Obama officials face tough questions on oil drilling, land access

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and a top deputy were questioned about drilling on federal lands, the cleanup of legacy oil wells in Alaska and how the government will protect endangered species in the West during a wide-ranging hearing Thursday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Separately, Jewell committed to “an ongoing collaborative effort” to address protections for the sage grouse, a bird whose habitat includes such oil drilling hotbeds as North Dakota and Montana. Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, pleaded for a “state-driven” approach to protecting the species, now a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked Jewell to heavily consider Utah’s own management plan for the bird, amid oil industry concerns that some safeguards could block energy development. Jewell acknowledged that endangered species protections are “a challenging issue” but pledged cooperating with state and local stakeholders as the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service prepares to make final decisions on hundreds of creatures that are candidates for protection. A major dispute Thursday arose over the status of drilling on federal lands and waters, with Murkowski and Jewell squaring off over whether oil production had climbed or fallen in areas under the Interior Department’s control. Murkowski cited “a pattern of falling production on federal lands.” “Production on federal lands is in trouble,” she said. “Contrary to some of the rhetoric we’ve heard, oil production from the federal estate actually fell 5 percent last year, after falling by even more than that in 2011.” And Murkowski insisted that natural gas production from the same federal areas “is in virtual free fall, down 8 percent last year, and down 23 percent since 2009.” But Jewell took issue with those stats...more