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Oversight and Investigations

Investigative Report on EPA’s Gold King Mine Blowout Released by House Committee on Natural Resources Majority Staff

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources released a Majority staff report detailing information uncovered during the Committee’s ongoing investigation of the EPA’s Gold King Mine blowout near Silverton, Colorado in August 2015. The 73-page report documents the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) inaccurate and misleading accounts of…

Chairmen’s Letter to Environmental Protection Agency’s Inspector General Raises Serious Concerns About the Gold King Mine Spill Review

| Posted in Press Release

Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) in a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General Arthur Elkins Jr., strongly questioned the timing and substance of interviews conducted two weeks ago by EPA officials with material witnesses that could compromise…

Chairmen Letter to EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins Jr.

| Posted in Letters

TO: Inspector General Arthur Elkins Jr.  FROM: Rob Bishop, Chairman House Committee on Natural Resources Louie Gohmert, Chairman Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Dear Inspector General Elkins:  On August 17, 2015, your office, the Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") Office of Inspector General ("OIG"), sent a memorandum to EPA Region 8 Administrator Shaun…

Committee Requests Documents from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Peer Review Process of DOI’s Animas Report

| Posted in Press Release

At yesterday’s oversight hearing on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Role in the EPA’s Animas Spill, both Republicans and Democrats on the Committee raised numerous questions about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) involvement with the peer review process of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) study on the EPA’s Animas spill, particularly in light of USACE’s technical…

Gohmert Letter to Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick

| Posted in Letters

TO: Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick FROM: Louie Gohmert, Chairman Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Dear General Bostick:  On August 5, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") caused the spill of approximately 3 million gallons of contaminated mine water from the Gold King Mine in San Juan County, Colorado. The contaminated plume traveled through the Animas…

Bishop Letter to the Honorable Gene Dodaro

| Posted in Letters

TO: The Honorable Gene Dodaro FROM: Rob Bishop, Chairman Dear Mr. Dodaro: On August 5, 2015, an Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") crew working at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado spilled approximately 3 million gallons of contaminated mine water into Cement Creek. The plume then flowed into the Animas River, a tributary of the San Juan River. Four states and…

Bishop Requests GAO Investigate Interior’s Obstructionist Tactics on Gold King Mine Spill

| Posted in Press Release

Following the oversight hearing on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Role in the EPA’s Animas Spill where Secretary Sally Jewell testified but failed to substantively answer the Committee’s questions, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) requested an independent review from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) about the scope, objectivity, and thoroughness of the DOI report,…

Committee Questions the Interior Department’s Lack of Transparency and Objectivity in Animas Spill Response

| Posted in Press Release

During the Committee’s oversight hearing on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Role in the EPA’s Animas Spill, Committee members raised concerns about the DOI’s response to the spill, the lack of transparency and objectivity and the narrow scope of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) report.  Secretary Sally Jewell’s testimony four months after the spill raised several concerns,…

Committee Unveils Federal Footprint Map

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Committee on Natural Resources released the Federal Footprint Map, which details the immense scale of federal land ownership and regulation in the United States.  This interactive tool gathers data from federal agencies and will be used as an educational resource for Members of Congress and their staff, reporters, and the public.  Chairman Bishop (R-UT)…

Bishop: President Obama Disregards Law to Fundamentally Transform Federal Lands Policy

| Posted in Press Release

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement in response to the White House’s memorandum on “Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment.” “Memorandum, executive order…call it what you will. President Obama is throwing the principle of multiple-use of our nation’s federal land out…