NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE

American Sportfishing Association
Archery Trade Association
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
Boone and Crockett Club
Bowhunting Preservation Alliance
Campfire Club of America
Catch-A-Dream Foundation
Center for Coastal Conservation
Coastal Conservation Association
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
Conservation Force
Dallas Safari Club
Delta Waterfowl Foundation
Ducks Unlimited
Houston Safari Club
International Game Fish Association
International Hunter Education Association
Masters of Foxhounds Association
Mule Deer Foundation
National Rifle Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation
National Trappers Association
National Wild Turkey Federation
North American Bear Foundation
North American Grouse Partnership
Pheasants Forever
Pope and Young Club
Quail Forever
Quality Deer Management Association
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Ruffed Grouse Society
Safari Club International
Shimano
Texas Wildlife Association
The Bass Federation
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance
Whitetails Unlimited
Wild Sheep Foundation
Wildlife Forever
Wildlife Management Institute

“The Department has failed to comply with the subpoena and it’s response is extremely disappointing given the costly toll the Obama Administration’s drilling moratorium imposed on thousands of workers and American energy production. The Department’s surreal claim that they don’t understand what is being investigated raises questions about whether they’re truly interested in living up to the President’s pledge of unprecedented transparency, or they’re maneuvering to withhold unknown amounts of information from public scrutiny and Congressional review. The investigation very clearly includes the decision to impose the moratorium, the report, and the process that resulted in the misrepresentation of scientific views to further political plans to halt offshore drilling. The subpoena was very plainly worded. All the Department had to do was provide 1) communications involving five officials on a specific topic over a two month period, and 2) thirteen documents they intervened and blocked the Inspector General from providing to the Committee. The Department has refused to meet even this low, simple bar of transparency.”

Over the past several months, the House Natural Resources Committee has conducted rigorous oversight on this issue, and plans to hold more hearings focused on the National Ocean Policy throughout this Congress. The President’s plan to zone the oceans represents a top-down, Washington, D.C.-based process that has the potential to significantly impact the way we use and manage our oceans. It is one of many examples of the Obama Administration imposing burdensome federal regulations and policies that could hinder economic growth and harm job creation. The Committee plans to hear testimony from recreational and commercial fishermen next week at its fourth hearing on the issue. For more information on the President’s plan to zone the oceans, click here.

The letter was signed by the Governors of Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Texas and Mississippi.

The Committee continues its Jobs Watch series this week with Freshman Committee Member Steve Southerland from Florida’s Second Congressional District. Congressman Southerland explains his work to ensure sensible regulations on Florida’s waterways and fishing industry without destroying thousands of jobs. Watch Rep. Southerland explain more here:

Learn more about Rep. Steve Southerland by visiting his website and following him on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out what the Natural Resources Committee is doing to increase America’s economic competitiveness and create new American jobs by watching other videos in our Jobs Watch series here.

Watch Chairman Hastings here and post your comment below:

“Hi, I’m Congressman Doc Hastings from the state of Washington. I chair the House Natural Resources Committee, which handles several issues relating to job creation, including American energy production.

“As you’ve painfully noticed, gas prices are rising quickly, already topping four dollars a gallon in some areas. On average, prices at the pump are more than double what they were when President Obama took office.

“Americans are right to worry that no relief is in sight. The president, who campaigned on a promise to address rising gas prices, now talks as if they’re largely beyond his control. This week, when the president’s Energy Secretary was asked whether the administration’s goal is to lower gas prices, the secretary’s answer was ‘no.’ Incredibly, one Democrat leader in the Senate actually suggested we push Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, thereby increasing our dependence on the Middle East.

Like you, Republicans take this issue seriously, because high gas prices hurt us all, and not just at the pump. Local governments are forced to make cutbacks to police patrols and other essential services. Schools run fewer buses. The cost of groceries go up. The cost of running a business goes up, and that means less to invest in hiring new workers. Rising gas prices are a huge drain on our economy, plain and simple.

“As part of our Plan for America’s Job Creators, Republicans continue to pursue an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach that utilizes the natural resources we have right here at home. When we responsibly develop these resources, we don’t just address rising energy costs – we also help create good-paying jobs and improve our energy security, right now and over the long term. This common-sense approach enjoys bipartisan support, and has been endorsed by the president’s own jobs council.

“Though the president now claims to support ‘all-of-the-above,’ he has consistently blocked American energy production, most recently by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline. In addition to that, he has restricted drilling in offshore areas while encouraging other countries, including Brazil, to expand their own exploration. And while the president says oil production alone can’t solve our problems, his administration has proposed costly regulations that would hurt the supply of other domestic sources. Instead of placing his bet on American-made energy and the workers who produce it, President Obama has wasted taxpayer dollars on Solyndra and other unproven technologies.

“Actions speak louder than words. Republicans have followed through on our ‘all-of-the-above’ approach and passed through the House bipartisan reforms that break down government barriers to our natural resources.

“While the president has closed off new areas for offshore drilling, the House has passed legislation that would open the most promising areas offshore to exploration and production.

“While the President has delayed leases and withdrawn over a million acres in the Rocky Mountains to oil shale development, the House has passed legislation to set clear rules and require additional leases to be issued.

“While the president opposes energy production in ANWR, the House has passed legislation to make available three percent of the land in this Arctic coastal plain, which is known to be abundant in natural resources.

“The House has also voted to remove regulatory barriers to the development of renewable energy sources and require approval of the Keystone pipeline, a project that even President Clinton says we should embrace.

“Again, this approach has been endorsed by the president’s own jobs council.

“A meeting at the White House this week provided a glimmer of new hope that the President and the Democratic-controlled Senate may finally act on some bipartisan energy bills that have been passed by the Republican-led House.

“That’s welcome news, because Washington D.C. needs to have a sense of urgency about this. The reality is, prices will only climb higher if we don’t take action now to improve our energy security and develop our own natural resources.

“Republicans are ready to continue moving forward with an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy plan, and we hope the president will live up to his rhetoric. Hardworking taxpayers can’t wait to have the pain at the pump addressed.

“Thank you for listening, and God bless America."

Meet Freshman Committee Member Jeff Duncan from South Carolina’s Third Congressional District. Congressman Duncan suggests that by opening up a small portion of ANWR, we have huge potential for achieving American energy independence, while creating good-paying American jobs. Responsible energy production would create thousands of jobs, generate billions in new revenue, and reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Watch Rep. Duncan explain more here:

Learn more about Rep. Jeff Duncan by visiting his website and following him on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out what the Natural Resources Committee is doing to increase America’s economic competitiveness and create new American jobs by watching other videos in our Jobs Watch series here.

Meet Committee Member Mike Coffman from Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District. American oil and natural gas production in Colorado directly employs 50,000 people and supports over 190,000 jobs in the state. It is responsible for roughly 6% of total employment in Colorado. Watch Rep. Coffman explain the recent efforts he has taken to expand American energy production, create jobs and produce a positive effect on his district and the economy:

Learn more about Rep. Mike Coffman by visiting his website and following him on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out what the Natural Resources Committee is doing to increase America’s economic competitiveness and create new American jobs by watching other videos in our Jobs Watch series here.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline near Valdez, Alaska

This bill ties energy production to key projects that would generate well-paying jobs sorely needed for our economy and our energy security. It also enables us in Alaska to pursue production on a small section of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR).

This legislation opens 400,000 acres of the ANWR coastal plain's 1.5 million acres—land specifically set aside (by a 1980 federal law) for oil and natural-gas development. The 400,000 acres represents less than 3% of ANWR's 19 million total acres.

So what have we been waiting for?

Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Department of the Interior recommended that Congress open up this area for oil and gas development. Yet year after year, Washington has blocked Alaska from delivering America's oil to Americans, even as the Energy Department calculates that for every barrel produced from ANWR, one less barrel of imports would be needed.

The federal government must drop these roadblocks. This should not be controversial: The vast majority of Alaskans favor the oil and gas development of this small portion of ANWR. Nor does this have to be a partisan issue: Three Democrats joined 26 Republicans in the 29-13 vote.

The essence of this long-standing argument is this: Greater oil and gas production means jobs and economic growth, which develop the stable communities that underpin a strong nation. Somehow this reasoning continues to fall flat.

Just last month, President Obama said in his State of the Union address that he had directed his administration to "open more than 75% of our potential offshore oil and gas resources." He should have said "redirected," for this simply repackaged his current position on the Outer Continental Shelf, which slowed Arctic development and did nothing to advance ANWR's potential.

ANWR oil—more than 10 billion barrels of it—is accessible. It's extractable. Yet we wait. Ignoring promising domestic production means willingly accepting a steady diet of foreign oil. That's exactly what's happening.

At peak production, ANWR could supply the U.S. with up to 1.45 million barrels of oil per day. Over 10 years, it could produce a sustained rate of one million barrels per day.

We have a world-class pipeline ready to assist with delivery. We currently ship slightly more than 600,000 barrels of oil a day through the Trans Alaska Pipeline, but that figure once stood at two million per day.

With oil from ANWR in the Trans Alaska Pipeline, oil producers could develop nearby fields that otherwise might not be economically feasible.

We have a chance to make this happen under a measure cowritten by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R., Wash.) and Rep. Don Young (R., Alaska) within the American Energy Infrastructure & Jobs Act. It's the Alaska Energy for American Jobs Act, which will:

• Direct the secretary of the interior to hold lease sales on the North Slope of at least 50,000 acres within 22 months of enacting this legislation, then hold subsequent lease sales.

• Direct the secretary of the interior to ensure that this would result in no significant adverse impacts to fish, wildlife, habitat or environment, while the best available technology is employed.

• Ensure a minimal environmental footprint by requiring that land used for production and support facilities does not exceed 10,000 acres for every 100,000 leased acres.

Protecting our lands has long been a priority in Alaska. Prudhoe Bay, which sits 60 miles west of ANWR, has churned out 16 billion barrels of oil over more than 30 years. During that time, the central Arctic caribou herd in the Prudhoe Bay area has grown to nearly 70,000 in 2008 from 5,000 in 1975.

It's no coincidence that the states holding their own during this prolonged economic downturn include America's major energy producers, such as Alaska. Yet regulators keeping federal lands off-limits to oil and gas production also keep Alaska from contributing more affordable energy to other Americans.

For those who don't believe one state can make a difference in helping our nation, just look at the boom in North Dakota. The Bakken region is producing nearly 500,000 barrels of oil per day, pushing North Dakota's unemployment rate down to 3.5%, among the lowest nationally. If the Obama administration is serious about job creation, it can look to Alaska to boost America's work force. These are jobs Americans can do immediately. They are drillers, drivers and roustabouts, engineers, graphic designers and geologists, plumbers, painters and educators.

We don't have to make out-of-work Americans wait any longer.

Mr. Parnell is governor of Alaska.

Cross-posted at Wall Street Journal.

A draft copy of the new regulations, reported last Thursday by Politico, show that the Obama Administration is preparing to add significant red tape and delays to the job creating energy production that comes from harnessing U.S. shale gas resources. Chairman Hastings noted:

“At his State of the Union address President Obama talked about eliminating regulations that don’t work and add unnecessary burdens to American businesses, but here is yet another new regulation that drives us in the exact opposite direction. This draft document reveals that the Obama Administration is planning to impose new job-destroying regulations on the use of hydraulic fracturing technology on federal lands that will add significant barriers to the production of natural gas—one of America’s most promising and abundant energy resources. This regulation continues President Obama’s long record of restricting American energy production at a cost of lost jobs, higher prices and a prolonged dependence on foreign energy.”

Hydraulic fracturing has been effectively regulated by states for over 60 years and is responsible for 30 percent of our domestic oil and natural gas production. From the first moment Secretary Salazar in November 2010 mentioned possible new federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, House Natural Resources Committee Republicans have conducted aggressive oversight on this issue:

• On December 1, 2010, Chairman Hastings immediately sent Secretary Salazar a letter expressing his deep concern over the potential plans to regulate hydraulic fracturing and the Department’s apparent decision to act unilaterally without input from local elected officials, stakeholders, or Congress.; Hastings’ letter also asked that Secretary Salazar appear before the House Natural Resources Committee to “provide testimony and answer questions” before “unilaterally implement[ing] this policy.” Over a month later, on January 10, 2011, Secretary Salazar responded to Chairman Hastings’ letter assuring him that if the Department moved forward with hydraulic fracturing requirements, they would do so “in a fashion that fully considers public and Congressional concerns.”

• On July, 8, 2011, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a joint oversight hearing with the Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry, on: “Challenges facing Domestic Oil and Gas Development: Review of Bureau of Land Management/U.S. Forest Service Ban of Horizontal Drilling on Federal Lands.” Banning horizontal drilling is a de facto way to ban hydraulic fracturing as any significant oil and natural gas production depend on the two technologies being used together. Currently, the Obama Administration’s U.S. Forest Service is considering a ban on horizontal drilling in Virginia’s George Washington National Forest, where there is shale natural gas.

• On October, 11, 2011, responding to a comment Secretary Salazar made at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor that DOI would issue hydraulic fracturing rules “within a month or so,” Chairman Hastings sent a follow-up letter to Secretary Salazar. The letter reiterated Chairman Hastings’ previous request to testify before the Committee before unilaterally imposing new hydraulic fracturing regulations that could have significant impacts on “jobs, communities, revenues, states, and our economy.”

• On November, 16, 2011, Secretary Salazar finally appeared before the Natural Resources Committee at an oversight hearing on, “The Future of U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Development on Federal Lands and Waters.” For the first time, Secretary Salazar provided testimony on hydraulic fracturing but refused to give any details about when he expected DOI to produce draft regulations.

Exclusive: First glimpse of fracking rules
The rules would require operators to seek approval for fracking operations and lay out a record-keeping structure.
By TALIA BUFORD | 2/2/12 6:35 PM EST

Draft Interior Department regulations would require natural gas operators on public lands to disclose the “complete chemical makeup” of any proposed fracking fluids, as well as the amounts they’re using, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.

Operators could claim an exemption from the disclosure requirement only by identifying laws that either already require disclosure or specifically protect the information.

The rules would also require operators to seek approval for fracking operations and lay out a record-keeping structure to document compliance.

The draft document provides the first real glimpse into a cadre of regulations that Interior has been considering for months. The department has been tight-lipped about details, although Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said they will cover well-bore integrity, fracking fluid disclosure and flowback waters.

The department has no projected date for the draft’s official release. But on Thursday, spokesman Adam Fetcher provided a bit more detail about what Salazar and the department hope to achieve with the rules, based on preliminary input from the industry, other groups and the public.

“Those measures are straightforward: 1) requiring public disclosure of chemicals used in fracking, with appropriate protections for trade secrets; 2) improving assurances on well-bore integrity so we know fluids going into the well aren’t escaping; and 3) making sure companies have a water management plan in place for fluids that flow back to the surface,” Fetcher said.

“We will continue to gather public input throughout this process to ensure that the disclosure rule enhances public confidence in hydraulic fracturing on public lands, while also encouraging continued safe and responsible exploration and production for many decades to come,” he said.

But House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) called the draft a recipe for “new job-destroying regulations,” which “will add significant barriers to the production of natural gas — one of America’s most promising and abundant energy resources.”

“This regulation continues President Obama’s long record of restricting American energy production at a cost of lost jobs, higher prices and a prolonged dependence on foreign energy,” Hastings added.

Under the draft proposal:

• Thirty days before operations begin at a proposed well, the operator must submit a report that includes the ingredients of the fracking fluids, the origins of the water being used and a fluid treatment plan.

• Operators will have to disclose all additives in the proposed fracking fluids, including the additives’ trade name and purpose. The report must also disclose “the complete chemical makeup” of all materials used in the fluids.

• Operators will be required to test well casings to “the maximum anticipated treating pressure.” The test will be considered successful if the casing can sustain the pressure for 30 minutes with no more than 10 percent pressure loss.

• The operator must also record the pressure in the area between the pipe and the casing and submit a log of that pressure to Interior. An “authorized officer” must be notified within 24 hours if the pressure increases by more than 500 pounds per square inch, and a report on the incident must be submitted within 24 hours.

• All recovered fluids must be stored in tanks or lined pits, but officials can also require “additional measures to ensure protection of wildlife or other resources.” Operators will also be required to provide a proposed plan to handle and dispose of flowback fluids, as well as an estimated volume of fluid they expect to recover.

In his State of the Union Speech last week, President Barack Obama pointed to shale gas as a key energy resource for the nation, and hinted at hydraulic fracturing without mentioning that term outright.

Obama also promised that “America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk,” and said all companies drilling for gas on public lands would have to disclose the chemicals they use.

But for months before the speech, Interior has been working to draft the regulations to make that happen.

Along the way, Interior said the rules have been shaped by December meetings with regional and local members of the Bureau of Land Management, as well as January consultations with American Indian tribe members in Tulsa, Salt Lake City, Billings, Mont., and Farmington, N.M.

Once Interior incorporates the feedback into the proposed rules, a formal copy of the draft regulations will be released and open to public comment. Industry, states and citizens will then be able to submit their thoughts.

Meet Freshman Committee Member Bill Johnson from Ohio’s Sixth Congressional District. Ohio is home to several coal-fired power plants, which provide hundreds of good-paying jobs.  However, due to the Obama Administration’s proposed rewrite of the Stream Buffer Zone rule, tens of thousands of direct and indirect coal jobs are at jeopardy.  Coal production could be cut in half and cause electricity rates to skyrocket, due to this one overreaching rule.  Watch Rep. Johnson explain the affect this Obama Administration rule could have on jobs in his district:

Learn more about Rep. Bill Johnson by visiting his website and following him on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out what the Natural Resources Committee is doing to increase America’s economic competitiveness and create new American jobs by watching other videos in our Jobs Watch series here.