Energy Department Submits Report on Sandia's Crude Oil Characterization Research Study to Congress

BISMARCK – U.S. Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and Representative Kelly Armstrong issued the following statement on the Department of Energy submitting its report on the Sandia National Laboratories Crude Oil Characterization Research Study to Congress today:

“As the Sandia study proves, Bakken crude is no different from Permian Basin oil or the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. There is no scientific basis for Washington state or other states to impose a de-facto ban on our crude oil or require further regulations on its transport. With this study formally submitted to Congress, we urge the Department of Transportation to preempt Washington’s law and protect interstate commerce.”

The delegation highlighted the study’s findings when they were first released last August. Earlier that month, Hoeven, Cramer, and Armstrong urged the Department of Transportation and its Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to preempt Washington’s crude-by-rail law, arguing it violates the Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause and interferes with Transportation’s primary authority over the shipment of crude oil within the United States.

Click here to read the report.

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