Joel Hefley: “I make no argument when the State of Virginia gets help cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, which we did not pollute, but I…”

“I make no argument when the State of Virginia gets help cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, which we did not pollute, but I think it is important that we clean it up. But he seems to be afraid that we are going to get something in the West that we should not have. This amendment mirrors the recommendations of a report delivered to the Subcommittee on Military Readiness in March. That report recommended the transfer and leasing of all three Navy oil shale reserves, the two involved in this amendment and one in Utah. The Energy Department endorsed transfer and leasing because it says in the report BLM management would yield a wide variety of economic and noneconomic benefits to the Nation. The amendment also retains the split, as we have already talked about. Let me explain why this is a good thing. First, it is the law. The Mineral Leasing Act provides an exemption for a revenue split on strategic properties, but the only time the subject has arisen under the Department of Energy involved NPR No. 4 in Alaska in the 1970's. After lawsuits and much negotiations, the two sides settled on the 50-50 split.”