CEA radio, TV ads appear across the state, remind residents that under a nationwide LCFS, South Dakota’s Hyperion refinery is toast
WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 31, 2009 Today, as part of a multi-state campaign to educate American energy consumers on the economic and national security impacts associated with a national Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition comprised of 120 affiliates and more than 180,000 grassroots supporters, launched a major television and radio advertisement buy in South Dakota.
The ads (click HERE and HERE to view and listen), which will run over the next two weeks, highlight that if an LCFS is enacted into law, American jobs would threatened, prices at the pump would increase, and U.S. dependence on energy imports from unstable foreign regimes would expand.
An LCFS would be especially devastating for South Dakota in light of DENR’s recent decision to grant a critical air quality permit to the Hyperion refining project in Elk Point – a facility that, when complete, will receive and process 400,000 barrels of Canadian oil a day. Under an LCFS, those shipments of Canadian crude would be prevented from crossing the border – and no permit in the world will be able to save the project from elimination.
“In any form, a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard would represent a major blow to America’s economic health and strategic position,” said CEA’s Michael Whatley, a leading expert on LCFS proposals. “That’s because the energy we import daily from friends like Canada would essentially be prohibited from crossing our border. If these abundant resources are cut off, our dependence on unstable regions of the world would skyrocket, and so would the price American consumers pay at the pump.”
Added Whatley: “This campaign seeks to alert the American public of the implications of this policy, and enlist their support in ensuring it does not come to pass.”
Known as CEA’s “Secure Our Fuels” campaign, the work of enlisting the American people in support of affordable energy begins nationwide today, with radio and television ads running in several key states to engage those who stand to be most impacted under an LCFS. Efforts aimed at those initial states – South Dakota among the most important – will eventually broaden out to include many more, from the Intermountain West to the Atlantic coastline.
As part of the national launch, CEA also unveiled a new website to serve as a networking tool and information repository for its coalition: SecureOurFuels.org.
Throughout this campaign, CEA will work with and engage its regional affiliates to ensure that working families, small businesses, organized labor, and everyday American consumers understand the threat posed by an LCFS.
Visit SecureOurFuels.org to view our latest television and radio ads, and learn more about how an LCFS will increase energy costs for American consumers and expand our dependence on foreign, unstable regions of the world to fuel our economy.