July 30, 2010 07:54 PM UTC

Salazar Joins Lamborn & Coffman to Oppose Oil and Gas Reform

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• by: ClubTwitty

(The CLEAR Act–which institutes both on- and offshore oil and gas reforms–passed narrowly today.  Two Republicans voted yea, and 39 Democrats voted nay, including the congressman representing my district, John Salazar.   – promoted by ClubTwitty)

UPDATE: Rep. Salazar was one of 39 Dems voting against the CLEAR Act today.  Perlmutter did not vote, DeGette, Markey and Polis all supported this important legislation, which passed narrowly, 209-193.  Lamborn and Coffman joined Salazar in opposition.  

Original Diary after the fold

Rep. Salazar Attempts to Thwart Onshore Oil and Gas Reform

In the effort to ensure that proper environmental protections are in place for onshore oil and gas development, conservationists, sportsmen and leading congressional Democrats have been working to close loopholes, ensure better accountability and reporting, and reform leasing law.  

David O Williams at the Colorado Independent reports:

House Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall’s CLEAR Act (Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources) – introduced nearly a year ago by the West Virginia Democrat – would eliminate “categorical exclusions” by the BLM that allow oil companies to sidestep federal environmental review policies for drilling on public lands.

Now, Rep. Salazar–who represents much of the Colorado gaspatch–is working not to increase protection for his district’s property owners, clean water and wildlife, but to thwart such protections instead.    

According to an email alert from the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC), Rep. Salazar has proposed an amendment to the CLEAR Act to gut stormwater protections and other reforms:

Is Western Colorado’s Representative, John Salazar, reversing course?

In 2006, he supported making oil and gas companies obtain stormwater permits to control runoff from oil and gas field construction sites to protect Colorado’s streams and rivers from sediment and toxic chemicals such as benzene.

Today, Rep. Salazar is leading the charge to remove stormwater permits, public safety, and environmental review provisions from the House oil spill bill.

As the Colorado Independent article notes:

On Thursday, Rep. John Salazar, a blue-dog Democrat from Colorado’s natural-gas-rich 3rd Congressional District and the brother of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, introduced an amendment that would strip out many of the most stringent aspects of a key energy reform bill still being debated in the House.

The Durango Herald editorialized today–urging that Salazar support the CLEAR Act.

John Salazar apparently – and inexplicably – is hostile to the CLEAR Act. An amendment he offered effectively would have gutted the bill.

Perhaps that was some arcane parliamentary move or for the benefit of a different audience. In any case, when the bill comes before the full House, he should vote for it.

The editorial includes a good rundown of the many sensible reforms in this bill, including:

*Taxpayers would benefit from provisions requiring competitive bidding on gas and oil leases and increase fines for rule-breaking and reclamation bonding.

*The CLEAR Act would fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and ensure that those funds go to impacted communities and economies-like many in the Third Congressional District.  

*No longer would onshore activity allow categorical exclusions for drilling and exemptions for this single industry under the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Acts would be repealed.

*Chemicals used for drilling-including fracking-would have to be disclosed.  

The widespread use of categorical exclusions–put in place under President GW Bush and passed by the Republican controlled congress (with support from Sens. Salazar and Obama)–has been implicated in the Deepwater Horizon disaster currently fouling the nation’s preeminent coastal fishery.

With toxic spills being reported regularly in oil and gas fields across the nation, disclosure of what chemicals are contaminating America’s water supply would not only benefit Colorado but the nation. Unfortunately Rep. Salazar seems more in line with the Republicans working to block these sensible and needed reforms.

This seems to follow a disturbing election-year trend by the congressman.  On July 12 in an appearance in Steamboat Springs, Rep. Salazar threw Vermillion Basin under the bus after a more than two-decade battle to protect Colorado’s largest unprotected BLM roadless area.  The BLM has recently decided to close the area to drilling in its new management plan for the Little Snake Resource Area. Here Rep. Salazar is in lock step with Jane Norton (pdf).

Rep. Salazar is a cautious politician–seemingly fearful of the electorate despite his strong advantage in this year’s election. Rep. Salazar is unlikely to sway Club 20 voters in any case, and while some in the mushy middle might respond favorably to his appeal to drill Vermillion or his efforts to block reform, many more will not.  

As Moffat County rancher Wes McStay noted, in the Colorado Independent article:

“The West is more than just potential gas and oil fields; it is a way of life for those who work, live or play here,” Moffat County rancher Wes McStay said. “For too long, those of us who make our living on the land have been subject to the risks from oil and gas drilling. It is time that Congress requires that big oil and gas companies use the best and safest practices available.”

As for his base, they might not vote for his opponent but in this off-year election turn out and enthusiasm will be key.  

For many who have pushed for these reforms for years and who have spent decades fighting for these places, that enthusiasm is decidedly lacking.