Bingaman, Rahall on DOI Reforms
January 6, 2010
03:10 PM
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM): “I applaud Secretary Salazar for taking some thoughtful and strategic actions that will both boost energy production on public lands and maintain the integrity of these lands for all of the other multiple uses that are so important to all Americans, including those of us in New Mexico and the West.
“Responsible development of the energy resources on our public lands is vitally important to our national and economic security. Both responsibility and development are equally important in this equation, and Secretary Salazar’s announcement sets out useful and important steps to ensure the appropriate management of our publicly-owned energy resources.
“I am particularly pleased that Secretary Salazar will address the serious problems that have existed in implementation of Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This provision was intended to streamline the process of environmental review for certain kinds of energy projects on public lands. The Government Accountability Office, which reviewed this matter at my request, found last September that the Department of the Interior’s policy on Section 390 was confused and inconsistent and its practice frequently violated the law. I am pleased that Secretary Salazar will return to practices that are consistent with Section 390 as Congress actually passed it and that will lead to the best outcome for energy development and the environment.
“The effect of Secretary Salazar’s announcements will be to create more certainty and clarity on how to develop critically needed energy resources while responsibly managing the public’s lands. By making decisions in the right way up front, and putting a priority on energy resources where development already exists, we can do what’s best for all Americans. We will produce more American energy, avoid unnecessary litigation, and appropriately protect our other important natural resources.”
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV): “The commonsense proposals announced today by Secretary Salazar are a step in the right direction and move us closer to balancing the scales after a decade in which oil and gas companies had free reign to run roughshod on America’s public lands. Through greater coordination between agencies, and by providing the oil and gas industry needed certainty and clarity up front, we will ensure that America’s domestic energy resources are developed in a fiscally sound and environmentally sensitive manner. I have championed these reforms for years, and I applaud Secretary Salazar for implementing some of the principles of the “Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009 (CLEAR ACT),” (H.R. 3534) which I introduced in September.”
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