DENVER – Western Energy Alliance today criticized the Department of the Interior for extending the onshore leasing ban another quarter, as it missed the 45-day deadline to hold a sale in the first quarter of 2022. The missed deadline means continued defiance of a court order requiring the department to hold lease sales in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act.
“Pres. Biden just told the American people he’ll work like the devil to lower prices at the gas pump. But the lack of progress on federal lease sales means he’s not trying very hard,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance. “The department continues to miss deadlines, drag its feet, and ignore a judge’s ruling to hold sales. The Biden Administration is intent on preventing American producers from developing the energy we have at home to meet our country’s needs and lower gas prices.”
DENVER – Western Energy Alliance submitted testimony for consideration by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks in conjunction with a hearing on the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). The Alliance submitted testimony as it is unlikely the USDA Forest Service and Department of the Interior witnesses will acknowledge that oil and natural gas almost exclusively provide the $2.8 billion authorized by GAOA for conservation and national parks infrastructure. Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma also points out how the outdoor industry uses national parks to market their products but does not likewise contribute to their conservation and upkeep.
DENVER -- Western Energy Alliance today submitted public comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the proposed methane regulations under the Clean Air Act. The Alliance detailed how certain provisions of EPA’s rule will be technically infeasible to implement, lead to higher energy prices for Americans, and will benefit foreign nations with less restrictive environmental regulations.
The Alliance submitted two sets of comments to the agency, including a letter of its own and a joint letter signed by a coalition of 21 oil and natural gas trade groups. DENVER – Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma will testify at a joint virtual forum hosted by the Congressional Western Caucus and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Republicans on increased prices and failing energy policies during President Biden’s first year in office. The forum will take place Wednesday, January 19th at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be led by Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Vice Chair and Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (KY-01), and Oversight Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-05).
DENVER – The Department of the Interior’s report on the federal oil and natural gas program, hidden in a release on Black Friday, provided little information about how the department plans to actually conduct a ”comprehensive review” of the program as ordered by the president back in January. The following is a statement in reaction to the report by Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma: "You know there’s something wrong with a policy when it’s released on a Friday, and even more so when it’s a holiday weekend. I could have written this report for Interior in a few weeks, as it’s nothing but the environmental talking points we’ve heard for years. The fact that it took them 10 months almost to the day from the president’s order is interesting, given they knew what they wanted to do even before President Biden was sworn in. I strongly suspect they were waiting for Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act since the House version contained these provisions plus more that would have basically erased federal oil and natural gas development off federal lands. |
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