Cramer: Interior, Environment Appropriations Bill Stops Onslaught of Regulations on Farmers and Jobs

Press Release

Congressman Kevin Cramer praised today's passage of the 2017 Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for stopping the onslaught of regulations on North Dakota farmers and jobs.

The legislation includes an amendment sponsored by Cramer and passed by the House Tuesday night. The Cramer Amendment denies funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to move any further to implement regulations on non-federal oil and gas rights.

This amendment ensures no funds are provided to finalize or implement the proposed USFWS rule. "Not only do state regulators have the authority and expertise to regulate non-federal minerals, they have the most obvious incentive to do it well. After all, they live where the minerals are being produced," said Cramer, "The USFWS does not have the authority nor the personnel or expertise to regulate oil and gas operations. These concerns are already being addressed by the appropriate regulatory bodies."

Language in the bill includes provisions to prevent and stop the implementation of certain regulations. Specifically, the bill:

Prohibits the EPA from implementing new greenhouse gas regulations for new and existing power plants,
Prohibits the EPA from implementing the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule,
Prohibits new methane requirements on oil and gas producers,
Continues a provision prohibiting the use of funds to promulgate or implement a regulation requiring the issuance of permits under Title V of the Clean Air Act for carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor, or methane emissions,
Prohibits harmful changes to the "stream buffer rule" or making changes to the definition of "fill material" negatively impacting coal mining operations,
Requires a report on the backlog of mining permits awaiting approval,
Continues a provision prohibiting the use of funds to implement any provision in a rule if that provision requires mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from manure management systems, and
Prevents the EPA from regulating the lead content of ammunition and fishing tackle.
Other general provisions in the bill:

Requires the President to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations no later than 120 days after the Fiscal Year 2017 budget is submitted to Congress describing in detail all federal agency obligations and expenditures for climate change programs and activities in Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016.
Fully funds the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program to account for lost property taxes from federal lands.
Prevents an increase in fees on oil and gas inspections and grazing on federal lands.
Prohibits review or determination to list the sage grouse and limits the administration implementation of federal management plans if they are inconsistent with state plans.
Prohibits the President from declaring national monuments in certain areas.
H.R. 5538 provides $32 billion for the Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and related agencies, a decrease of $64 million from last year's budget and $1 billion below the President's request. Among the agencies and programs funded are the Bureau of Land Management, the Indian Health Service, the National Park Service, the Historic Preservation Fund, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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