Wyoming

Calling it one of the worst examples of federal regulation, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Feb. 28 directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and revise its “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule.

The myth that hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracking,” of oil and natural gas is responsible for the widespread, systemic contamination of groundwater (the stuff you drink) is one that is proving tremendously hard to kill.

My very first job as an engineering student was as a surveyor in Powell, Wyoming. What a great start for a young, impressionable youth, to be surrounded by men and women with a frontier spirit devoid of politics and overflowing with straight talk. Now, with more than a half-century of experience in the energy field, I find it painful to see some of these people being cowed by the radical green philosophy and told to run from the riches bestowed on their land in the form of coal.

Just in time for Halloween, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation has released its annual “State Business Tax Climate Index,” finding some states treat businesses in a rather beastly manner, while others give their local employers the fiscal equivalent of a king-sized candy bar.