Interior Secretary Under Fire Over Obama Energy Policy
By Adrianna McGinley
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar faced tough scrutiny by members of the House Natural Resources Committee regarding the Obama administration’s energy policy.
Republican members of the committee cited the lengthy process oil companies go through to lease and develop land in order be able to produce oil, saying the record high levels of domestic oil production could not possibly be the result of Obama administration policy.
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) criticized Salazar and the entire Obama administration for “taking credit” for current oil production success.
“That just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Labrador said. “If it takes more than two or three years to get from lease to production and we have the highest production right now, isn’t it true…that this is based on actions from the previous administration?”
Members of the committee also blasted the administration for proposing more federal regulation of the hydrofracking method of energy production and for delaying a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline.
“What we’re now watching is the administration systematically shutting off our future oil development,” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.).
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) defended hydrofracking saying it is a method that has worked safely for decades and concerns are unfounded. The Congressman blasted Salazar for not being able to answer “basic” technical questions regarding hydrofracking concerns.
“These are very simple questions…If the very top level doesn’t know the very basics of the technology, why is it that you somehow feel you can insinuate yourself into the process.”
Committee Ranking Member Edward Markey (D-Mass.) defended the administration, saying rather it is Republicans who are holding back domestic energy production.
“It is the Republican Majority that is protecting the billions of dollars we could retrieve from making oil and gas companies pay their fair share for drilling on our public lands. It is the Republican Majority that has opposed Democratic efforts to close free drilling loopholes, and end unnecessary tax breaks…Congressional Republicans are making our debt negotiations look worse than the NBA lockout.”
After several heated confrontations with members of the committee, the Interior Secretary told reporters that he stands by his testimony and the administration.
“From day one the president and I have worked on developing a comprehensive energy program for the nation. It’s a broad portfolio and we’re making significant progress on all fronts,” Salazar said. “With respect to the heated exchange…it’s the political season and I understand it and a member of Congress wants to score a point back home and so it’s to be expected.”
Feds Tightening Rules For Deepwater Drilling
Fewer oil companies will qualify for categorical exclusions under the federal government’s continued moratorium on offshore drilling, said U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar yesterday.
“In light of the increasing levels of complexity and risk, and the consequent potential environmental impacts, associated with deepwater drilling, we are taking a fresh look at the [National Environmental Protection Act] process and the types of environmental reviews that should be required for offshore activity,” Salazar said in a statement.
The actions by the government are intended to redress a loose oversight policy that has allowed many large oil companies to circumvent regulations and receive permits to drill in domestic waters.
A new government report indicated that BP, whose Deepwater Horizon well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, killing 11 workers and rupturing a well which spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf for months, directly capitalized on a lax federal review process. The report, published by the White House Council of Environmental Quality, determined that BP was granted permission to drill its deepwater well based on exemptions established by federal regulatory agencies in the 1980’s, several years before the creation of new technologies allowed oil companies to drill a mile below the surface of the ocean.
On Monday, the head of the regulatory agency tasked by President Obama with more or less taking over the job previously performed by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), said increased scrutiny of the oil industry is needed.
“We are building a more robust and aggressive independent oversight agency based on the development of new tools and enhanced legal and regulatory authorities, as well as on the more aggressive use of existing tools,” said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich.
“These changes in our regulatory framework and approach will serve to hold offshore operators accountable and ensure that the industry and the country are fully prepared to deal with catastrophic blowouts and oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon.”