Report on Senate Committee hearing on Feinstein Monument bill
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magicgroove
Jun 4, 2010, 3:02:50 PM6/4/10
to Neighbors of the 29 Palms Marine Base expansion
Yes, I know it's been two weeks already, sorry. See the original
article in the the Press-Enterprise:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/politics/stories/PE_News_Local_D_land21.e997a58.html
.
"Desert preservation bill gets support, but energy provisions raise
concerns"
09:06 AM PDT on Friday, May 21, 2010
By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Legislation that would protect more than 1 million acres
of Inland desert from development enjoyed a mostly warm reception
Thursday during its first formal consideration in the Senate.
But lawmakers and the Obama administration raised doubts about a key
provision within the bill that would overhaul the federal system
governing the placement of renewable energy plants on public lands.
In testimony before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources, Feinstein, D-Calif., described the bill as the product of a
year of negotiations between her office and an array of groups with
competing interests in the land.
"The bill achieves a careful balance between conserving the desert's
pristine heritage, while creating an efficient process for renewable
energy development," she said. "We also made sure to incorporate lands
designated for recreation and military training uses."
The centerpiece of the legislation is a pair of proposed monuments
totaling 1,075,000 acres, including a 941,000-acre Mojave Trails
National Monument that would stretch along Route 66 south of the
Mojave National Preserve.
While development would be banned, the national monument designation
comes with fewer restrictions than national parks.
land a gift
The monuments are designed to link up with land preserved under the
Desert Protection Act of 1994, also championed by Feinstein, which
created the Mojave National Preserve and increased federal protection
on millions of acres.
Much of the area within the proposed monuments is former railroad land
that environmentalists purchased several years ago with more than $40
million in private donations collected by the Oak Glen-based Wildlands
Conservancy and an additional $18 million in federal funds.
The land was given to the federal government in the waning days of the
Clinton administration, with assurances from the White House that it
would be conserved.
Under the administration of George W. Bush, though, the Bureau of Land
Management began accepting applications from solar and wind energy
firms that wanted to build on the land. The firms were drawn to the
desert's dependable winds, soaring temperatures and year-round
sunshine.
Feinstein's bill seeks to honor the original terms of the donation by
barring any such development within the proposed monuments.
"Ten years ago, prominent Democrats and Republicans alike saluted this
donation as a patriotic private sector (gesture)," Wildlands
Conservancy executive director David Myers testified Thursday. "We
urge the committee to support this legislation and to reaffirm
America's tradition of wildland philanthropy."
Myers was among 10 witnesses representing the government, the
military, off-road groups, environmentalists and energy firms invited
to discuss the bill's potential impacts.
The only one to testify against the bill was Harry Baker of the
California Association of 4WD Clubs. Despite language in the bill
permitting all existing uses of the land and specifically recognizing
four off-road vehicle trails, Baker said his group fears that
recreation would gradually be phased out of the protected areas.
"We oppose legislation that denies the public's access to public
land," he said.
Energy concerns
Beyond protecting the Inland desert land, the bill seeks to revamp
what Feinstein described as a broken system surrounding the permitting
of wind and solar projects on federal land.
She pointed to a glut of pending applications, many for what she said
were poorly planned and speculative projects in places that are
environmentally sensitive or otherwise unsuitable for development.
Despite scores of applications, the government has failed to approve a
single renewable energy project on public land in recent years, she
said.
Feinstein is proposing a new set of rules and timelines meant to
identify public lands appropriate for renewable energy development,
and speed up the processes selecting viable projects and conducting
the necessary environmental reviews.
Bureau of Land Management Director Robert Abbey said the agency is
already on track to designate areas for renewable energy development
by next year. While he supports the bill's goals, Feinstein's proposed
timelines seem unrealistic, he said.
Some lawmakers, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, suggested
that it might be counterproductive to prohibit development before the
federal agencies complete their assessments of which lands are best
suited for solar and wind projects.
But neither Murkowski nor any other member of the panel expressed
opposition to the bill. Before voting on whether to approve it, the
committee's next step would be to hold a "markup," where the members
could make changes to the legislation.
Reach Ben Goad at 202-661-8422 or bg...@PE.com
article in the the Press-Enterprise:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/politics/stories/PE_News_Local_D_land21.e997a58.html
.
"Desert preservation bill gets support, but energy provisions raise
concerns"
09:06 AM PDT on Friday, May 21, 2010
By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Legislation that would protect more than 1 million acres
of Inland desert from development enjoyed a mostly warm reception
Thursday during its first formal consideration in the Senate.
But lawmakers and the Obama administration raised doubts about a key
provision within the bill that would overhaul the federal system
governing the placement of renewable energy plants on public lands.
In testimony before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources, Feinstein, D-Calif., described the bill as the product of a
year of negotiations between her office and an array of groups with
competing interests in the land.
"The bill achieves a careful balance between conserving the desert's
pristine heritage, while creating an efficient process for renewable
energy development," she said. "We also made sure to incorporate lands
designated for recreation and military training uses."
The centerpiece of the legislation is a pair of proposed monuments
totaling 1,075,000 acres, including a 941,000-acre Mojave Trails
National Monument that would stretch along Route 66 south of the
Mojave National Preserve.
While development would be banned, the national monument designation
comes with fewer restrictions than national parks.
land a gift
The monuments are designed to link up with land preserved under the
Desert Protection Act of 1994, also championed by Feinstein, which
created the Mojave National Preserve and increased federal protection
on millions of acres.
Much of the area within the proposed monuments is former railroad land
that environmentalists purchased several years ago with more than $40
million in private donations collected by the Oak Glen-based Wildlands
Conservancy and an additional $18 million in federal funds.
The land was given to the federal government in the waning days of the
Clinton administration, with assurances from the White House that it
would be conserved.
Under the administration of George W. Bush, though, the Bureau of Land
Management began accepting applications from solar and wind energy
firms that wanted to build on the land. The firms were drawn to the
desert's dependable winds, soaring temperatures and year-round
sunshine.
Feinstein's bill seeks to honor the original terms of the donation by
barring any such development within the proposed monuments.
"Ten years ago, prominent Democrats and Republicans alike saluted this
donation as a patriotic private sector (gesture)," Wildlands
Conservancy executive director David Myers testified Thursday. "We
urge the committee to support this legislation and to reaffirm
America's tradition of wildland philanthropy."
Myers was among 10 witnesses representing the government, the
military, off-road groups, environmentalists and energy firms invited
to discuss the bill's potential impacts.
The only one to testify against the bill was Harry Baker of the
California Association of 4WD Clubs. Despite language in the bill
permitting all existing uses of the land and specifically recognizing
four off-road vehicle trails, Baker said his group fears that
recreation would gradually be phased out of the protected areas.
"We oppose legislation that denies the public's access to public
land," he said.
Energy concerns
Beyond protecting the Inland desert land, the bill seeks to revamp
what Feinstein described as a broken system surrounding the permitting
of wind and solar projects on federal land.
She pointed to a glut of pending applications, many for what she said
were poorly planned and speculative projects in places that are
environmentally sensitive or otherwise unsuitable for development.
Despite scores of applications, the government has failed to approve a
single renewable energy project on public land in recent years, she
said.
Feinstein is proposing a new set of rules and timelines meant to
identify public lands appropriate for renewable energy development,
and speed up the processes selecting viable projects and conducting
the necessary environmental reviews.
Bureau of Land Management Director Robert Abbey said the agency is
already on track to designate areas for renewable energy development
by next year. While he supports the bill's goals, Feinstein's proposed
timelines seem unrealistic, he said.
Some lawmakers, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, suggested
that it might be counterproductive to prohibit development before the
federal agencies complete their assessments of which lands are best
suited for solar and wind projects.
But neither Murkowski nor any other member of the panel expressed
opposition to the bill. Before voting on whether to approve it, the
committee's next step would be to hold a "markup," where the members
could make changes to the legislation.
Reach Ben Goad at 202-661-8422 or bg...@PE.com
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