Saving Seafood

Magnuson Stevens fight to resume early in 2018

December 22, 2017 — There won’t likely be a long wait in 2018 for the battle to reignite over efforts to change the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA), the key statute that oversees fishing regulations in the US.

Possibly as soon as January, just after Congress returns from its winter break, Alaska Republican senator Dan Sullivan will introduce his own version of an MSA reauthorization bill, sources tell Undercurrent News. Additionally, the MSA-related legislation just approved by the House of Representative’s Committee on Natural Resources could advance to the House floor.

“The House Floor schedule hasn’t been set for 2018 yet but we are optimistic that we will move forward with the bill early next year,” said Murphy McCullough, the press secretary for Alaska representative Don Young, about HR 200, the bill he introduced to change MSA. It’s one of Natural Resource Committee chairman Rob Bishop’s “top priorities”.

“As far as finding a Senate champion, we are working closely with senator Sullivan and his staff on this reauthorization,” she confirmed.

Young’s bill, formerly named the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, dashed through a one-hour markup last week, during which 13 amendments were discussed, six of which were adopted, before it was passed by a 23-17 vote along party lines.

HR 200 closely resembles HR 1335, legislation sponsored by Young that sailed through the House in 2015 but stalled out, in part, because President Barack Obama threatened to veto it over concerns that it would reduce the influence scientists have over the preservation of fish species. It’s the same concern that has ocean conservation groups rallying against Young’s latest bill now.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

NEPA: An Environmental Law Subverted

November 29, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Today, the Full Committee held an oversight hearing to discuss improving and modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The panel discussed deficiencies in NEPA’s implementation and potential legislative improvements to enable the law to best serve its intended purpose.

“In 1969, NEPA was originally designed as a tool to assess the impacts of government actions on the environment. Unfortunately, today it has become a sweeping regulatory framework that does the exact opposite,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) stated.

 “We can both better protect the environment and allow for thorough review and processing of critical economic, energy and infrastructure activities in a timely manner. These concepts are not mutually exclusive.  But it simply won’t happen unless Congress acts to clarify NEPA’s intent, scope and limitations,” Bishop added. 

 Witness Philip Howard, Chairman of Common Good, noted that prolonged environmental reviews on a range of NEPA projects negatively impact the environment, a contradiction of NEPA’s original intent. He cited NEPA-related permitting delays in rebuilding the nation’s highway infrastructure resulting in an extra 51 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

“These delays are costly and, often, environmentally destructive,” Howard said.

Howard lauded NEPA’s original environmental objectives. The goals, however, “have been subverted by a process that takes years and ends up interfering with important projects instead of promoting better projects.”

Witness James Willox, Wyoming County Commissioners Association Member, reiterated the disconnect between NEPA’s intent and the statute’s implementation.

“What was once a helpful look at proposed actions has metastasized into a grotesque perversion of Congressional intent whereby agency officials are forced into years of analysis and reams of paper designed to fend off litigation instead of making sound, informed policy decisions,” Willox said.

“NEPA itself was never intended to be an obstructionist part of our infrastructure nor building of any other thing. But it has been used as that,” Rep. Don Young (R-AK) stated. “NEPA should not be used to slow down and impede development because it does not protect the environment. And that’s really what we should be talking about.”

 Witness Mike Bridges, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Board Member, echoed the same concerns, emphasizing the law’s negative economic impacts.

“The seemingly endless and arbitrary regulatory process in Washington State will discourage future projects that would employ members of the Building Trades and my community,” Bridges said.

Members and the panel discussed changes to the law including increasing the role of counties and local governments, fast-tracking the permitting of projects, and avoiding duplicative environmental analyses.

“Counties in Wyoming and across the West are ready and willing to assist in the goal of modernizing NEPA to ensure that it continues to work for the benefit of decision-makers,”Willox said.

Click here to view full witness testimony.

Learn more about the House Committee on Natural Resources by visiting their site here.