Dear Mr. Secretary: On September 28, 2011, the Committee once again wrote you to request that the Department of the Interior (DOI) provide documents and information relating to the Committee's investigation into whether senior officials of DOI, in an effort to help justify their decision to impose a 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, misrepresented… Read more »

Dear Mr. Secretary: On September 28, 2011, the Committee once again wrote you to request that the Department of the Interior (DOI) provide documents and information related to DOI's Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSM) rewrite of the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule (Rule). The Committee requested that documents related to OSM's concerns, discussions, comments or… Read more »

The House Natural Resources Committee today held an oversight hearing on “One Year after President Obama’s Gulf of Mexico 6-Month Moratorium Officially Lifted: Examining the Lingering Impacts on Jobs, Energy Production and Local Economies.” A year after the official moratorium was lifted in the Gulf, permitting, energy production and economic activities still have not returned to… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today delivered the following statement at the Full Committee oversight hearing on “One Year after President Obama’s Gulf of Mexico 6-Month Moratorium Lifted: Examining the Lingering Impacts on Jobs, Energy Production and Local Economies.” “In May 2010, shortly after the tragic Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the… Read more »

Dear Mr. Secretary: Last week, at an event sponsored by Christian Science Monitor, you announced that the Department of the Interior plans to issue rules regarding hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, within a "month or so." In your comments, you also reiterated your belief in transparency and full disclosure regarding hydraulic fracturing. In the spirit of transparency and full… Read more »

On Wednesday, October 12th the House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a Full Committee oversight hearing on “One Year after President Obama’s Gulf of Mexico 6-Month Moratorium Officially Lifted: Examining the Lingering Impacts on Jobs, Energy Production and Local Economies.” “Nearly a year ago, the Obama Administration lifted its official offshore moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico… Read more »

Today, the Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing on “The President’s New National Ocean Policy - A Plan for Further Restrictions on Ocean, Coastal and Inland Activities.” At the hearing, Members heard about the potential job and economic implications of President Obama’s Executive Order 13547, which creates a new, top-down bureaucracy that could significantly impact the… Read more »

House Natural Resource Committee Chairman Doc Hastings announced today that Thursday’s Full Committee oversight hearing on the final report of the BOEMRE/U.S. Coast Guard Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been rescheduled and confirmed for Thursday, October 13th: “After the Interior Department and the Coast Guard withdrew JIT investigator witnesses previously committed to testify before… Read more »

On July 19, 2010 President Obama signed Executive Order 13547 to unilaterally implement a new National Ocean Policy without Congressional approval or specific statutory authority. This policy is a new regulatory layer that could significantly impact the way we use and manage our oceans and is another example of the Obama Administration imposing burdensome federal regulations and policies… Read more »

Dear Mr. Secretary: As you are aware, the Committee is conducting an investigation into whether senior officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), in an effort to help justify their decision to impose a 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, misrepresented that the moratorium was reviewed and supported by a group of scientists and industry experts.… Read more »