April 2011 Archives

Shale natural gas has been emerging as a key piece of America's energy mix, with companies discovering vast new reserves of the energy source all over the country. Natural gas has traditionally been considered the cleanest fossil fuel, and President Obama and congressional leaders have signaled support for legislation incentivizing natural gas.

But a natural gas well explosion in Pennsylvania last week and a recent controversial report from Cornell University are triggering concerns about how clean and safe natural gas really is.

How should Congress react to the well explosion, which occurred during the hydraulic fracturing process? Should reports like the one from Cornell, which concluded that natural gas actually produces more greenhouse gas emissions than coal, have any bearing on policy-making decisions? What legislation, if any, should Congress pass to address these concerns? What can the administration do?

14 responses: Lance Brown, Paul N. Cicio, David Holt, Bill Dickenson, Bill Meadows, Armond Cohen, Bill Squadron, Brent Erickson, Barry Russell, Tom Amontree, David C. Brown, Don Santa, Gregory C. Staple, William O'Keefe

Editor's note: One year ago Wednesday, BP's Macondo well exploded and started spilling what ended up being more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the worst oil spill ever in U.S. waters, eclipsing the 53 million gallons spilled when the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground in 1989. In honor of the spill's first anniversary, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen (Ret.) is creating the question this week. Allen led the federal government's response to the spill.

As the Department of Interior considers changes to the regulation of offshore drilling and Congress considers legislation there has been much discussion about "the safety case" approach to regulation.

The term "safety case" refers generally to a regulatory scheme that requires the oil company to conduct a risk assessment of the proposed drilling operation and submit a plan to mitigate the risks identified. How should the "safety case" be incorporated into legislation and regulation?

What portions of drilling systems (i.e. Blow out preventers) should be subject to third-party inspections?

What role should the industry have in promoting safety through industry led cooperation including research and development?

11 responses: Richard Revesz, Marilyn Heiman, Jack Gerard, Thad W. Allen, Richard Charter, William O'Keefe, David Holt, Brent Erickson, Mark A. Cohen, William O'Keefe, Bill Snape

Will President Obama's retooled energy-security plan help wean the United States off foreign oil?

Obama has taken to the road several times in the past month touting his administration's energy plan, which is less ambitious than the one that Obama outlined in his State of the Union address earlier this year. It includes higher fuel-economy standards and incentives for biofuel, natural-gas, and electric vehicles. It also calls on the oil industry to drill in places where it already holds leases--instead of opening up new areas for energy production. Meanwhile, House Republicans are pushing legislation that expands oil and gas production and reverses several of Obama's policies.

Will Obama's plan--or at least parts of it--muster enough support in Congress? Should any component of it be taken out, or something new added? How do the Environmental Protection Agency's climate-change regulations fit into the president's proposal?

19 responses: Amy Harder, Tom Stricker, Lance Brown, Thomas J. Pyle, Tjerk de Ruiter, Steve Bolze, Margo Thorning, Tom Amontree, Marilyn Heiman, Amy Harder, Brian Wynne, Kateri Callahan, Denise Bode, Daniel Gatti, Christine Parthemore, Jeffrey Breneman, Tom Buis, Allen Schaeffer, William O'Keefe

Should President Obama defend, delay, or preempt his administration's climate-change rules?

Congress is debating legislation that would, to varying degrees, limit the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas emissions regulations. The House is expected to pass a bill that would preempt the rules entirely by the end of this week. The Senate, meanwhile, may vote on as many as four amendments that restrict the regulations. In the ongoing budget talks, lawmakers and the administration are considering whether policy riders such as those that restrict EPA's regulatory power should be included in a bill that funds the government for the rest of the fiscal year. Washington must strike a deal by the end of the week to avoid a government shutdown.

What are the repercussions for the economy and public health if any of these measures become law? Should Obama take a more firm position on his administration's rules as Congress debates them?

12 responses: Steve Bolze, Lance Brown, Eric Haxthausen, Richard Revesz, Thomas J. Pyle, Rodger Schlickeisen, Margo Thorning, Gene Karpinski, Ned Helme, Bill Meadows, Amy Harder, William O'Keefe