SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 55

(By Senators Smith, Phillips, Clements, Jeffries, Martin, Swope, and Sypolt)

[Originating in the Committee on Energy, Industry, and Mining; reported on March 4, 2022]

Respectfully urging the current presidential administration to open federal lease sales onshore and offshore; supporting critical energy infrastructure to safely deliver energy produced in West Virginia; and ensuring American energy companies can access the capital they need to hire American workers.

Whereas, All West Virginia residents deserve access to affordable and reliable energy, whether electricity, natural gas, or transportation fuels, and

Whereas, West Virginians are currently dealing with the highest inflation in over 40 years, with energy costs rising 29 percent, and gasoline surging 50 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; and

Whereas, The current administration is pursuing a policy placing the United States at the mercy of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia to meet our domestic needs, harming our national and economic security; and

Whereas, Foreign oil imports from Russia surged more than 20 percent providing over $16 billion to Russia in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency; and

Whereas, The current administration has frozen federal lease sales for American energy resources onshore and offshore while cancelling critical energy infrastructure projects like the KeystoneXL pipeline which would have reduced our dependence on Russian oil imports; and

Whereas, The current administration is actively litigating against its obligations to issue lease sales on federal lands and waters required under federal law; and

Whereas, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has continually delayed important decisions on permits for pipelines across the country and has recently issued new harmful policy statements that could further delay and impede critical domestic energy infrastructure from being developed, depriving West Virginia access to energy markets outside of our state; and

Whereas, The Securities and Exchange Commission is designing rules to discourage investment in domestic oil and natural gas companies which may further impede production and opportunities for West Virginians; and

Whereas, The Environmental Protection Agency has not issued a decision on West Virginia’s application for Class VI primacy that would allow West Virginia to safely utilize long-term storage in conjunction with state energy development; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Legislature hereby respectfully urges the current Presidential Administration to open federal lease sales onshore and offshore, supporting critical energy infrastructure to safely deliver energy produced in West Virginia, and ensuring American energy companies can access the capital they need to hire American workers; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the White House National Climate Advisor, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation, and the news media of West Virginia.