S. HRG. 113–2 JEWELL NOMINATION HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION TO CONSIDER THE NOMINATION OF SALLY JEWELL TO BE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR MARCH 7, 2013 ( Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 80–175 PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES RON WYDEN, Oregon, Chairman TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont MIKE LEE, Utah DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan DEAN HELLER, Nevada MARK UDALL, Colorado JEFF FLAKE, Arizona AL FRANKEN, Minnesota TIM SCOTT, South Carolina JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico JOSHUA SHEINKMAN, Staff Director SAM E. FOWLER, Chief Counsel KAREN K. BILLUPS, Republican Staff Director PATRICK J. MCCORMICK III, Republican Chief Counsel (II) C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS Page Cantwell, Hon. Maria, U.S. Senator From Washington ....................................... 6 Jewell, Sally, Nominee To Be Secretary of the Department of the Interior ....... 8 Murkowski, Hon. Lisa, U.S. Senator From Alaska ............................................... 2 Murray, Hon. Patty, U.S. Senator From Washington .......................................... 4 Wyden, Hon. Ron, U.S. Senator From Oregon ...................................................... 1 APPENDIXES APPENDIX I Responses to additional questions .......................................................................... 53 APPENDIX II Additional material submitted for the record ........................................................ 103 (III) JEWELL NOMINATION THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m. in room SD–366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Ron Wyden, chair- man, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN, U.S. SENATOR FROM OREGON The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. This morning the committee meets to consider the nomination of Sally Jewell, to be the Secretary of the Interior. With authorities ranging from managing National Parks to off- shore oil and gas development, to protecting fish and wildlife, serv- ing as Secretary of Interior is almost like an extreme sport for multi-taskers. We will hear this morning from Sally Jewell, who knows a bit about multi-tasking from having been a petroleum en- gineer, a corporate CEO, a banker, and a conservationist. She will certainly need to draw on all of these experiences and more to tack- le the multiple responsibilities of Secretary of the Interior. Probably the biggest challenge Ms. Jewell faces will be striking the right balance between the Secretary’s dual roles of both con- serving and developing our resources. The tradeoffs, as we’ve talked about, are complicated because we Americans want to have it all. We want to have jobs and protect our scenic treasures and obviously that can be easier said than actually done. I also intend to discuss the fact that Americans now spend $646 billion a year on outdoor recreation, generating nearly $40 billion in Federal tax revenue. So the economics of public lands have changed in America. Recreation has become a big jobs engine. It will be good for our economy if it grows bigger. I think we all understand that jobs in America come from the private sector. If, through the Department, we can look to come up with innovative, fresh policies to set the climate for job growth and protecting our treasures, that will certainly be good for our country. As the former CEO of a nearly $2 billion outdoor equipment com- pany, Ms. Jewell’s experience makes her especially well positioned to address this issue of maximizing jobs created and revenues gen- erated for Federal taxpayers from recreation on public lands and the businesses that are supported. Finally, my home State of Oregon has no shortage of challenging resource issues. Whether it is managing the checkerboard pattern (1) 2 of our O and C lands to get the timber cut up while protecting our environmental values, addressing the intractable water conflicts in the Klamath Basin, or developing renewable energy in our forests or off the Oregon coast, there’s plenty to keep the Secretary of Inte- rior busy for the next 4 years. Now I realize the next Secretary of Interior cannot spend all her time focused solely on Oregon issues anymore than I can as chair- man of the committee. Certainly there are important national issues that must be addressed. These include ensuring taxpayers receive full value for resources produced from Federal lands, man- aging the renewable and natural gas energy boom to ensure it is done in an environmentally responsible fashion, and finding a long- term solution to provide resource dependent communities across the country a fair share of the revenue from Federal lands. On this last issue, our committee is going to be holding a hearing on the Secure Rural Schools Program fairly shortly. This program, one that I authored with our former colleague, Senator Larry Craig, has been a lifeline for timber dependent communities across our country. The funding expired last year. Cash-strapped commu- nities are facing deadlines later this spring to decide about retain- ing teachers, whether or not to close schools, what to do about law enforcement and roads, and so many other basic services. But I want to say as we look forward to that debate, that a short- term extension is not a long-term solution for these communities. We’ve got to get our people back to work in the woods, for example. We’ve got to make sure that we can increase the number of jobs in resource dependent communities where there’s Federal land and Federal water. We believe that can be done consistent with pro- tecting our environmental values. I certainly look forward to work- ing with colleagues of both parties on these kinds of approaches, a broader revenue sharing effort that can provide affected States and communities with a share of the money generated from re- source extraction from nearby Federal lands or Federal waters. So there are a host of challenges that await our next Secretary. I’m particularly pleased that Ms. Jewell is spending so much time talking to Senators, talking to experts in the field, and especially with this being a new position for Ms. Jewell, the fact that she is spending a lot of time talking to both elected officials of both polit- ical parties and experts in the field is very welcome. So, Ms. Jewell, let me yield to my Ranking Minority Member and friend, Senator Murkowski. But we’re all looking forward to hear- ing about your plans to tackle these and many other challenges and about your vision for the future of the Department. STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI, U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA Senator MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Jewell, welcome to the committee. Thank you for your will- ingness to serve. I echo the chairman’s comments about my appreciation for the time that you have spent visiting with so many of us, not only talk- ing, but listening. We all recognize that that is so key. That is so important. 3 I know that there are many questions. We’ve got a good round up here this morning in committee. So I will get right to the point in my opening comments here. For the past several weeks much of my time has been focused on a decision that came out of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Service. A decision that has really rattled me to the core, to put it very simply. That agency somehow found cause to oppose a sin- gle lane, ten mile gravel road, non commercial use, that would con- nect King Cove, Alaska to the all weather airport of Cold Bay. The reason that we need this very simple road is equally simple. It is for the safety of human life which is at risk. That road would give anyone that is injured or ill a much better chance of surviving, especially when the weather is far more severe than perhaps we might have seen in this region yesterday. Now, Ms. Jewell, we discussed this issue in person last week. So I’m not going to devote much of my time here today to that. But what I will say is that this issue should never reach your desk should you be confirmed. Secretary Salazar has stated that he has a moral obligation to uphold the trust responsibility for American Indians and Alaska natives. I know that in your written statement you provide that one of your top priorities is in upholding the sacred trust respon- sibilities to the Native American and the Alaska native commu- nities. Respect for the Aleuts must be balanced with respect for the refuge. It’s my expectation that Secretary Salazar will look into his heart. He will consider that moral obligation. He will make the right decision to allow that land exchange and the road to proceed. Until that happens King Cove will stand as a prime example of Federal over reach and the harm that it can cause. The reality is, is that nearly all of us, particularly those of us in the western States, we all have our own King Cove. We all have our own example of where we see that intrusion there.