Recording Reveals Oil Industry Execs Laughing At Trump Access. According to Reveal, “Gathered for a private meeting at a beachside Ritz–Carlton in Southern California, the oil executives were celebrating a colleague’s sudden rise. David Bernhardt, their former lawyer, had been appointed by President Donald Trump to the powerful No. 2 spot at the Department of the Interior. Just five months into the Trump era, the energy developers who make up the Independent Petroleum Association of America had already watched the new president order a sweeping overhaul of environmental regulations that were cutting into their bottom lines — rules concerning smog, fracking and endangered species protection. Dan Naatz, the association’s political director, told the conference room audience of about 100 executives that Bernhardt’s new role meant their priorities would be heard at the highest levels of Interior. ‘We know him very well, and we have direct access to him, have conversations with him about issues ranging from federal land access to endangered species, to a lot of issues,’ Naatz said, according to an hourlong recording of the June 2017 event in Laguna Niguel provided to Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.” [Reveal, 3/23/19 (+)]

 

Oil Execs Boasted Of 'Unprecedented Access' To Trump Officials: Report. According to The Hill, “A newly reported recording reveals that oil lobbying executives boasted in 2017 about having ‘unprecedented access’ to Trump administration officials, including ‘direct access’ to a former oil industry lobbyist tapped to fill a top role in the Interior Department. The recording, obtained by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, reportedly features Dan Naatz, political director of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), and a group of oil and gas producers at a June 2017 meeting in southern California. Naatz reportedly told about 100 energy executives gathered at a hotel there that David Bernhardt, then serving as deputy secretary of Interior, would help prioritize the group’s interests. ‘We know him very well, and we have direct access to him, have conversations with him about issues ranging from federal land access to endangered species, to a lot of issues,’ Naatz said, according to the audio reported by Reveal. An Interior Department spokesperson denied that Bernhardt has communicated with Naatz or IPAA CEO Barry Russell, who was also mentioned in the report. ‘Acting Secretary David Bernhardt has had no communication or contact with either Barry Russell or Dan Naatz,’ the spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Hill.” [The Hill, 3/22/19 (=)]

 

Recording Reveals Oil Industry Execs Laughing At Trump Access. According to Politico, “Gathered for a private meeting at a beachside Ritz-Carlton in Southern California, the oil executives were celebrating a colleague’s sudden rise. David Bernhardt, their former lawyer, had been appointed by President Donald Trump to the powerful No. 2 spot at the Department of the Interior. Just five months into the Trump era, the energy developers who make up the Independent Petroleum Association of America had already watched the new president order a sweeping overhaul of environmental regulations that were cutting into their bottom lines — rules concerning smog, fracking and endangered species protection. Dan Naatz, the association’s political director, told the conference room audience of about 100 executives that Bernhardt’s new role meant their priorities would be heard at the highest levels of Interior. ‘We know him very well, and we have direct access to him, have conversations with him about issues ranging from federal land access to endangered species, to a lot of issues,’ Naatz said, according to an hourlong recording of the June 2017 event in Laguna Niguel provided to Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.” [Politico, 3/25/19 (=)]

 

Bernhardt To The Hill. According to Politico, “David Bernhardt’s confirmation hearing for Interior secretary is slated for Thursday, where you can expect lawmakers to press him on everything from the Trump administration’s offshore drilling plan to his former lobbying days and whether they present any conflicts of interest. Another wrinkle? POLITICO Magazine featured a report this weekend from Lance Williams, a senior reporter for Reveal, with exclusive details on a 2017 meeting of Independent Petroleum Association of America developers. During the meeting, Dan Naatz, the association’s political director, told the audience of about 100 executives that then-deputy Bernhardt’s role meant their priorities would be heard at the highest levels of Interior. ‘We know him very well, and we have direct access to him, have conversations with him about issues ranging from federal land access to endangered species, to a lot of issues,’ Naatz said, according to a recording provided to Reveal. During the meeting, leaders distributed a private ‘regulatory update’ memo, detailing environmental laws and rules they hoped to overturn. The group ultimately got its way on four of the five high-profile issues that were atop that list, Lance reports.” [Politico, 3/25/19 (=)]

 

Frosh Leads Effort To Halt Seismic Testing In Atlantic. According to The Enquirer-Gazette, “Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, leading a coalition of nine attorneys general, has joined a group of non-governmental organizations’ motion to preliminarily enjoin the Trump Administration’s authorization of harassment of marine mammals via seismic air gun surveys in the Atlantic Ocean, according to a press release from his office.” [The Enquirer-Gazette, 3/25/19 (=)]

 

NOAA Official Talks ‘Damage’ To Scallop Industry From Offshore Wind. According to South Coast Today, “The federal fishing administrator for the Greater Atlantic region told The Standard-Times Wednesday that although offshore wind will not threaten the overall sustainability of the scallop industry, the damage to it could be significant, especially for fishing grounds off New York. But later in the day, he clarified his comments, saying the ‘damage’ remark does not accurately reflect his position. Michael Pentony’s initial comments came when asked in an editorial board meeting if offshore wind gives the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cause for concern about the sustainability of the scallop industry, particularly with regard to wind turbines off New York. He began, ‘I think it’s difficult to say that we have concerns about the sustainability of a three-to-five-hundred-million-dollar-a-year fishery.’ Asked specifically about damage to the industry, he said, ‘The damage could be significant, and we definitely have concerns about that. I’m less concerned about the overall long-term sustainability of the fishery, but certainly we have concerns about the impacts of that particular area and how that could ... play out.’” [South Coast Today, 3/22/19 (=)]

 

30 Years Later, Exxon Valdez’s Legacy Still Gushes. According to E&E News, “Valdez, Alaska, Mayor John Devens’ insistently ringing telephone awoke him at 6 a.m. on March 24, 1989. The urgent caller was a man named Dave, the manager of the public radio station serving the small town of about 4,000 residents. ‘Dave informed me it was time to put my mayor’s hat on, because we had a big oil spill,’ Devens recounted to inquiring House members several weeks later. He didn’t know the half of it. When the 987-foot-long Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground 30 years ago this weekend on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, it released a record-setting 11 million gallons of crude oil into a uniquely vulnerable environment. Numbers can’t do the damage justice, but they’re a start. The spill oozed over 1,300 miles of shoreline and killed or injured an estimated 250,000-plus seabirds, thousands of marine mammals, 22 orcas and large numbers of salmon and other fish, according to the Government Accountability Office. Exxon agreed to pay a total of $900 million in civil claims and $125 million to resolve various criminal charges. Cleanup costs exceeded $2 billion.” [E&E News, 3/22/19 (=)]

 

 

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