Community Toolkit

HNRC Subcommittee Hearing on H.R. 3225 The Restoring Community Input and Public Protection in Oil and Gas Leasing Act

Overview | Talking Points | Social Guidance | Fact Sheet

Overview

On Thursday June 20th, the House Natural Resource Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a legislative hearing titled, “Oil and Gas Development: Restoring Community Input and Public Participation in Leasing Decisions,” including U.S. Representative Mike Levin’s (D-CA-49) bill the H.R. 3225 Restoring Community Input and Public Protection in Oil and Gas Leasing Act. This bill would help to fix a broken oil and gas leasing system to better provide transparency, protect American taxpayers, and safeguard our public lands, waters, and wildlife for future generations.

Oil and gas development on public lands is currently managed in favor of the oil and gas industry while other uses of public lands such as conservation, recreation and even renewable energy development are being shortchanged. From stockpiled leases to drilling permits that sit in limbo for decades, the oil and gas industry’s ability to push aside other uses of lands that are supposed to be managed for multiple uses on behalf of the American public are well known, and this bill is a first step at addressing them. H.R. 3225 would help put the American public first by ensuring a fair market value for use of public lands, improving transparency, protecting natural and cultural resources, protecting land owners, and slowing down the rush to lease in the name of “energy dominance.”

Please use messaging and social guidance below to engage during the hearing, thank the witnesses testifying, and show your support for H.R. 3225 Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2019 and fixing our federal government’s broken oil and gas leasing system.

*WATCH THE HEARING HERE AT 10:00 AM ET*

Talking Points

Overall

• Representative Mike Levin (D-CA-49) recently introduced H.R. 3225 Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act - legislation that, if passed, would help to fix a broken oil and gas leasing system to provide transparency, protect American taxpayers, and preserve our public lands, waters, and wildlife for future generations.

• From stockpiled leases to drilling permits that sit in limbo for decades, the existing system for managing oil and gas development on public lands favors the oil and gas industry over all other uses. The federal government must start putting the public’s interests ahead of the oil and gas industry.

Increasing public participation

• The Trump administration has stifled and suppressed public input on oil and gas leasing decisions, shortening comment periods and forgoing adequate public notice before leasing occurs.

• This bill will change that by guaranteeing the public its rightful voice in how their public lands should be managed by restoring public participation requirements that were stripped away in recent years under President Trump.

• The public deserves to have a say in oil and gas leasing decisions on our public lands, but the Department of the Interior has systematically cut the public out of the decision-making process, eliminating and reducing public comment periods for many oil and gas leasing and drilling proposals.

• This bill will help increase opportunities for public input on decisions made about our public lands, and put an end to the reckless prioritization of special interests over the well-being of frontline communities.

Ensuring “fair market value”

• Americans are supposed to receive “fair market value” whenever oil and gas is produced from public lands. This means that the federal government must routinely evaluate and strengthen its fiscal policies – including updating royalty rates, rental rates, minimum bids and ending noncompetitive leasing – to ensure that taxpayers, and not private interests, are the primary beneficiaries of public lands development. This bill would ensure that these necessary and long overdue steps are taken.

Improving transparency

• The current anonymous bidding system makes it easier for oil and gas companies to shield their identities when nominating public lands for leasing. As a result, the public is left in the dark about just who is trying to lease public lands for drilling and whether or not they have a history of polluting our air and water and damaging public lands and wildlife.

• This bill will require companies to disclose their identity when nominating or bidding on parcels to lease.

Protecting natural and cultural resources from the “energy dominance” rush

• The Trump administration has offered up millions of acres of our public lands to the oil and gas industry at unprecedented rates, many of these areas are some of the wildest places in our nation, support economically important recreation resources, and are critical for wildlife species, like elk, mule deer, and sage-grouse.

• It is critical that BLM and the U.S. Forest Service manage our public lands for all uses, including outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing, and wildlife conservation, and not just for the private benefit of oil and gas companies

Protecting landowners

• We need federal safeguards to protect landowners when the federal minerals beneath their property are leased so that oil and gas companies will minimize their impact, clean up after themselves, and pay for any damages they leave behind.

Social Guidance

Handles

House Natural Resources Leadership

@NRDems‏

@RepRaulGrijalva

@RepLowenthal

@RepMikeLevin

@RepDianaDeGette

Hearing Witnesses/ Organizations

@Earthworks

@lennecefer

Federal Agencies/ Landscapes

@Interior

@BLMNational

@forestservice

Hashtags

#PublicLands

#oilandgas

General

TODAY: @NRDems host legislative hearing for @RepMikeLevin’s bill to fix our broken #oilandgas leasing system and to create transparency, protect American taxpayers, & safeguard our #PublicLands, waters, and wildlife for future generations. Watch here →http://bit.ly/2XkMo8q

HEARING TODAY: @NRDems hold subcommittee hearing on restoring community input & public participation in #oilandgas leasing decisions. Watch live here →  http://bit.ly/2XkMo8q

‪‪WATCH 👀@NRDems host legislative hearing on @RepMikeLevin’s bill that would help to fix a broken #oilandgas leasing system. http://bit.ly/2XkMo8q

The Trump administration’s reckless #EnergyDominance agenda reduces opps for public input, prioritizing special interests over the well-being of front line communities & our #PublicLands.

The public deserves to have a say in #oilandgas leasing activities on #PublicLands but @Interior has systematically cut the public out of the decision-making process by eliminating and reducing public comment periods for many drilling proposals.

.@SecBernhardt has catered to the wishes of special interests & excluded the public from decisions that negatively impact our #PublicLands, people, & their communities. We must reform our broken #oilandgas leasing system now!

#oilandgas development on #PublicLands is currently managed in favor of industry and special interests. RT to support the Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act and putting the public's interests first!

.@RepMikeLevin’s bill is a critical step to ensure other uses such as conservation, recreation, and renewable energy development are not being shortchanged in @SecBernhardt’s #oilandgas leasing agenda.

From stockpiled leases to drilling permits that sit in limbo for decades, the existing system for #managing #oilandgas development on #PublicLands is riddled with problems.

.@RepMikeLevin’s bill is a critical step forward to ensure other uses such as conservation, recreation, & renewable energy development are not being shortchanged.

Americans have a right to receive “fair market value” whenever #oilandgas is developed on #PublicLands. RT to support the Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act today!

.@Interior has not updated its #oilandgas fiscal policies in decades! It’s time to modernize our policies and put American taxpayers first. RT to show your support for the Restoring Community Input and Public Protection in Oil and Gas Leasing Act.

The Trump admin. & @SecBernhardt have continuously suppressed the public’s opportunity to weigh in on #oilandgas leasing decisions. We all deserve a say in how their #PublicLands are managed!

.@BLMNational & @forestservice must manage our #PublicLands for multiple-uses including conservation and recreation, and put an end to policies like anonymous bidding and noncompetitive leasing!

We need federal safeguards to protect landowners, taxpayers, & #PublicLands when federal minerals are leased to private interests in the #oilandgas industry. @RepMikeLevin’s bill takes a step forward in securing those critical protections for communities!

Hearing Follow Up & Thank Yous

Thank you @[MEMBER] for standing up for the public and supporting legislation that will restore community input opportunity in our #oilandgas leasing system!

Thank you @[MEMBER] for putting the people ahead of special interests and fighting to fix our broken #oilandgas leasing system!

.@[MEMBER]  thank you for fighting to protect the public’s right to participate in decisions made about how our #PublicLands are used and managed for everyones’ benefit, not just a handful of special interests!