Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
july 2017

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federal agencies

White House OSTP remains understaffed following recent departures

July 12, 2017

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) continues to operate without a director and has recently lost some science division staff. 

Established in 1976, the OSTP provides advice to the President and others within the Executive Office in order for them to make informed decisions with respect to the scientific, engineering, and technological aspects of federal policies and programs. The OSTP also assists the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with an annual review of federally-funded research and development efforts that helps to shape budget priorities each fiscal year.

According to an administration official, the OSTP currently has only 35 staff members, which is about one-third of the number of OSTP staff employed under the Obama administration. As of July 12, President Donald Trump has yet to nominate an OSTP Director, who traditionally acts as the President’s science advisor.

Source: E&E News, Nature, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

President Trump announces nominations for key positions

July 20, 2017

On July 20, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing to consider nominations for key positions at the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of the Interior (DOI).

The nominees under consideration at the hearing included Paul Dabbar for the position of Under Secretary for Science at the DOE. The position aims to coordinate scientific efforts and expertise across the agency. Mr. Dabbar currently works at J.P. Morgan handling Energy Mergers and Acquisitions, among other issues. He is a member of the DOE’s Environmental Advisory Board, and has worked on Department of Defense (DOD) research at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Mr. Dabber was one of twelve nominations sent to the Senate on July 11.

On July 19, President Trump announced his nomination of Joseph Balash to be the DOI’s Assistant Secretary for Land and Mineral Management, among other nominations to key positions in his administration. As an Assistant Secretary for the Interior, Mr. Balash will oversee the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation (OSMRE). He currently serves as the Chief of Staff to Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2010 to 2013.

The committee approved the nomination last month of David Bernhardt to be Deputy Interior Secretary, but a floor debate has not yet been scheduled. Other nominations awaiting floor votes are Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) picks Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson who were also confirmed by the committee in June.

Sources: E&E News, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, White House Office of the Press Secretary

DOI announces Craters of the Moon, Hanford Reach, and Canyons of the Ancients no longer under review

July 21, 2017

On July 13, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington are no longer under review by the Department of the Interior (DOI). The announcement of another unaltered monument, the Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado, came days later.

The DOI announced on May 11 it would be conducting a review of 27 National Monuments created since 1996 that are larger than 100,000 acres or the Secretary deems were made without sufficient public input, pursuant to an executive order issued by President Trump in April of this year. AGI submitted written comments to the Secretary detailing the geologic significance of several National Monuments under review, including Craters of the Moon and Hanford Reach National Monuments.

Craters of the Moon boasts a high density of diverse and well-preserved volcanic features, the youngest of which formed just 2,100 years ago. Also at Craters of the Moon, the Great Rift has exposed fissures, lava fields, lava tubes, craters, and cinder cones of immense scientific interest. The White Bluffs at Hanford Reach contain a sedimentary sequence of Ice Age floods, which may be the largest known floods to have every occurred on the Earth, as well as late Miocene fossils of the Ringold Formation.

On July 21, Secretary Zinke announced that he would not recommend any alterations to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Colorado. Canyons of the Ancients is home to the densest concentration of archaeological sites in the United States, as well as the McElmo Dome, which contains one of the largest geological carbon dioxide reservoirs in the United States.

Secretary Zinke released an interim report on June 12 providing his preliminary recommendations for the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, in which he suggested reducing the monument by an unspecified amount. As of the end of July, Zinke has not announced his recommendations for any of the other monuments on the list.

Sources: Department of the Interior, E&E News, Office of the Federal Register, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service