Despite Pressure for Oil, New Wells Unlikely in Washington State
By Christopher Dunagan - June 29, 2008
When it comes to drilling for oil, Washington state is far down on
the list of places where petroleum companies wish to explore.
"We would probably be last, or next to last," said Ray Lasmanis, a
geologist with the Washington Department of Natural Resources. "The
geology is too broken up and it does not have the kind of sedimentary
basins they have off the coast of California."
A move to lift the offshore moratorium beyond 50 miles was defeated
last week in the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired
by U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair. Dicks said the issue, backed by
the Bush administration, is likely to be raised again before the full
Appropriations Committee. About 18 billion barrels of oil may lie in
areas subject to the moratorium. It could take 12 to 15 years to
explore and bring this oil to market. If the amounts are accurate and
the entire area were developed, it would provide about 18 months of
supply for the United States.
But President Bush's call for lifting a moratorium on offshore oil
drilling is getting little traction in Congress, according to U.S.
Rep. Jay Inslee, D- Bainbridge Island.
"Although it is attractive as a sound bite, it is a bit of a
diversion," Inslee said. "There are better alternatives for drilling
on dry land."
Inslee has been pushing for a federal energy program that would move
the U.S. away from oil consumption. He said he has recently become
aware of some short-term measures that could "tamp down on
speculation in the oil market" and possibly ease gasoline prices.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is on board with the short-term
measures. She complained on Friday that Senate Republicans blocked a
bill that would "rein in excessive speculation" when they tried to
attach an amendment to open up offshore drilling.
Even if industry were given free rein, it is not clear that companies
would line up to drill offshore. A recent report by the federal
Mineral Management Services estimates that areas offshore of the U.S.
where drilling is not allowed contain roughly 18 billion barrels of
crude oil. That's less than the country's proved reserves, including
inland areas, and isn't much more than 2 percent of the world's
proved reserves.
Of the 18 billion barrels that might exist in untapped offshore
areas, Washington and Oregon together contain an estimated 0.4
billion barrels, or a little more than 2 percent of the reserves
declared off-limits. That compares with 2.08 billion barrels in
Northern California, 2.31 in Central California and 5.58 in Southern
California.
For the Atlantic Coast, the estimate is 3.82 billion barrels. For the
eastern Gulf of Mexico, untapped regions contain an estimated 3.65
billion barrels.
Washington Geology
Geology that makes Washington and Oregon vulnerable to a massive
earthquake does not lend itself to the formation of large oil
deposits, geologists say.
The largest oil deposits on the West Coast appear in California,
where the San Andreas fault splits the ground in a more vertical
alignment, said DNR's Lasmanis.
Western Washington does contain some crustal folds, where deposits of
natural gas and coal can form in a terrestrial environment. Small
natural gas supplies have been developed near Ferndale, close to the
Canadian border.
The greater potential for natural gas may lie in Eastern Washington,
said David Norman, another DNR geologist. Within the last two years,
exploratory wells were drilled by EnCana Corp., a Canadian company,
in Grant and Yakima counties. Delta Petroleum Corp. of Denver
currently is drilling in Klickitat County. Most of the wells are more
than 2.5 miles deep.
So far, the results are uncertain, Norman said, and no plans for
production have been announced.
Still, interest in gas is high. In 2005 and 2006, the DNR put its
lands in Central Washington up for auction and took in $11 million.
In addition, the state is raking in more than $1 million in annual
lease fees. Most of that goes into a trust fund for schools. If
production were to occur, the state would receive about 12 percent in
royalties.
California Concerns
California contains 79 active offshore leases approved before the
moratorium. Estimated proved and unproved reserves in those areas
total about 1.47 billion barrels.
Active wells in California produce more than 75,000 barrels of oil
per day, compared with a total U.S. consumption of about 20 million
barrels per day.
Many Californians, including Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
oppose any more offshore drilling.
Even if the offshore drilling ban were lifted, industry officials
estimate it would take 12 to 15 years to develop wells.
Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association,
said the industry does not wish to fight an upstream battle.
"Our view is for the last several decades, the people of California
have expressed pretty strong views that they do not support natural
gas and oil exploration," he said. "It is important to note that, at
least here on the West Coast, that it will take more than lifting the
congressional moratorium. In addition to state and local constraints,
a number of marine sanctuaries would restrict development."
Even without considering risks of an oil spill, environmental damage
from offshore drilling includes onshore infrastructure, such as
pipelines, water pollution from drilling cuttings, and large amounts
of contaminated water brought up out of an oil well.
Dicks is working with officials in the Minerals Management Service to
figure out the production potential for existing federal leases
across the country, mainly on lands managed by the Department of
Interior. House Democrats are drafting a "use-it-or-lose-it" bill
that would require development of oil fields inland before approving
offshore leases.
Short-term Measures
Drilling for oil in new offshore areas is neither a short- nor a long-
term fix to the energy crisis, said Inslee, and more oil production
would only accelerate global warming. Technology to take advantage of
alternative energy need to be put into play with the help of
Congress, he said.
He did add that speculation needs to be brought under control.
"I was rather skeptical that speculation could be the reason for this
latest run-up," Inslee said, "but I've come to believe that it is."
Loopholes in oil futures markets allow for wild speculation by
investors who never intend to take delivery of oil, Inslee said.
Several loopholes - such as allowing secret trades and permitting
investors to control excessive holdings - came about in 2000 and were
exploited by Enron in the electricity market, he said.
"What Enron did is chump change compared to the speculation going on
now," Inslee said.
Congress is working on at least nine bills to curb speculation. They
include making futures trades more transparent, possibly requiring
transactions within regulated markets, and limiting margins so that
speculators are forced to gamble with more of their own money.
Cantwell cited financial analysts who contend that controlling
markets would have the effect of bringing down the cost of oil to the
marginal cost of production - perhaps around $60 per barrel instead
of the record $140 quoted this past week. She said she would resume
the fight against excessive speculation and possible market
manipulation following the congressional recess.
Some officials, including James Newsome, president and CEO of the New
York Mercantile Exchange, argue that tightening regulations on
markets would have unintended consequences - such as driving
investors to foreign exchange markets. But officials from industries
such as airlines and trucking say something must be done.
"Drilling offshore," said Inslee, "is doomed to failure. I'm not
opposed to drilling. We accept massive drilling on federal land. But
the danger is we'll get wrapped around the minutia of the drilling
issue ... and we're still going to be addicted to oil."
www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jun/29/despite-pressure-for-oil-new-wells-
unlikely-in
-----
To say, so far the results of drilling for oil in the Klickitat are
uncertain is bogus at best. They've drilled three holes 2.5 miles
deep, no oil here. High time to look to solar & wind energy & return
our waters.
Teresa Anahuy
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FirstPeoplesNews
-----
Lawmakers argue over a drilling moratorium off the Pacific Coast
By Les Blumenthal - June 29, 2008
WASHINGTON - In the Pacific Ocean off Washington state there are
salmon, halibut and whales. But there apparently isn't much oil or
natural gas. State officials say they haven't "heard a peep" from
anyone wanting to drill off the coast.
Even so, Democratic Rep. Norm Dicks of Belfair is in the middle of
the intense debate over offshore drilling that has gripped Capitol
Hill over the past several weeks.
As chairman of the House Appropriations interior subcommittee, Dicks'
jurisdiction includes the 27-year-old moratorium on drilling along
what's known as the outer continental shelf.
The Republican effort to eliminate the drilling moratorium, aided by
the White House, has disrupted the appropriations process in the
House and is a significant issue on the presidential campaign trail.
"This is purely a political matter," Dicks said in an interview last
week. He was clearly frustrated that the bill he and his staff had
spent weeks developing had suddenly become the flash point between
Democrats and Republicans over what to do to calm the public's anger
over gasoline prices that have shot well above $4 a gallon.
Since taking control of Congress in January 2007, Republicans say,
Democrats have pursued an energy policy that has done nothing to ease
the price at the pump. Republicans are calling for increased domestic
supplies, including allowing drilling along the outer continental
shelf, which is the sloping undersea plain between the continent and
the deep ocean. They also want to open the Arctic National Wildlife
Refugee and additional federal lands to oil and natural gas drilling.
According to industry estimates, federal lands and offshore areas
contain enough recoverable natural gas to meet the heating needs of
60 million households for 160 years, as well as enough oil to produce
gasoline to fuel 60 million cars and fuel oil for 3.1 million
households for 60 years.
Democrats say 80 percent of the outer continental shelf is already
open to leasing. They also say that 68 million acres of land, roughly
the size of Colorado, are already under lease but have not been
developed, and that "we can't drill our way to energy independence."
They quote the Energy Information Administration, part of the federal
Department of Energy as saying offshore drilling wouldn't affect the
price at the pump until 2030, and even then the impact would
be "insignificant."
"People are desperate for a solution, and this isn't it," Dicks
said. "There are thousands of leases that aren't being used. If this
is such an emergency, why aren't they using them?"
NOT SO MUCH OIL HERE
Oil and natural gas resources off the Northwest coast are minuscule
when compared to Florida and California. A 2001 Interior Department
study estimated there might be 2.35 trillion cubic feet of natural
gas off Washington and Oregon. The same study estimated there might
be 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico and
15 trillion cubic feet off California.
Several oil companies expressed an interest in exploring deep-sea
areas off the Northwest coast in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The
Reagan administration, at one point, considered leasing 30,000 acres
for exploration and drilling.
"There isn't much interest in Washington state," said Dave Norman,
the deputy state geologist. "The Washington coast ranks real low in
potential, almost near the bottom."
Norman said exploratory holes and seismic testing off the coast have
never found much, even though there have been oil seeps discovered on
the west side of the Olympic Peninsula.
In Eastern Washington, three deep holes have been drilled in the
Columbia Basin during the past several years, and a new one is being
drilled in Klickitat County.
"They haven't found anything, but they are still studying the
results," said Norman, adding that the holes have been drilled
through 10,000 feet of basalt rock.
Before World War II, there was a field near Rattlesnake Mountain that
produced commercial quantities of natural gas, he said.
'A VERY DIFFICULT POLITICAL ISSUE'
The initial moratorium on offshore drilling covered just Washington
state and Oregon but was later expanded to cover the entire outer
continental shelf, Dicks said.
Republicans have unsuccessfully sought to lift the moratorium over
the years. In 2006, the Republican-controlled House voted to ease the
ban, but the measure stalled in the Senate. "Oil-patch Democrats"
have consistently voted to eliminate the ban, while moderates and
Florida Republicans have opposed such a move.
But given the increasing price of gasoline, vote counting has become
tricky.
"This is a very difficult political issue for some people," Dicks
said.
Earlier this month, presumed Republican presidential nominee John
McCain proposed lifting the ban, and President Bush endorsed the
idea. McCain previously opposed offshore drilling, as had Bush's
brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama opposes lifting
the moratorium.
The issue erupted just as Dicks' interior appropriations bill was to
be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee.
With the outcome of the vote on the drilling ban uncertain, the bill
stalled and was rescheduled for consideration after Congress returns
from its Fourth of July recess.
It's unclear whether Democrats have the committee votes to defeat the
Republican effort to eliminate the moratorium. "We are counting,"
Dicks said. "I don't twist arms. I plead with people to do the right
thing."
Asked whether he still expected his bill to come up as planned on
July 9, Dicks said, "It's still scheduled. But obviously schedules
can change."
Last week, Republicans sought to force a vote on the drilling ban by
trying to substitute the interior bill for another appropriations
bill the committee was considering. Chairman Dave Obey, D-Wis.,
abruptly adjourned the meeting and warned later that if Republicans
persisted, then his committee would put off consideration of all
appropriations bills until after the election.
"What they did was a stunt. It was unprecedented in the 32 years I
have been in the House," Dicks said. "I have my fingers crossed that
we can defeat these amendments and go forward with my bill."
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
2 Makahs get jail time for killing whale
Included is a previous article shown below this most recent one:
To follow this issue to date, please consider joining FirstPeoplesNews at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FirstPeoplesNews
-----
2 Makahs get jail time for killing whale
By Lynda V. Mapes - June 30, 3008
TACOMA - A federal judge Monday decided to lock up two Makah tribal members for illegally killing a gray whale last fall, while three others received two years' probation.
As part of the plea deal reached with federal prosecutors, whalers William Secor, Theron Parker, and Frankie Gonzales also will have to perform community service in Neah Bay ranging from 100 to 150 hours, according to the sentence imposed by United States Magistrate Judge Kelley Arnold in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
Two other whalers, Andy Noel and Wayne Johnson, did not take the deal and were found guilty in a bench trial of the same misdemeanor charge of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They have appealed their convictions.
Johnson received the longest sentence, five months at the federal detention center in SeaTac - even more than prosecutors had requested. Noel is to serve 90 days. Each also will serve a year of probation and perform community service.
The judge prohibited all five men from taking part in any whale hunt while on probation. And he fined them from $25 to $50 each, citing an inability for them to pay higher fines.
In imposing the heavier jail time on Noel and Johnson, the judge explained that he saw them as the leaders of the hunt. He also said he did not believe they undertook the hunt with the implied permission of the Makah Tribal Council, as some of the whalers claimed in documents provided to the court.
"I don't believe it, and if they did it's no excuse," Arnold said. He added that he believed Johnson felt "not an ounce of remorse."
Johnson, dressed in a shirt, coat and tie, looked stunned as the bailiff led him away. Noel caught his father's eye and waved goodbye.
In September, the five men killed a gray whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, shooting it at least 16 times and sinking at least four harpoons into its flesh. The animal bled for some 12 hours before dying and sinking to the bottom.
The poaching was a black eye for the Makah Tribe, which is seeking a waiver from the federal government to allow it to legally hunt gray whales. A decision is years away on the tribe's proposal to kill up to 20 whales over five years.
The tribe had stopped whaling when the animals were nearly depleted by commercial whaling. Gray whales were listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1968, and their population increased from 13,095 to 26,635 in 1998, when the animals were taken off the federal protection list.
The Makah are the only tribe in the country with a treaty right to whale, and the tribal council in 1998 entered into an agreement with the federal government allowing the tribe to legally hunt and kill its first whale in more than 70 years, in May 1999.
But last September, the whalers had no permit from either the tribe or the federal government. The whalers were indicted by a federal grand jury in October and charged with conspiracy, unlawful taking of a marine mammal and unauthorized whaling, misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.
Some animal-rights activists were disappointed with the sentence actually imposed.
"I think it's light, given the grave injury that was done," said Will Anderson, of Friends of the Gray Whale. "It's sad all the way around."
Naomi Rose, senior scientist with the Humane Society of the United States, said she was surprised Johnson and Noel were sentenced more severely.
"I'm glad they got jail time. They didn't express remorse," she said. "There's no point in any of this if they don't learn something. I find this whole thing really sad. It divided a tribe and a community."
Other poaching crimes have brought stiffer punishment. In June, a Grays Harbor County man lost his hunting privileges for two years after pleading guilty to illegally killing a blacktail deer. He also was fined $2,700, sentenced to two years probation, and had to pay a $3,000 fee for the return of his hunting rifle seized during the poaching investigation.
By contrast, in the Makah village of Neah Bay, sentiment over the illegal whale hunt was sharply divided.
The defendants originally faced punishment on tribal charges of a year in the Neah Bay jail, $5,000 fines and temporary suspension of their treaty right to hunt and fish. In a news conference called after the rogue hunt, the tribal council called for punishment to the fullest extent of the law.
But in the end, the tribal court had trouble even putting a jury together and tribal judge Stanley Myers agreed to waive any punishment and drop all tribal charges against the whalers in return for a year's good behavior.
Myers has since been dismissed.
Article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008026348_webmakah30m.html?syndication=rss
=====
Part of case against Makah whale killers tossed
By Paul Shulovsky
Feb. 19, 2008
TACOMA -- A federal judge threw out half of the government's case Tuesday against five Makah tribal whalers accused of harpooning and killing a gray whale in September.
The hunt underscored the frustration many members of the Northwest tribe feel over perceived bureaucratic impediments to their right to hunt whales on the Olympic Peninsula, as their ancestors have done for thousands of years.
The men accused of illegal hunting were members of the crew that legally took a whale in 1999. Until then, the Makah had voluntarily suspended the traditional hunt since the 1920s to allow the number of gray whales to rebound.
The five whalers had faced a three-count misdemeanor indictment, charged with violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Whaling Convention Act, and conspiring to break those laws.
But U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Kelley Arnold ruled Tuesday that the language of the Whaling Convention Act on criminal violations is too vague to apply. He dismissed those charges and part of the related conspiracy count.
Arnold cited a previous decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found that the Makah must seek a waiver under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in order to take whales. His ruling left intact the charges alleging violations of that law.
Defense attorney Jack Fiander argued that charging the whalers with breaking the protection act violated their constitutional right to equal protection under the law. Alaska Native tribes, he said, conduct indigenous whale hunts without Marine Mammal Protection Act restrictions.
The Makah, said Fiander, are closely related by culture and language to indigenous Alaskans and should enjoy the same right to hunt whales.
"Their culture is similar, their climate is similar, what they hold dear is similar -- the whale, the thunderbird," Fiander said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Oesterle said there's a big difference between Alaska's native whalers, with whom the United States doesn't have treaties, and the Makah, whose 1855 treaty stipulates the tribe's right to whale.
Congress made that decision, the prosecutor said, when it passed a marine-mammal law in the 1970s that specifically exempted only Alaskan natives. The idea was to compensate those tribes for their lack of treaties with the United States.
"It was a political carve-out," said Oesterle. "It is not based on race. It is not based on national origins."
Arnold rejected Fiander's assertion that the Makah are in the same situation as Alaskan tribes, and thus deserve a similar whaling law exemption.
"It is fair to say that there are certainly commonalities between the exempt tribes in Alaska and the Makahs," Arnold said, "but there are also significant differences."
The Makah "dodged a bullet" when Arnold ruled that the Whaling Convention Act could not be applied criminally to the defendants, said attorney John Arum, who was present Tuesday as an observer for the tribe.
A successful prosecution under that law would have been tantamount to tearing up the tribe's treaty, Arum said.
Oesterle rejected that notion, telling the court: "We are not arguing for abrogation (of the treaty) in this case. We are simply arguing that the right to whale is subject to regulation."
Fiander saw it differently.
"Rights considered in an Indian treaty are the supreme law of the land," he said. "They can't be cast aside by vague words -- they can't be cast aside by oversight."
The trial is currently scheduled for April in U.S. District Court. If found guilty, the maximum penalty would be one year in prison.
The five whalers also face charges in tribal court.
Claim new Arizona law discriminates against rez residents
Native protest challenge to rights - Claim new Arizona law discreiminates against rez residents
By Stan Bindell - June 30, 2008
PHOENIX - Native American tribal, community and state leaders gathered on the lawn of Arizona's Capitol June 25 to protest that their petition to vote rights were being assaulted.
The petition signatures of some Native American voters was being challenged on the grounds that they used post office boxes during the collection of signatures for nominating petitions in state House and Senate races in Northern Arizona.
State laws call for those signing petitions to give physical addresses, but many Native Americans living on reservations do not have physical addresses.
Isidoro Lopez, vice chairwoman of the Tohono O'Odham Tribe, said in a news release that there is something inherently wrong that the voting rights of Native Americans still needs to be discussed today 60 years after Arizona Indians gained their right to vote.
"The consequences will be devastating and their impact will reverberate across Indian country," she said.
Mary Kim Titla, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a candidate for Congressional District 1, said a post office box is what Indians use to receive their bills and what they use to file their income taxes.
"It's good enough for the IRS. It should be good enough for nominating petitions," she said.
The nominating petitions challenge Navajo candidates Albert Tom and Chris Descheeny for the Arizona House. If these two candidates were disqualified for the race because of lack of valid signatures then their two opponents wouldn't have any challengers except for write-in candidates.
In the Arizona Senate race, if incumbent Sen. Albert Hale was disqualified because of a lack of valid signatures then Royce Jenkins, a Hopi, would be unchallenged except for write-in candidates.
Arizona State Rep. Ben Miranda, who is also an attorney, said while the letter of the law is confusing because of contradicting court decisions in the past that the spirit of the law is intact.
Miranda said the spirit of the law is that people who sign petitions listed with a post office box should be included as valid signatures. He challenged the state Democratic Party to take a stand supporting the three challenged Navajo candidates and pay for their legal representation.
Maria Weeg, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party, said the Democratic Party stands with Hale, Tom and Descheeny.
Those present at the news conference to show support for the Navajo trio were state Rep. Pete Rios, state Rep. Steve Gallardo, state Rep. Tom Prezeleski, Arizona Advocacy Network Executive Director Linda Brown, Intertribal Council Executive Director John Lewis and community activist Annie Lloyd.
Lawmakers argue over a drilling moratorium off the Pacific Coast
By Les Blumenthal - June 29, 2008
WASHINGTON - In the Pacific Ocean off Washington state there are salmon, halibut and whales. But there apparently isn't much oil or natural gas. State officials say they haven't "heard a peep" from anyone wanting to drill off the coast.
Even so, Democratic Rep. Norm Dicks of Belfair is in the middle of the intense debate over offshore drilling that has gripped Capitol Hill over the past several weeks.
As chairman of the House Appropriations interior subcommittee, Dicks' jurisdiction includes the 27-year-old moratorium on drilling along what's known as the outer continental shelf.
The Republican effort to eliminate the drilling moratorium, aided by the White House, has disrupted the appropriations process in the House and is a significant issue on the presidential campaign trail.
"This is purely a political matter," Dicks said in an interview last week. He was clearly frustrated that the bill he and his staff had spent weeks developing had suddenly become the flash point between Democrats and Republicans over what to do to calm the public's anger over gasoline prices that have shot well above $4 a gallon.
Since taking control of Congress in January 2007, Republicans say, Democrats have pursued an energy policy that has done nothing to ease the price at the pump. Republicans are calling for increased domestic supplies, including allowing drilling along the outer continental shelf, which is the sloping undersea plain between the continent and the deep ocean. They also want to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refugee and additional federal lands to oil and natural gas drilling.
According to industry estimates, federal lands and offshore areas contain enough recoverable natural gas to meet the heating needs of 60 million households for 160 years, as well as enough oil to produce gasoline to fuel 60 million cars and fuel oil for 3.1 million households for 60 years.
Democrats say 80 percent of the outer continental shelf is already open to leasing. They also say that 68 million acres of land, roughly the size of Colorado, are already under lease but have not been developed, and that "we can't drill our way to energy independence."
They quote the Energy Information Administration, part of the federal Department of Energy as saying offshore drilling wouldn't affect the price at the pump until 2030, and even then the impact would be "insignificant."
"People are desperate for a solution, and this isn't it," Dicks said. "There are thousands of leases that aren't being used. If this is such an emergency, why aren't they using them?"
NOT SO MUCH OIL HERE
Oil and natural gas resources off the Northwest coast are minuscule when compared to Florida and California. A 2001 Interior Department study estimated there might be 2.35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off Washington and Oregon. The same study estimated there might be 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico and 15 trillion cubic feet off California.
Several oil companies expressed an interest in exploring deep-sea areas off the Northwest coast in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Reagan administration, at one point, considered leasing 30,000 acres for exploration and drilling.
"There isn't much interest in Washington state," said Dave Norman, the deputy state geologist. "The Washington coast ranks real low in potential, almost near the bottom."
Norman said exploratory holes and seismic testing off the coast have never found much, even though there have been oil seeps discovered on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula.
In Eastern Washington, three deep holes have been drilled in the Columbia Basin during the past several years, and a new one is being drilled in Klickitat County.
"They haven't found anything, but they are still studying the results," said Norman, adding that the holes have been drilled through 10,000 feet of basalt rock.
Before World War II, there was a field near Rattlesnake Mountain that produced commercial quantities of natural gas, he said.
'A VERY DIFFICULT POLITICAL ISSUE'
The initial moratorium on offshore drilling covered just Washington state and Oregon but was later expanded to cover the entire outer continental shelf, Dicks said.
Republicans have unsuccessfully sought to lift the moratorium over the years. In 2006, the Republican-controlled House voted to ease the ban, but the measure stalled in the Senate. "Oil-patch Democrats" have consistently voted to eliminate the ban, while moderates and Florida Republicans have opposed such a move.
But given the increasing price of gasoline, vote counting has become tricky.
"This is a very difficult political issue for some people," Dicks said.
Earlier this month, presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain proposed lifting the ban, and President Bush endorsed the idea. McCain previously opposed offshore drilling, as had Bush's brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama opposes lifting the moratorium.
The issue erupted just as Dicks' interior appropriations bill was to be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee.
With the outcome of the vote on the drilling ban uncertain, the bill stalled and was rescheduled for consideration after Congress returns from its Fourth of July recess.
It's unclear whether Democrats have the committee votes to defeat the Republican effort to eliminate the moratorium. "We are counting," Dicks said. "I don't twist arms. I plead with people to do the right thing."
Asked whether he still expected his bill to come up as planned on July 9, Dicks said, "It's still scheduled. But obviously schedules can change."
Last week, Republicans sought to force a vote on the drilling ban by trying to substitute the interior bill for another appropriations bill the committee was considering. Chairman Dave Obey, D-Wis., abruptly adjourned the meeting and warned later that if Republicans persisted, then his committee would put off consideration of all appropriations bills until after the election.
"What they did was a stunt. It was unprecedented in the 32 years I have been in the House," Dicks said. "I have my fingers crossed that we can defeat these amendments and go forward with my bill."
Our fish at risk
Our fish at risk
By Spencer Hunt - June 30, 2008
LOUDONVILLE, Ohio -- State and federal officials are tracking an escaped killer.
Armed with nets, a plastic dinghy and a 300-volt generator, a team of fish experts spent a day last week collecting fish from the Clear Fork Branch of the Mohican River, looking for a deadly disease called viral hemorrhagic septicemia.
Officials thought the contagious virus, which makes fish bleed to death, was contained in the Great Lakes.
But the discovery of VHS in the Clear Fork Reservoir in Morrow and Richland counties has changed all that. It's the first discovery in a U.S. waterway that doesn't drain to the Great Lakes.
"The bug is out," said Ken Phillips, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service microbiologist based in La Crosse, Wis. "In theory, it could make it all the way to the Mississippi River."
Phillips and three other Fish and Wildlife biologists were in Ohio last week dissecting hundreds of fish shocked and netted from linked streams that flow from the Clear Fork to the Ohio River.
Although not a threat to humans, the disease can kill trout, perch, walleye and other fish by the thousands. There is no way to stop its spread or kill the virus.
"It could be devastating," said Larry Mitchell Sr., president of the League of Ohio Sportsmen and the Ohio Wildlife Federation.
In 2006, the virus killed tens of thousands of freshwater drum and yellow perch in the western basin of Lake Erie.
VHS is a threat to state hatcheries as well, where sport fish are bred for release in Ohio lakes and stream. Two hatcheries, one near London in Madison County and the other near Castalia in Erie County, are under quarantine while officials await results of VHS tests.
The London hatchery received virus-contaminated muskie eggs from the Clear Fork Reservoir in April. The hatchery sent about 55,000 potentially infected rainbow trout to Castalia, said Elmer Heyob, hatchery administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
If tests for the virus are positive, the state would have to kill more than 400,000 muskies, brown trout, rainbow trout and steelhead trout at the hatcheries, Heyob said.
"Then we would have to decontaminate the hatcheries with chlorine," he added.
The value of the fish at both hatcheries is more than $480,000, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates.
First discovered in Europe, the disease somehow migrated to the Great Lakes. Researchers identified it after a fish kill in Lake Ontario in 2005 but now suspect it was in Lake St. Clair as early as 2003.
VHS becomes deadly once fish are under stress because of spawning, another disease or low oxygen levels in water. Lower water temperatures also help VHS replicate.
The virus was discovered after routine tests of ovarian fluid from the Clear Fork muskie eggs.
Heyob said he's hopeful that the disease hasn't spread among all the hatchery fish, which are kept in separate tanks and ponds.
But he and others will have to wait some time to find out. It takes two to four weeks for test results, Phillips said.
Still, both are hopeful that tests on the stream-caught fish will show how far and how fast the disease has spread downstream.
"It could have been in the reservoir a year or two years ago and we're just now detecting it," Phillips said. "How long it could take to move is anybody's guess."
The Journey of Generations
CALLING ALL SUQUAMISH OLALLA NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS
to participate in the 2008 Canoe Journey
"The Journey of Generations"
The canoes will arrive at Old Man House Park on Saturday, July 19th.
Please come to greet them and continue SON's tradition of support for
this event by contributing to a pot luck lunch. SON has been invited
to host lunch for the approximately 600 canoe pullers and the friends
and family who travel on this journey with them. Be involved in one
of the most exciting events to happen in Suquamish all summer by
contributing food to feed members tribes from as far away as British
Columbia who travel in this traditional journey, and who will be
hungry for refreshment after this arduous saltwater voyage.
To be involved Please:
· offer to bring a dish that can feed a lot of people,
consisting of an entree, salad, vegetable, fruits or a healthy
dessert to the Suquamish Village at 11 a.m. We've found that simple
and abundant is more welcomed than "gourmet." Please respond to
this email and let us know what you would like to bring. Please
bring your dish in non-returnable serving platters and utensils, or
clearly mark your name and address on returnable items.
· offer to help cook our main dish, spaghetti, before the
event and on July 19th. We will purchase the ingredients. Your
donations to help with the cost will be gratefully accepted. Location
and time will be announced.
· offer to help serve food to tribal members as they come in
off the boats during the morning and early afternoon.
· offer to help clean up after the meal is over.
· offer to participate in a phone tree to contact and
coordinate volunteers.
We also have a call from the tribe for volunteers to:
Host elders/families in your homes
Provide security for the canoes as they are beached overnight.
SON has developed a tradition, valued by the tribes,
for providing community support for the canoe journeys. Come be
involved and help us maintain this tradition of sharing and
celebration.
To be involved, please respond to this e-mail today. The event is
fast approaching. Join in the fun.
call Karen at at: 206-310-6096
e-mail SON at: olalla@soneighbors.org
mail address: Suquamish Olalla Neighbors, P.O. Box 504, Suquamish,
WA 98392
website: www.soneighbors.org
Check the Suquamish Tribe Website for general information about the
Canoe Journey: www.suquamish.nsn.us
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of Suquamish Olalla Neighbors is to foster a sense of
community and understanding among tribal and non-tribal residents of
the Port Madison Reservation and surrounding area.
The objectives of the group are to:
-Promote friendship and healing between tribal and non-tribal
residents;
-Support the tribe's right of self-determination and governance;
-Educate ourselves and the larger community about history and current
issues of the tribal and non-tribal people of this area.
Contributed by Colleen Edwards scenter@nwrain.com
to participate in the 2008 Canoe Journey
"The Journey of Generations"
The canoes will arrive at Old Man House Park on Saturday, July 19th.
Please come to greet them and continue SON's tradition of support for
this event by contributing to a pot luck lunch. SON has been invited
to host lunch for the approximately 600 canoe pullers and the friends
and family who travel on this journey with them. Be involved in one
of the most exciting events to happen in Suquamish all summer by
contributing food to feed members tribes from as far away as British
Columbia who travel in this traditional journey, and who will be
hungry for refreshment after this arduous saltwater voyage.
To be involved Please:
· offer to bring a dish that can feed a lot of people,
consisting of an entree, salad, vegetable, fruits or a healthy
dessert to the Suquamish Village at 11 a.m. We've found that simple
and abundant is more welcomed than "gourmet." Please respond to
this email and let us know what you would like to bring. Please
bring your dish in non-returnable serving platters and utensils, or
clearly mark your name and address on returnable items.
· offer to help cook our main dish, spaghetti, before the
event and on July 19th. We will purchase the ingredients. Your
donations to help with the cost will be gratefully accepted. Location
and time will be announced.
· offer to help serve food to tribal members as they come in
off the boats during the morning and early afternoon.
· offer to help clean up after the meal is over.
· offer to participate in a phone tree to contact and
coordinate volunteers.
We also have a call from the tribe for volunteers to:
Host elders/families in your homes
Provide security for the canoes as they are beached overnight.
SON has developed a tradition, valued by the tribes,
for providing community support for the canoe journeys. Come be
involved and help us maintain this tradition of sharing and
celebration.
To be involved, please respond to this e-mail today. The event is
fast approaching. Join in the fun.
call Karen at at: 206-310-6096
e-mail SON at: olalla@soneighbors.
mail address: Suquamish Olalla Neighbors, P.O. Box 504, Suquamish,
WA 98392
website: www.soneighbors.
Check the Suquamish Tribe Website for general information about the
Canoe Journey: www.suquamish.
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of Suquamish Olalla Neighbors is to foster a sense of
community and understanding among tribal and non-tribal residents of
the Port Madison Reservation and surrounding area.
The objectives of the group are to:
-Promote friendship and healing between tribal and non-tribal
residents;
-Support the tribe's right of self-determination and governance;
-Educate ourselves and the larger community about history and current
issues of the tribal and non-tribal people of this area.
Contributed by Colleen Edwards scenter@nwrain.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Indian Affairs Web Site Reconnected by Dan Campbell - June 27, 2008
Indian Affairs Web site reconnected
By Dan Campbell - June 27, 2008
After years of litigation requiring its Internet links to bedisconnected, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is back on the WorldWide Web.
Judge James Robertson, of U.S. District Court for the District ofColumbia Circuit, granted a motion last month to vacate the December 2001 consent order that required several of the Interior Department'soperating agencies to remove their Internet connections.
The motion comes as part of the Cobell v. Norton litigation - nowknown after more than a decade as Cobell v. Kempthorne - concerning security issues in Interior's network and systems that might have aided in the compromise of Individual Indian Trust Data (IITD).
In December 2001, Judge Royce Lamberth, also of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered Interior to disconnect nearly all its systems from the Internet because of security flaws that put the trust funds of American Indians in jeopardy.
Judge Roberson's May 14 decision to vacate the December 2001 consent order allows Internet connections for the BIA, Office of Hearing and Appeals, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians andOffice of Historical Trust Accounting to be reconnected.
"We are now on the path to full reconnection to the Internet," said Carl Artman, assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, in an internal memo to BIA and Bureau of Indian Education employees. "The [Interior]Department, and Indian Affairs in particular, has worked long anddiligently to resolve the [information technology] security issues. I am pleased that the court has given us this opportunity todemonstrate our commitment to the protection and preservation of the IITD."
Much of the delay for reinstatement of the Internet links was not the settlement of the lawsuit itself but rather the stringent conditions set in the December 2001 consent order for reconnection and process for evaluating Interior's compliance with those conditions. Some of Interior's Internet links were restored years ago, but strict court oversight of the department's system security has left some agencies disconnected.
www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/46554-1.html#
-----Teresa Anahuyhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/FirstPeoplesNews
By Dan Campbell - June 27, 2008
After years of litigation requiring its Internet links to bedisconnected, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is back on the WorldWide Web.
Judge James Robertson, of U.S. District Court for the District ofColumbia Circuit, granted a motion last month to vacate the December 2001 consent order that required several of the Interior Department'soperating agencies to remove their Internet connections.
The motion comes as part of the Cobell v. Norton litigation - nowknown after more than a decade as Cobell v. Kempthorne - concerning security issues in Interior's network and systems that might have aided in the compromise of Individual Indian Trust Data (IITD).
In December 2001, Judge Royce Lamberth, also of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered Interior to disconnect nearly all its systems from the Internet because of security flaws that put the trust funds of American Indians in jeopardy.
Judge Roberson's May 14 decision to vacate the December 2001 consent order allows Internet connections for the BIA, Office of Hearing and Appeals, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians andOffice of Historical Trust Accounting to be reconnected.
"We are now on the path to full reconnection to the Internet," said Carl Artman, assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, in an internal memo to BIA and Bureau of Indian Education employees. "The [Interior]Department, and Indian Affairs in particular, has worked long anddiligently to resolve the [information technology] security issues. I am pleased that the court has given us this opportunity todemonstrate our commitment to the protection and preservation of the IITD."
Much of the delay for reinstatement of the Internet links was not the settlement of the lawsuit itself but rather the stringent conditions set in the December 2001 consent order for reconnection and process for evaluating Interior's compliance with those conditions. Some of Interior's Internet links were restored years ago, but strict court oversight of the department's system security has left some agencies disconnected.
www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/46554-1.html#
-----Teresa Anahuyhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/FirstPeoplesNews
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