Posted on 02/23/2015 10:11:18 AM PST by PapaNew
Current government regulations imposed by the Bureau of Land Management are harming energy production and holding back the U.S. economy, a new study reveals.
“While federally owned lands are also full of energy potential, a bureaucratic regulatory regime has mismanaged land use for decades,” write The Heritage Foundation’s Katie Tubb and Nicolas Loris.
The report focuses on the Federal Lands Freedom Act, introduced by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. It is designed to empower states to regain control of their lands from the federal government in order to pursue their own energy goals. That is a challenge in an oil-rich state like Colorado.
“We need to streamline the process as there are very real consequences to poor [or nonexistent] management,” Tubb, a Heritage research associate, told The Daily Signal.
“Empowering the states is the best solution. The people who benefit have a say and can share in the benefits. If there are consequences, they can address them locally with state and local governments that are much more responsive to elections and budgets than the federal government.”
Emphasizing the need to streamline the process, Tubb pointed to the findings in the new report.
“The Bureau of Land Management estimates that it took an average of 227 days simply to complete a drill application,” Tubb said.
That’s more than the average of 154 days in 2005 and more than seven times the state average of 30 days, according to the report.
The report blames this increase in the application process on the drop in drilling on federal lands.
“Since 2009,” Tubb and Loris write, “oil production on federal lands has fallen by nine percent, even as production on state and private lands has increased by 61 percent over the same period.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
"The Congress shall have Power... To exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings."
The only legitimate claim the feds have on ANY state land is ONLY that which is purchased by consent of the state legislature for the LIMITED purpose of such "needful buildings" as listed. The limited constitutional purpose of federal ownership of land within a state means it should be relatively rare and very small in scope. That includes things like National Parks.
The states should commandeer and take possession of whatever lands the feds claim within that state that hasn't been purchased with state consent for the limited constitutional purpose listed in Article I, Section 8, Clause 17.
I know the Giuliani thing is the mode of the hour, but I thought this ongoing issue be of interest to you.
Yes, using the BLM is just another Obama political tool to take from the American people, and give to the big government. More Marxist crap.
Likely all of the problems that we have with unconstituitonal federal land grabs are a consequence of the ill-conceived 17th Amendment imo.
I would say the agenda is to expand the central government and destroy the sovereignty of the states. State sovereignty is the cornerstone of our republic.
Thanks!
Yes, this issue is .. I’ve already seen it here in CA.
Of course, our Gov is in concert with the Pres .. so there’s no discussing anything and not enough repubs to put up a stink.
Agenda 21
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