Oil and Gas Bills Advance to House

Three House bills that would greatly expand U.S. oil and gas development – H.R. 3407, H.R. 3408, and H.R. 3410 – were approved by the Natural Resources Committee on February 1, 2012. H.R. 3407 would open up vast areas of Alaska’s coastal plain to oil leasing. H.R. 3408 would expand shale oil development in several Western states. Many Democrats opposed the bill, arguing that the environmental, social, and geologic risks of shale oil development are not yet well understood. The committee voted down a Democratic amendment that would have required the USGS to study oil shale development impacts on water… [more]