Executive Order -- Supporting Safe & Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to coordinate the efforts of Federal agencies responsible for overseeing the safe and responsible development of unconventional domestic natural gas resources and associated infrastructure and to help reduce our dependence on oil, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. In 2011, natural gas provided 25 percent of the energy consumed in the United States. Its production creates jobs and provides economic benefits to the entire domestic production supply chain, as well as to chemical and other manufacturers, who benefit from lower feedstock and energy costs. By helping to power our transportation system, greater use of natural gas can also reduce our dependence on oil. And with appropriate safeguards, natural gas can provide a cleaner source of energy than other fossil fuels.

For these reasons, it is vital that we take full advantage of our natural gas resources, while giving American families and communities confidence that natural and cultural resources, air and water quality, and public health and safety will not be compromised.

While natural gas production is carried out by private firms, and States are the primary regulators of onshore oil and gas activities, the Federal Government has an important role to play by regulating oil and gas activities on public and Indian trust lands, encouraging greater use of natural gas in transportation, supporting research and development aimed at improving the safety of natural gas development and transportation activities, and setting sensible, cost-effective public health and environmental standards to implement Federal law and augment State safeguards.

Because efforts to promote safe, responsible, and efficient development of unconventional domestic natural gas resources are underway at a number of executive departments and agencies (agencies), close interagency coordination is important for effective implementation of these programs and activities. To formalize and promote ongoing interagency coordination, this order establishes a high-level, interagency working group that will facilitate coordinated Administration policy efforts to support safe and responsible unconventional domestic natural gas development.

Sec. 2. Interagency Working Group to Support Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources. There is established an Interagency Working Group to Support Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources (Working Group), to be chaired by the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, or a designated representative.

(a) Membership. In addition to the Chair, the Working Group shall include deputy-level representatives or equivalent officials, designated by the head of the respective agency or office, from:

(b) Functions. Consistent with the authorities and responsibilities of participating agencies and offices, the Working Group shall support the safe and responsible production of domestic unconventional natural gas by performing the following functions:

(i) coordinate agency policy activities, ensuring their efficient and effective operation and facilitating cooperation among agencies, as appropriate;

(ii) coordinate among agencies the sharing of scientific, environmental, and related technical and economic information;

(iii) engage in long-term planning and ensure coordination among the appropriate Federal entities with respect to such issues as research, natural resource assessment, and the development of infrastructure; (iv) promote interagency communication with stakeholders; and

Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

I have been watching it from the epicenter of Bakken development in ND, and I work in the patch.

We have unemployment below 3% in this half of the State, and I have seen license plates from every state, including Alaska and Hawaii as people come here for work.

Housing is at a premium, and vehicle sales are brisk.

The State has a budget surplus, and money set aside to fight Federal attempts to shut down the oil industry which has been the source of a tremendous windfall via extraction and sales taxes.

We are under no illusions. If the Federal Government succeeded in declaring a moratorium on drilling, even while they 'studied the problem', it would bring that economic engine to a halt.

Otherwise, developmental drilling in the Bakken Formation and the underlying Three Forks is forecast to last another 20-30 years.

We aren't talking belly-up union labor car manufacturers here, but a right-to-work state with everything is in the black. We produce and export (to other states) energy: oil, natural gas, and electricity.

We also produce food.

Will the Obamites try to treat us like Stalin treated the Kulaks?

Winters here are harsh usually with weeks of subzero weather, and any form of energy rationing here will kill people.

We'll see, but we're just one state in this boat. Texas has different problems, but they rely on the oil patch, too. Spin off jobs from oil activity affect every state from here to Texas, and the recent pipeline decision handed down by Obama affected every jurisdiction from the Canadian Border to the Gulf coast.

West of the Mississippi from North Dakota to the Gulf of Mexico, add in Wyoming, Montana (at least the Eastern Half), Utah and Colorado where Federal Leases were shut down under Obama, and there is a lot of flyover country with skin in this 'game', and I haven't mentioned those who can benefit from drilling the Marcellus, Utica, and other shale gas resources. If this isn't war on the heartland, what is?

BTW: In the '80s, there was a well drilled near Colonial Beach, VA (plugged, dry and abandoned, site reclaimed), and plans for another exploration well near Pope's Creek, MD.

The ecowhackos shut the second well down before the location was built.

Had the program continued and been successful, oil could have been pipelined to the refinery at Piney Point, Natural Gas could have been processed and sold in the DC Metro Area...

The war of the anti-productive against the producers in this country has been going on for some time.

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