Lawmakers

Federal lawmakers should consider resolving right-of-way (ROW) disputes involving tribal lands through specific legislation rather than through “broader changes that would affect tribal sovereignty or self-determination generally,” the U.S. Energy and Interior departments said in a recent report to Congress.

Federal lawmakers should consider resolving right-of-way (ROW) disputes involving tribal lands through specific legislation rather than through “broader changes that would affect tribal sovereignty or self-determination generally,” the U.S. Energy and Interior departments said in a recent report to Congress.

A Washington Post editorial last Tuesday called on U.S. lawmakers to loosen some of the restrictions on oil and natural gas exploration and drilling in offshore regions that have been off limits to producers for years.

A Washington Post editorial Tuesday called on U.S. lawmakers to loosen some of the restrictions on oil and natural gas exploration and drilling in offshore regions that have been off limits to producers for years.

Bringing to a close a long consumer battle that spawned unrest and stirred state lawmakers, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued a final order Sept. 15 for implementing a new state law that limits the amount of utility rates covering federal, state and local taxes to the actual amounts of taxes paid. The change will start with 2006 tax year payments, and a consumer activist group immediately criticized the PUC’s action as insufficient.

Bringing to a close a long consumer battle that spawned unrest and stirred state lawmakers, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) last Friday issued a final order for implementing a new state law that limits the amount of utility rates covering federal, state and local taxes to the actual amounts of taxes paid. The change will start with 2006 tax year payments, and a consumer activist group immediately criticized the PUC’s action as insufficient.

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski called on state lawmakers to pull together and approve a natural gas pipeline contract within the next month with the “Big Three” North Slope producers: BP plc, ExxonMobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips. Without approval, he warned, Alaska’s hopes to build a gas pipeline to the Lower 48 could be “slipping away.”

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski called on state lawmakers to pull together and approve a natural gas pipeline contract within the next month with the “Big Three” North Slope producers: BP plc, ExxonMobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips. Without approval, he warned, Alaska’s hopes to build a gas pipeline to the Lower 48 could be “slipping away.”

Two Democratic energy lawmakers have called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review why so many federal onshore and offshore oil and natural gas leases are going undeveloped, as well as determine if the federal government is receiving a “fair price” for its energy resources.