Dear Secretary Salazar: On July 20, 2010, we requested the Office of Inspector General to conduct an investigation into whether senior officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), in an effort to help justify their decision to impose a 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, misrepresented that the moratorium was reviewed and supported by a group of… Read more »

Dear Secretary Vilsack: In the Fall 2010 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, the U.S. Forest Service indicated its intention to promulgate new regulations on the "Management of National Forest System Surface Resources with Privately Held Mineral Estates." We are concerned that this rulemaking will dramatically increase the regulatory burden on oil and natural gas… Read more »

Dear Secretary Salazar: The Committee on Natural Resources (Committee) is actively investigating issues surrounding the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) rewrite of the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule (Rule). Through this letter, we request information and cooperation regarding communication between the Department of the Interior (DOl)… Read more »

Dear Messrs. Hayes and Perrelli: We request information and cooperation regarding the fees, expenses, and incentive payments sought by the Named Plaintiffs and Class Counsel pursuant to the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, which authorized the Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Agreement. Read the entire letter HERE. Read more »

Dear Messrs. Gingold and Harper: We request information regarding the fees, expenses, and incentive payments sought by the Named Plaintiffs and Class Counsel pursuant to the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, which authorized the Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Agreement. Your response on behalf of the Named Plaintiffs and Class Counsel is important for the Committee on Natural Resources… Read more »

Secretary Salazar: As you may know, last November a number of Northwest Members of Congress wrote you to express strong concerns about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Northern Spotted Owl Draft Revised Recovery Plan (Draft Plan) and to request that the public be given additional time and infonnation to comment on the Draft Plan. Many of those concerns remain unaddressed by the… Read more »

Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letters dated February 8, 2011, and February 10, 2011, both of which concern rule revisions that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is undertaking on the Stream Protection Rule. I appreciate your interest, and the opportunity to respond to your concerns. In both letters, you request a number of specific documents. The OSM… Read more »

Dear Gulf State Committee Member, In discussing the work of the Natural Resources Committee, we've heard directly from you, and other Members of Congress from the Gulf region, who are concerned over the Obama Administration's refusal to issue new shallow and deep water drilling permits in a timely, efficient manner. Indeed, the Department of the Interior has even been held in contempt by… Read more »

Dear Director Pizarchik, As you are aware the House Committee on Natural Resources is conducting an investigation into the Office of Surface Mining's rewrite of the 2008 "Stream Buffer Zone Rule" now called the "Stream Protection Rule." As part of the investigation it is requested that the following be delivered to me no later than March 18, 2011. Please provide copies of information on… Read more »

Dear Director Pizarchik, Recent news reports have highlighted the significant job losses and economic impacts that could result from changes being considered by the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) to fifteen elements of its coal mining regulation program. According to an official document obtained by the Associated Press, the agency's preferred "Stream Protection Rule" could cost at least… Read more »