The US Senate approved a Department of Defense appropriations bill on Dec. 13 containing a provision extending and making permanent a drilling permit processing pilot program the 2005 Energy Policy Act established in several Rocky Mountain US Bureau of Land Management field offices. The measure now heads to the White House, where it is expected to be signed.
Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and John A. Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who cosponsored the original stand-alone bill that the Senate passed by voice vote (OGJ Online, Sept. 17, 2014) and the House folded into the DOD appropriations measure that it then approved (OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2014), jointly welcomed the latest action.
“By providing the resources for environmentally responsible development, this section will provide certainty to industry and BLM, support our nation’s energy independence, and promote a ‘do it all, do it right’ energy policy,” Udall said on Dec. 13.
“Our bipartisan bill will help increase energy production on federal lands, create good-paying jobs, and help support local economies and the West,” said Barrasso, a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee member.
Applauds passage
The Independent Petroleum Association of America and American Petroleum Institute separately issued statements of approval following the Senate’s vote.
“BLM’s energy permitting program plays an essential role as independent producers consider future American energy opportunities on federal lands,” said Daniel T. Naatz, IPAA senior vice-president of government relations and political affairs.
“In these uncertain times of price volatility, it’s encouraging for America’s job creators to have regulatory certainty through a streamlined permitting process,” Naatz said. “Continuing this program will increase new oil and gas production on federal lands by reducing permit delays and allow greater flexibility for the federal government to respond to the changing needs of the industry.”
Meanwhile, Erik Milito, API upstream and industry operations director, said, “Without a robust and efficient permitting system, energy development on federal lands will continue to face well-documented delays, putting jobs and economic growth on hold.”
Second provision on NGVs
The DOD appropriations bill also included a provision aimed at increasing production incentives for natural gas vehicles based on S. 2065, which Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Ranking Minority Member James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced on Feb. 28.
“Enactment of this bipartisan provision moves natural gas one step closer toward being a mainstream fuel for our everyday cars,” Inhofe said on Dec. 13. He called gas an underused, clean and abundant domestic energy resource for US transportation due in part to outdated regulations.
Levin said Michigan is leading development of advanced alternative-fueled vehicles. “Passage of our bipartisan legislation will give a boost to this innovation, which is ensuring that the vehicles of the future are made right here in America,” he maintained.
Current law lets automakers earn credits for complying with the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program by producing alternative fuel, duel-fueled vehicles, but these credits are subject to a cap, the two senators explained in a joint statement.
Automakers earn most of their allowed credits with E85 flex-fuel vehicles, leaving none for NGVs, they said. The defense appropriations provision modifies the program by removing the credit cap for NGVs, they added.
“This bipartisan provision promotes the tangible benefits that [NGVs] offer in increasing the use of an abundant and affordable American resource,” said Frank Macchiarola, executive vice-president of government affairs at America’s Natural Gas Alliance. “[It] will help pave the way for the deployment of cleaner, more efficient vehicles on our highways and allow our nation to enjoy the environmental and economic advantages natural gas offers.”
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
