| Calgary Herald by David Marsden. … What we are quibbling about is the depths of Obama’s hypocrisy. The Keystone XL pipeline would not add to the United States’ consumption of oil. |
From the U.S. House Resource Committee re: Threat to Half Of America's Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts
Today the House will act on legislation to provide relief to farmers and help return water flows to the Central Valley. (See our earlier story of the effect of national energy policy on California and Colorado food production. -dh)
Fuel Fix. Former U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar (NGP Photo) said Wednesday morning that he believes hydraulic fracturing is safe, and the energy industry should work to convince the public that it doesn’t pose a safety threat.
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DEVELOPMENT COMMITMENT: U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski yesterday secured a commitment from the nominee for Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Janice Schneider, to improve the Interior Department’s permitting process and provide greater regulatory certainty for oil and natural gas exploration in the Arctic. “I agree with you that business needs regulatory certainty and predictability. People, particularly when they are going to invest huge sums of money, need to understand what the rules of the road are…. If I am confirmed to this position, I am committed to ensuring that there is an opportunity for greater regulatory certainty, including the potential for offshore oil and gas exploration off of Alaska,” Schneider told Murkowski. (NGP emphasis added.) Murkowski said she was disappointed, but not surprised last week by Shell’s announcement that it was canceling its exploration plans in the Chukchi Sea this summer because of the 9th Circuit ruling on Lease Sale 193 and Interior’s failure to provide regulatory predictability for the Arctic. Murkowski told Schneider that the Interior Department needs to make a clear commitment to the responsible development of the oil and gas resources that exist in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and commit to a dual track for development in the Chukchi Sea in 2015 that both remediates the environmental impact statement that was struck down by the 9th Circuit Court and at the same time continues the department’s evaluation of the exploration plan so that Shell can proceed in 2015. Schneider made her comments on Tuesday at her nomination hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Murkowski is Alaska’s senior senator and the top Republican on the energy committee. Complete video of Tuesday’s hearing is available on the energy committee’s website. |
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski 
(NGP Photo) yesterday firmly pressed the nominee for Assistant Secretary for Fish Wildlife and Parks, Rhea Suh on the Interior Department’s disregard for the needs and concerns of the people of Alaska. (See today's Energy Guardian report.)
Murkowski questioned Suh about whether the department was doing anything to ensure the safety of the people of King Cove after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell rejected, on Dec. 23, a proposed a life-saving road that would have connected the isolated community to an all-weather airport a few miles across the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
After Suh had no answer, Murkowski said her growing frustration with Interior goes well beyond just one issue.
“This is about more than just a 10-mile road,” Murkowski said. “This is about how many Alaskans feel this administration is treating us when we are far away at the other end of the continent and out of sight, out of mind.”
Tuesday marked the second time Suh, who if confirmed, would oversee the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service; has appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Murkowski, the energy panel’s top Republican, called for a second hearing after being disappointed in Suh’s responses at her initial Dec. 12 hearing.
“I have serious reservations about not only what I perceive is your lack of knowledge of western lands issues, but also with your unfamiliarity with Alaska’s most pressing issues and unique governing statutes,” Murkowski said to Suh. “I’m not being overly parochial here – we have more than 70 percent of the National Wildlife Refuge System and two-thirds of the National Park System located in Alaska, so when you indicated in our meeting that you were not prepared to discuss any of my state’s issues in any detail – that concerns me.”
Murkowski pressed Suh on the development of the Arctic, King Cove, reform of the Land and Water Conservation Fund to address the national parks maintenance backlog, subsistence reform in Alaska.
“I firmly believe that the Fish and Wildlife Service is headed in the wrong direction and has lost sight of its responsibility to the American people,” Murkowski said. “This problem is most recently highlighted by the service’s role in the fundamentally flawed review process and rejection of the life-saving King Cove road, but it’s not limited to that single decision. My view is that the Fish and Wildlife Service is simply not considering the impact of its decisions on people across our country. That needs to change.”
After the hearing, Murkowski cast doubt on whether she would support Suh’s nomination, citing ongoing concerns with the lack of detailed answers to questions she has posed to Suh.
The complete video of Tuesday’s nominations hearing is available on the energy committee’s website. Additional information on King Cove can be found here.
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