Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing on the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s (OSMRE) Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Program.
The Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Act of 1977 (SMCRA), which created the AML program, is the primary federal law regulating the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States.… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held a legislative hearing on a series of bills that would empower Indian and Alaska Native communities to direct their own affairs. They place decision-making power in the hands of those most qualified to make decisions on local issues: the tribes and communities themselves.
H.R. 1074 repeals a previous act of Congress… Read more »
Yesterday, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a Secretarial Order to jump-start oil and gas production in Alaska and update resource assessments in the North Slope. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:
“This Order further demonstrates the Trump administration’s commitment to harnessing America’s domestic energy resources to support economic growth, empower local… Read more »
Today, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:
“The Paris Agreement has always been a political sideshow to America's energy renaissance and its contributions to reducing emissions through innovation. We should not be taking any form of energy off the table, we should be… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held the first of a series of oversight hearings to examine the impacts of federal natural resources laws gone astray. The panel focused on three laws in particular: the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), the Wilderness Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA).
“For too long, federal agencies have been… Read more »
NOTE: “Consider how far the Antiquities Act has strayed from its original intent: The act states that monument designations should be limited to “the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” In recent years, however, it has been used as a large-scale conservation policy, dictated by presidential decree. Many recent monuments have… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a legislative hearing on the “Community Reclamation Partnerships Act” (Rep. Darin LaHood, R-IL), discussion draft legislation to authorize partnerships between states and non-governmental entities for the purpose of expanding abandoned mine reclamation projects.
“I’m honored to be the author of this proposed legislation… I’ve… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a legislative hearing on H.R. 2199 (Rep Cramer, R-ND), the “Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2017” or the “FLAIR Act.”
The federal government owns an estimated 640 million acres of land, although, amazingly, the actual acreage number is not definitively known. The bipartisan FLAIR Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a legislative hearing on two bills to promote economic development, improve conservation and address targeted federal land management challenges.
H.R. 2423, the “Washington County, Utah, Public Lands Management Implementation Act,” (Rep. Chris Stewart, R-UT) fulfills a promise made to Washington County, after years of negotiations and… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Cobell Land Consolidation Program. The program authorizes DOI to purchase highly fractionated allotments and consolidate them in tribal ownership. After an expenditure of over $1 billion, it remains unclear that the program has greatly reduced Indian land… Read more »
