Energy bill awaits action

The landmark energy bill passed by the House of Representatives in early August is poised for action in a House-Senate conference committee, but that action has been delayed due to a procedural hurdle.

On August 4, the House passed H.R. 3221, the “New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act,” by a vote of 241 to 172. The bill includes provisions proposed and advanced by WORC that would better protect western water resources and citizens from the effects of oil and gas drilling, as well as an amendment by New Mexico’s Representative Tom Udall that would require private electric utilities to generate 15% of their power with renewable sources and efficiency measures by 2020.

“We can have oil and gas development and protect landowners and water, too,” said Donley Darnell, WORC Chair, when the bill passed in August. “H.R. 3221 will help accomplish that goal.”

The current delay stems from the fact that the House has passed two energy bills, H.R. 3221 and H.R. 6, the Clean Energy Act, while the Senate has passed just one – its version of H.R. 6. While House and Senate leaders negotiate how to resolve the procedural problem, oil and gas industry lobbyists are working to block the modest but important reforms in H.R. 3221.
H.R. 3221’s oil and gas reforms include:

• New protections for split estate landowners requiring either a surface use agreement or special permit conditions and a bond that protect surface owners’ interests. This provision would also require notification of surface owners at key points in the leasing and permitting processes.
  
• New provisions ensuring replacement of water resources lost or contaminated by oil and gas development, and requiring water management plans that detail how operators will protect the quality and quantity of surface and groundwater.
  
• Updates to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) outdated reclamation bonding requirements, including requiring land to be reclaimed so that it is capable of supporting the same uses it was capable of supporting prior to development, and bond amounts that reflect actual reclamation costs.
  
• A requirement that BLM follow existing Council on Environmental Quality rules governing the implementation of “categorical exclusions” from public review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
  
• A delay on issuing commercial oil shale leases until the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) current research and development program is completed, ensuring that BLM has the time to a balanced and reasonable approach to the potential development of oil shale and tar sands on public lands.
  
• A $1 per acre “due diligence” fee on non-producing federal leases to encourage development, discourage speculation, and support the restoration of wildlife habitats and populations diminished by oil and gas development.
  
• A permit application fee that will partially offset the costs of handling oil and gas permits, freeing up millions for other important BLM programs, such as inspection and enforcement.
  
• A requirement for public review before lease stipulations are waived.
  
• A new incentive of expedited permit review for permit applicants who commit to using best management practices.
  
• An extension of the current 30-day deadline for review of drilling permits by 15 days.
  
• Protection for the top of Colorado’s Roan Plateau by requiring that any leases issued for oil and gas development prohibit surface disturbances.

The House did not pass a biofuels renewable energy standard (RFS). The Senate passed an ambitious RFS, but did not incorporate vital greenhouse gas limits and sustainability standards. Conferees need to add protections to ensure that biofuels will be sustainably produced.

—Sara Kendall

Take Action Urge Your Senators to Support Balanced Energy Development Together, we can help move America to a more responsible energy policy. Fax or email your senators today with this message: “I urge you to support the common-sense oil and gas reforms and the renewable electricity standard in the House energy bill, H.R. 3221. The current oil and gas boom is affecting Western landowners, communities and wildlife. The moderate reforms included in H.R. 3221 will help re-establish a balance in the management of our federal minerals, protecting landowners and water resources. The renewable electricity standard will boost America’s use of clean, renewable energy, creating jobs, saving money and reducing emissions. Please do all you can to ensure that these reforms are contained in the final energy bill. Thank you for your consideration. “ For Energy Conferees and House and Senate members: Incorporate lifecycle greenhouse gas limits and environmental protections to make biofuels renewable fuels standards sustainable. To email your Senators, click here. Go to your Senators’ web pages, and choose “contact”, then use the web form provided email your Senators. For more information on H.R. 3221, go to www.worc.org.