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Energy Producing States Coalition

Energy Producing States Coalition Alaska ○ Arizona ○ Colorado ○ Florida ○ Idaho ○ Indiana ○ Mississippi ○ Nevada ○ North Dakota ○ Ohio ○ Oklahoma ○ Texas ○ Utah ○ Wisconsin ○ Wyoming October 30, 2013 12:00 pm. AGENDA 12:00pm Welcome 12:05pm Regulatory Update Clean Water Act

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Energy Producing States Coalition

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  1. Energy Producing States Coalition Alaska ○ Arizona ○ Colorado ○ Florida ○ Idaho ○ Indiana ○ Mississippi ○ Nevada ○ North Dakota ○ Ohio ○ Oklahoma ○ Texas ○ Utah ○ Wisconsin ○ Wyoming October 30, 2013 12:00 pm

  2. AGENDA 12:00pm Welcome 12:05pm Regulatory Update Clean Water Act President’s Climate Initiative Sage Grouse BLM Permitting Sequestration 12:15pm EPSC Issue Areas of Importance Endangered Species Act, Sen. Cathy Giessel, AK Ocean Policy, Rep. Charisse Millett, AK Access Land Exchange, Rep. Steve Handy, UT Settlement Agreements, Rep. Roger Barrus, UT CO2, Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1:15pmNext Meeting Conference Calls prior to next in-person meeting CSG National Meeting, August 9-13, Anchorage, AK NCSL Legislative Summit, August 19-22, Minneapolis, MN 1:20pmExecutive Committee Expansion 1:25pmOther Business 1:30pmConclusion

  3. Regulatory Update • Clean Water Act • Environmentalist initiative to expand the definition of the navigability of water – where CWA applies - upstream • President’s Climate Initiative • New regulations, carbon emissions from new power plants • Every single factory, every business, every home will bear the consequences • Urge EPA to work with state regulators, policy makers and affected consumers • Sage Grouse • Endangerment listing would have huge negative impact to resource development in the west • Industry has worked with federal government, conservation organizations, ranchers and other stakeholders to develop a collaborative management program to cooperative conservation agreements.

  4. BLM Permitting • Days to approve drilling permits increased from 212 in 2008 to 307 in 2011 • BLM losing experienced workers • Lack of guidance, changing NEPA requirements, increased litigation • State permitting much quicker than federal permitting • Sequestration • DOI announced in a letter received Aug. 27, “based upon a legal review of the underlying MLA statutory authority, the amounts sequestered in FY 2013 from MLA payments will become available for payment in FY 2014.” • Nearly $110 million in withheld funds will be returned to the states “expeditiously” in FY 2014

  5. EPSC Issue Areas: • Endangered Species Act • ESA has caused power bills to go up, increased risk of wildfires, restricted access to public lands and jeopardizes the ability of farmers and ranchers to make a living. • Litigation is standing in the way of recovery efforts. Listing decisions must be based upon scientific evidence, not court deadlines or decisions. Rulemaking process is being subverted to serve a few favored interest groups. • ESA should be modernized and updated to focus the law on true species recovery. • States play an important cooperation role in implementation of ESA – Section 6 requires consultation between FWS/NMFS and states before any federal acquisition of land for species conservation. • Conflicts between ESA and state law – ESA preempts state law regarding species conservation • EPSC Action Item: Collaborate with Congressional Working Group, to ensure regulators consult with all stakeholders before new species are listed as threatened or endangered.

  6. Ocean Policy • National Ocean Council in July released a “Marine Planning Handbook” that calls for marine plans in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to be completed by 2017; the Northeast Regional Planning Body has also conducted a comment period on draft regional ocean planning goals and objectives, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body held its inaugural meeting in September • Illustrating the need to remain vigilant regarding impacts to inland energy-producing states, during the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body meeting, representatives of one environmental organization cited concerns with permitting new LNG facilities because they said it would lead to significant increases in hydraulic fracturing that would ultimately harm the oceans • House has voted 8 times on amendments, legislation addressing in part the National Ocean Policy (Water Resources Reform & Development Act, Farm Bill, FY 2014 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill, Offshore Energy & Jobs Act) • EPSC Action Item:

  7. Access • Access to energy resources, both onshore and offshore is on the decline due to land withdrawals, increasing regulations, litigation, lack of applied agency resources, ESA and other restrictions, lack of will by Federal Government • Negative impact on US competitiveness • State and private lands are not experiencing the same decline in access • Land Exchange • 12 states west of the Mississippi control less than 50% of their sovereign land, while the federal government controls less than 5% of land within the eastern states • Lands managed by USFS & BLM are rich in energy potential and other multiple uses such as grazing and logging • Negotiating and leasing is both time consuming and costly – Federal government can take years, while state takes weeks – impacts local economy and job creation • EPSC Action Item: Work collectively to understand the constitutional, legal, and moral issues surrounding the disposal of federal lands to state sovereignty and work to educate various constituencies as to the processes and purposes for the eventual accomplishment of this most important initiative. The very economic prosperity and move toward energy independence is dependent upon realization of this goal.

  8. Settlement Agreements • Agency settles lawsuits filed by advocacy groups by agreeing to establish “court ordered” regulations, which are generally those being advocated by the plaintiff – ignores Congressional intent. Sue & Settle is becoming a significant portion of legal strategy to restrict land use on hundreds of thousands of acres of private, state and public lands – circumvents normal rulemaking process; groups like Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarthGuardians use this tactic often. • Allows agency to avoid normal protections built into rulemaking process; often going beyond enforcing deadlines and agreements; becomes the legal authority for expansive regulatory action, typically with no participation by affected parties or the public. • EPSC Action Item: Collaborate with multiple coalitions to create a ground game that will ban activists from using Equal Access to Justice Act to finance their sue and settle tactics; require Congress to approve any new rule or judicial ruling that will cost Americans more than $100 million. • CO2, Greenhouse Gas Emissions • Policies becoming increasingly stringent for emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources of GHG emissions • Agencies also eyeing emissions from natural gas development • EPSC Action Item:

  9. Next EPSC Meeting • Conference Calls • Quarterly (?) • Potential in-person meetings • CSG National Meeting, Aug. 9-13, 2014, Anchorage, AK • NCSL Legislative Summit, Aug. 19-22, Minneapolis, MN

  10. Executive Committee Expansion • Other Business

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