Senator

The West Virginia Legislature is unlikely to draft legislation on Marcellus Shale regulatory reform before the end of the year, according to a state senator with a key role in the process.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has asked Senate leaders to set aside legislation to raise his annual salary by $19,600 after a senator threatened to block it if the pace of “new” permitting in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) did not return to the pre-BP plc Macondo well disaster rate. Salazar fired off the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) after Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) vowed to block the request for the pay raise if the department did not resume issuance of “new” permits for GOM deepwater exploratory drilling at the same rate before the explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig. “It’s just my way of keeping the boot on the neck” of Interior, Vitter wrote in his letter to Salazar last Monday. Although the department has reissued a number of permits to resume activities that were interrupted as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident, it has issued only one “new” deepwater exploratory drilling permit since the moratorium was formally lifted in October. Salazar accused Vitter of “attempted coercion.” That position “is wrong, and it must be made perfectly clear that his attempt cannot and will not affect the execution of the solemn legal responsibility that the department undertakes on behalf of the American people,” Salazar said. The bill to raise Salazar’s salary was introduced by Reid earlier this month. His current salary is $180,000, The Hill reported.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has asked Senate leaders to set aside legislation to raise his annual salary by $19,600 after a senator threatened to block it if the pace of “new” permitting in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) did not return to the pre-BP plc Macondo well disaster rate.

Prompted by the booming natural gas drilling industry in his district, Pennsylvania state Senator Gene Yaw (R-23rd) said he will introduce a series of bills that address issues related to the growing Marcellus Shale industry. Yaw’s district includes Bradford, Susquehanna and Lycoming counties, which are some of Pennsylvania’s top Marcellus producing areas.

Prompted by the booming natural gas drilling industry in his district, Pennsylvania state Senator Gene Yaw (R-23rd) said he will introduce a series of bills that address issues related to the growing Marcellus Shale industry. Yaw’s district includes Bradford, Susquehanna and Lycoming counties, which are some of Pennsylvania’s top Marcellus producing areas.

New Mexico’s newly elected Gov. Susana Martinez has nominated former astronaut and U.S. senator Harrison Schmitt as the state’s secretary for Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources. The governor’s announcement follows a decision to dismiss the state’s environmental board tied to a cap-and-trade proposal. Schmitt is charged by the new governor to “harness and develop” energy sources in New Mexico as a means of reviving the state’s sputtering economy and creating new jobs. Schmitt’s nomination is subject to confirmation by state lawmakers. He said he will work with the governor to “enhance New Mexico’s potential” as “a leader in energy and natural resource development.” With an undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology and a doctorate degree from Harvard University, Schmitt earned an Air Force jet pilot’s wings in 1965 and Navy helicopter wings two years later. He participated in the National Aeronautical and Space Administration’s scientist-astronaut program beginning in 1965, and provided support for the Apollo 11 mission, before flying into space as part of the Apollo 17 mission. He landed on the Moon Dec. 11, 1972.

New Mexico’s newly elected Gov. Susana Martinez has nominated former astronaut and U.S. senator Harrison Schmitt as the state’s secretary for Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources. The governor’s announcement follows a decision to dismiss the state’s environmental board tied to a cap-and-trade proposal in the opening days of her new administration (see Power Market Today, Jan. 10).

As the Commodity Futures Trading Commission moves to crack down on excessive speculation in energy markets by imposing position limits, one U.S. senator is eyeing changes in the tax code to cut trading volume, while another will propose a bill to require the reporting of over-the-counter (OTC) derivative trades — including energy transactions — to a central trade repository, making it easier for regulators to keep closer tabs on the market.

A U.S. senator and a representative from Colorado last Tuesday wrote to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a fellow Coloradan, urging that the federal government take steps to make so-called “produced water” from oil and gas production accessible to supplement depleted water supplies. They want drought-stricken areas, such as Colorado, to benefit from use of the byproduct of traditional fuel generation.