Mead has devised a series of objectives, including expanding production, investing in more infrastructure, and attracting new industries.
His policy advisor, Shawn Reese, says the next step is to develop action plans to achieve those objectives. Reese says those could include financial incentives, as well as streamlining permitting processes.
“For instance, agencies such as the Department of Environmental Quality or State Lands or the Oil and Gas Commission, that may have similar processes and may be addressing a particular operator or a particular type of development – ways in which we can make a more efficient, streamlined and meaningful process”
The Governor plans to host a series of public webinars in early December and will then identify the first initiatives that the state will undertake.