Washington – Yesterday afternoon the house moved the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011 (H.R. 2021) to the floor for a final vote. The legislation clarifies the intent of the 1990 Clean Air Act governing air permits that emissions from drilling operations should be measured in terms of their impacts onshore, and that the drilling operation—not vessels that come and go—should be considered the emissions source.
Representatives Fred Upton (R-Michigan), Corey Gardner (R-Colorado), Joe Barton (R-Texas), Lee Terry (R-Nebraska), Gene Green (D-Texas), Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico), Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), Pete Olsen (R-Texas) and Ed Whitefield (R-Kentucky) all voiced support of H.R. 2021 during the floor debate. Opposing the bills passage was Henry Waxman (D-California), Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), Lois Capps (D-California) and Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia). Opposition was mostly due to fears of how the bill would effect EPA regulation and not the actual permits in question. In fact, most of the opposition acknowledged the need for a more streamlined permitting process.
It also provides a clear timetable for agency action on these air permits, and provides a right of appeal for judicial review directly to federal court without need for additional administrative review. The Environmental Appeals Board or EAB would be removed from the permitting process, giving the EPA final permitting authority. The EAB was created by the EPA bureaucracy and not through legislative mandate. The regulatory authority of EPA would not be compromised.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to create jobs and strengthen America’s energy security today with passage of H.R. 2021, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act. The measure, which is part of the GOP's American Energy Initiative, passed the House with bipartisan support by a vote of 253 to 166. Republicans were join by 23 democrats—most hailing from energy producing states like Texas and Oklahoma. Eleven amendments to the bill were offered by Reps Jackie Speier (D-California), Alcee Hastings (D-Florida), Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Bill Keating (D-Massachusetts), Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), Ana Eshoo (D-California), Lois Capps (D-California), Kathy Hochul (D-New York) and Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon). All the amendments were defeated mostly along party lines.
This bill has broad economic impacts for the state of Alaska and will help solidify the states economic pillar of energy production. Shell has been prepared to explore in Alaska’s OCS since 2007, but regulatory and legal challenges have prevented the drilling of a single well. Alaska OCS holds an estimated 27 billion barrels of oil and more than 120 trillion cubic feet of gas. Benefits of developing the Alaska offshore include reducing imports; extending the life of TAPS; creating 54,700 jobs per year, $145 billion in payroll and $193 billion in government revenue by 2057. Shell’s Alaska exploration program, unlike a development and production program, is a temporary, three- month, and short-term operation. The shallow water, low-pressure Alaska OCS wells differ significantly from Gulf of Mexico deep-water exploratory wells; and the oil spill prevention, containment, mitigation and response plans are robust and comprehensive. The federal government held OCS lease sales in Alaska; a decision that indicates exploration and development is desired. Shell participated and paid nearly $2.2 billion for 10-year leases, but the government’s permitting and regulatory process has not been equipped to deliver.
Alaska is one of the nation's most critical and prolific oil-producing states. Even though production is only about one third of what it was at its peak in 1989, Alaska's North Slope, both on and offshore, remains a world-class hydrocarbon basin with extraordinary potential. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Alaska accounts for over 30% of the nation's technically recoverable oil and gas resources, with the North Slope estimated to hold approximately 40 billion barrels of technically recoverable conventional oil and 236 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.