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112th Congress Hearing Archives

Joint Subcommittee Oversight Hearing on "Challenges facing Domestic Oil and Gas Development: Review of Bureau of Land Management/U.S. Forest Service Ban on Horizontal Drilling on Federal Lands"

Friday, July 8, 2011 | 10:00 AM 1324 Longworth House Office Building
The Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources & The Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
AND
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION, ENERGY AND FORESTRY
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Friday, July 8, 2011
10:00 a.m.





JOINT OVERSIGHT HEARING ON:

  • "Challenges facing Domestic Oil and Gas Development: Review of Bureau of Land Management/U.S. Forest Service Ban on Horizontal Drilling on Federal Lands."

OPENING STATEMENTS:

The Honorable Doug Lamborn
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman

The Honorable Glenn Thompson
Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry Chairman

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

The Honorable Bob Abbey
Director
Bureau of Land Management

The Honorable Joel Holtrop
Deputy Chief
U.S. Forest Service

Accompanied by:
Tony Ferguson
Director
Minerals and Geology Management
U.S. Forest Service

Maureen Hyzer
Forest Supervisor
George Washington & Jefferson National Forest
U.S. Forest Service

Panel II

Maureen Matsen
Deputy Director of Natural Resources and Senior Advisor on Energy
Commonwealth of Virginia

Accompanied by:
David Spears
State Geologist
Virginia Division of Geology and Mineral Resources

David Miller, PE, F.ASCE
Director, Standards
API
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Lee Fuller
Vice President of Government Relations
IPAA
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Craig L. Mayer, Esq.
General Counsel
Pennsylvania General Energy, LLC
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Kate Giese Wofford
Executive Director
Shenandoah Valley Network
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Amy Mall
Senior Policy Analyst
Natural Resources Defense Council
(Truth in Testimony Form)

BACKGROUND:

The hearing will focus on the U.S. Forest Service’s use of a horizontal drilling ban through a Draft Forest Plan to effectively eliminate hydraulic fracturing in the George Washington National Forest in Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the Interior Departments’ potential regulation of hydraulic fracturing on federal lands. Horizontal drilling provides significant benefit to development by reducing the footprint of oil and gas production and allowing for directional drilling to leave undisturbed areas of environmental concern. In December 2010, then Ranking Member Hastings sent a letter to Interior Secretary Salazar expressing concerns over statements made by the Secretary that Interior would consider regulating hydraulic fracturing on public lands.