| Language in the recently passed U.S. House energy bill may undermine public involvement on public lands if it is not changed, conservationists say.
But others contend the language -- which slipped largely under the radar during the recent energy bill debate -- simply streamlines permitting processes for oil and gas development on public lands. At issue is a section of the 1,000-plus-page energy bill passed by the House late last month. It calls for certain "limitations on required review" under the National Environmental Policy Act. That law requires federal land managers to conduct environmental studies before allowing significant development, and those studies include solicitation of public comments. Under the House energy bill -- which needs Senate approval before becoming law -- companies looking to drill wells 5 acres in size or less may be exempt from NEPA review. So would permits to drill in already developed areas. And wastewater discharge from things such as coal-bed methane drilling would not be subject to NEPA -- only to the federal water pollution control act. Just what these provisions might mean is the subject of deep debate. |
Thanks to ThinkProgress for the heads up on this...
The media still frames this as a debate between business and conservation interests, but that's just not true anymore. The economics of the West have shifted dramatically over the past 25 years, so much so in fact that revenue from tourism and park/wilderness activities is nearly three times that of revenue from the resource extraction industries across the West. At the grassroots level, it is conservation, not exploitation, that is what matters. But as with everything else, the Bush administration doesn't see the change because it doesn't want to.
In 1980, a fight over western land use policies played a critical role in the Reagan realignment. If the GOP keeps this up, it will play a key role in the next one too.
I swear - MUCH more on this next week. But first, I've one last paper to complete.
"What is public policy analysis" is the topic. Anyone out there want to take a shot at that?
Didn't think so. Ha!
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