More Bureaucratic Misconduct

Bob McDowell

Bob McDowell, Contributing Author: Previously on June 18, there was a story, buried in the ‘Business Section’, in the daily paper here in Tulsa that bore the headline "Judge raps delay on energy lease". It carried the by-line of Matthew Brown of the Associated Press. A sub-headline read "The area is held sacred by some Indian tribes". It also sported a three column wide by two inch high picture of a tank-car ‘unit train’ of BNSF (Birkshire Hathaway) "begin the ascent into Glacier National Park as they travel towards the Pacific Coast near Chester, Montana, in 2013"

What the picture of an oil tank car had to do with the story was beyond me, since the caption went on to state the "A federal judge is pressing U.S. officials to explain why it’s taken three decades to decide on a proposal to drill for natural gas outside Glacier National Park".

The second paragraph of the story addressed the meat of the issue, "A frustrated U.S. District Judge Richard Leon called the delay ‘troubling’ and a ‘nightmare’ during a recent court hearing. He ordered the Interior and Agriculture departments to report back to him with any other example of where they have ‘dragged their feet’ for so long."

Further on, the article detailed that the case was over a 6,200 acre oil and gas lease in Northwest Montana issued to a company of Baton Rouge, LA, which had been in suspension since the 1990s. The company had sued in 2013 to overturn the suspension so that they could begin drilling operations. The story relates that leaders of the Blackfoot tribe have asked Interior to cancel the leases which had been issued in 1982. Also, the Forest Service asked for the lease to be suspended in 1996 for a "historic preservation survey" which was finished in 2012.

Since the land in question is NOT on tribal reservation land but reportedly ‘considered to be sacred by them’ it begs the question: why they would have any standing to prevent the lease development? The beginning of operations would, of course, bring financial benefits to the area, as well as to the whole USA if natural gas is found. All this delay has resulted in enormous added cost to the plaintiff, and other existing lease holders still waiting. And, in the meantime, whatever gas production that could have been found has not been available for the benefit of ALL US citizens with increased production volume leading potentially to prices for home owners.

This is another example of the misconduct on the part of officials of the Departments of Energy and Interior in dealing with energy and companies. It must be noted that the added costs to them are ultimately paid by all of us in higher utility rates. This is especially true now that the Obama Administration through the EPA has mandated a major reduction in coal fired generating plants and conversion of others to natural gas. Gas is much more subject to variations in price during each year with the result fluctuating variable electric costs to all of us. Also, natural gas' heating value is much less per the cost, Thus its use for heating is more expensive.

Those misguided individuals who are pushing to convert from coal to gas for electric generation, and other industrial uses, will probably be long gone to whatever ‘reward’ awaits them by the time the gas is depleted, as it will be. So, it becomes a question of just what, and from whom, are their rewards of the here and now.

It appears to me that the present administration has an agenda, and it is to bring the US economy to its knees in order to bring about their ultimate goal of termination of the Constitutional Republic we have enjoyed for 239 years and implementation of a socialist dictatorship.

The solution to this last issue could well lie in the closing of the Departments of Energy, EPA, Interior, and Education. We have sixteen months to an election to place the right person in office who could lead in attaining that solution.
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Robert "Bob" McDowell, Jr. is a retired Professional Engineer and Geologist with over 50 years experience in creating drilling prospects, supervising drilling, well completion, production operation, and pipeline design for oil and gas including repair of problem wells. McDowell is a conservative activist and member of the Oklahoma Republican Assembly.

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