This is a
hearing
of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and
Emergency Management. The hearing will examine if the expanded use of
resources is impacting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
(FEMA’s) ability to carry out its disaster readiness mission. While
disaster costs in the United States continue to increase,
FEMA is being tasked more frequently with
responding to non-disaster emergencies, such as the
COVID-19 pandemic, the southern border crisis,
and Operation Allies Welcome.
Ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address, join Axios Pro
energy and climate policy reporter Jael Holzman for a
conversation
with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers on
her energy legacy and the future for “permitting reform.”
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington’s 5th Congressional District,
Chair, House Energy and Commerce Committee
Jael Holzman, Energy and Climate Policy Reporter, Axios Pro
Nick Sobczyk, Energy and Climate Policy Reporter, Axios Pro
On Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1334 Longworth House
Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight
hearing
titled “Monetizing Nature and Locking up Public Land: The Implications
of Biden’s Strategy for Natural Capital Accounting.”
H.R.
7526,
the D.C. Consumer Vehicle Choice Protection Act, to block D.C.’s
December adoption of the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced
Clean Cars II rule, which phases out gasoline-powered cars by 2035
and, in the meantime, ramps up the sale of low- and zero-emission
cars, reported favorably out of committee by a party-line vote of
21-19
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House
Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a legislative
hearing
on the following bills:
H.R.
6482
(Rep. Fulcher), “Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands
Act”;
H.R.
7370
(Rep. Curtis), “Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act” or the “GEO Act”;
H.R.
7375
(Rep. Hageman), To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to improve the
assessment of expression of interest fees, and for other purposes;
Benjamin E. Gruber, Deputy Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and
Realty, Bureau of Land Management [All Bills]
Steve Dudgeon, Principal, Severance Tax/Royalty, Ryan
LLC, Houston, TX [H.R. 7377]
Dr. Bryant Jones, Executive Director, Geothermal Rising, Boise, ID
[H.R. 6482, H.R. 7370, H.R. 7409, and H.R. 7422]
Dan Naatz, Chief Operating Officer, Independent Petroleum Association
of America [H.R. 7375, and H.R. 7377]
Joe Uehlein, Founding President, Labor Network for Sustainability
[Minority Witness] [H.R. 7422]
H.R. 6482 aims to streamline the permitting process for geothermal
energy by exempting geothermal exploration wells (temperature gradient
wells, monitoring wells, and calibration wells) from review under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
H.R.7370 would require DOI to continue
processing drilling permits and other authorizations within 30 days
unless a United States Federal court vacates the underlying lease.
H.R. 7409 would expedite the development of geothermal energy on
non-federal lands that involve federal minerals. Currently, geothermal
operators on non-federal land producing any amount of federal resources
must abide by all federal laws and permitting processes, even if the
share of federal minerals is minuscule. H.R. 7409 would address this
issue by clarifying that geothermal exploration or production wells on
non-federal lands are not subject to NEPA,
Section 7 of ESA, or Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) if the United States holds an
ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal
estate and the operator receives a drilling permit from the respective
state.
H.R. 7422 would provide DOI with explicit
authority to charge geothermal leaseholders fees to recover costs for
geothermal lease applications, GPDs, utilization plans, site licenses,
facility construction permits, commercial use permits, other approvals
associated with a geothermal lease, and inspection and monitoring of
exploration activities, drilling and plugging of wells, and
construction, operation, and reclamation of wells sites.
H.R. 7375 reverses the expression-of-interest fee increases in the
Inflation Reduction Act for oil or gas leases. In the case that
EOI acreage is submitted and not bid on during
a lease sale, the person or entity that first submitted the acreage
would be required to pay the fee. The bill would also ensure that EOIs
remain active for a period of at least five years instead of three.
H.R. 7377 reduces royalty paments on oil and gas leases.
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 10:15 a.m. in room 1324 Longworth House
Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on
Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative
hearing
on the following bill:
Matthew Strickler, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife
and Parks, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
Austin Booth, Director, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Little
Rock, Arkansas
Ryan Bronson, Director of Government Affairs, Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation, Missoula, Montana
David P. Tenny, President and CEO, National
Alliance of Forest Owners
Glenn Olson, Donal O’Brien Chair in Bird Conservation and Public
Policy National Audubon Society, National Audubon Society, New York,
New York [Minority Witness]
In 2000, Congress also created the State Wildlife Grant Program to
provide critical funding to state and territory fish and wildlife
agencies to implement their SWAPs to conserve at-risk fish and wildlife.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, states received a total of $67.6 million
through this grant program. The formula used for apportionment to each
state is one-third based on the total land area of the state and
two-thirds based on the population of each state.
The AWHCA replaces the existing State Wildlife
Grants Program by creating a Wildlife Habitat Conservation and
Restoration subaccount under the Pittman-Roberston Act. This grant
program would be authorized at no more than $300 million per fiscal year
for five years. Funding would be apportioned to states based on a new
formula: one-half based on the land area of the state, one-quarter based
on the state’s population, and one-quarter based on the number of
species listed under the ESA within that
state. This change to the existing formula will allow for funding to get
to the places where it is needed most.
The bill prohibits the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries
Service (the Services) from designating critical habitat on private
lands that are implementing habitat conservation and restoration actions
designed to conserve the species in question and approved by the
Services.
The bill amends the definition of “conserve,” “conserving,” and
“conservation” to allow for the regulated take of threatened species.
Currently, the definition only allows for regulated take “in the
extraordinary case where population pressures within a given ecosystem
cannot be otherwise relieved.” This standard has been interpreted by
federal courts to mostly prohibit any regulated take of threatened
species. This section amends the definition to allow for regulated take
“at the discretion of the Secretary,” therefore granting additional
flexibility to the Services.