Don Brunell - Shot at petro industry would hit drivers

Some state lawmakers plan to hit petroleum producers with more than $1.2 billion in new costs over the next decade to pay for new water pollution programs. If refiners are forced to absorb those extra costs, they will become job killers right in the middle of a recession. If the industry passes the costs on to consumers, they will amount to a hidden four cent per gallon increase in our state’s gas tax — already one of the highest in the nation.

In 1972, Congress decided to toughen our water pollution laws. At President Nixon’s urging, it created the Environmental Protection Agency and gave the...