Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
april 2016
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congress
BLM proposed venting and flaring rule spurs debate in Senate subcommittee hearing
April 14, 2016
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held an oversight hearing on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed rule to reduce venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and gas production on Federal and Indian lands.
Although proponents and opponents of the rule agree that the unnecessary venting and flaring of natural gas is harmful to the environment and reduces revenue to taxpayers, states, tribes, and the federal government, they do not agree on how to regulate reduction.
Subcommittee Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) and others who opposed to the rule decried its effectiveness and highlighted BLM’s lack of authority in regulating methane emissions. They argued that because the Environmental Protection Agency already regulates methane emissions that BLM should not. Opponents also questioned the role of the federal government in reducing methane leaks. For example, Colorado, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming already have regulations in place for venting and flaring, which many Republican members of the subcommittee believed to be sufficient.
Conversely, Amanda Leiter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Department of the Interior, defended the BLM rule. She argued that BLM has the authority to regulate venting and flaring of methane on Federal and Indian lands due to its obligation to reduce natural resource waste.
Sources: Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining; E&E News; The Federal Register; The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Senate oversight hearing on USGS
April 7, 2016
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met on April 7 to conduct an oversight hearing on programs at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
During the hearing, which was primarily friendly, Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voiced concern over what she considered “mission creep” within the agency from its core focus of geologic mapping, natural hazards, and energy and mineral resources. However, questions from committee members by and large centered on state-specific issues, such as earthquakes in Alaska and Washington, invasive species in Hawaii and Michigan, and hydraulic fracturing in West Virginia.
Witnesses from the USGS, state-level government, academia, and the nonprofit sector provided testimony on the importance of a variety of USGS programs. The American Geosciences Institute’s (AGI) Executive Director, Dr. Patrick Leahy, provided testimony on the importance of USGS as a singular repository for geologic information, as well as its importance in helping communities prepare for and respond to all natural hazards, and its role providing timely and relevant information on the quantity and location of mineral resources throughout the United States and the world.
Sources: Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
House committee debates BLM natural gas flaring rule
April 27, 2016
The House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing this week regarding the proposed rule issued in January 2016 by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reduce natural gas, or methane, emissions via venting, flaring, and leaks on federal lands.
The committee’s Republican majority see the draft rule as a regulatory overreach. Chairman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) claimed that the “one-size-fits-all” approach would cause increased compliance costs and decrease U.S. production of natural gas, which he believes would lead to increased dependence on foreign sources. However, Democratic Ranking Member Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) defended the proposed regulation, which he believes would result in both environmental and economic benefits.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Department of the Interior, Amanda Leiter, testified in defense of the proposed legislation. County commissioners from Colorado, North Dakota, and Wyoming had varying stances on the proposed regulation: some deemed the rule as a step in the right direction, and others argued that regulation would result in a loss of state revenue.
The proposed rule was also met with opposition in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing earlier this month. The public comment period for the BLM rule ended on April 22, and submitted comments will be reviewed by the agency before moving forward.
Sources: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Federal Register, House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, E&E News