[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 121 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 121

 Expressing the sense of Congress that as one of the world's important 
   wetland and coastal marine ecosystems, the Niger Delta should be 
    protected and its recovery and economic development a priority.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 27, 2012

  Mr. Rush (for himself and Mr. Fortenberry) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of Congress that as one of the world's important 
   wetland and coastal marine ecosystems, the Niger Delta should be 
    protected and its recovery and economic development a priority.

Whereas Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, its largest producer of oil and 
        its second largest economy, is a major source of United States oil 
        imports and a key ally in the region;
Whereas despite its extensive hydrocarbon resources, which account for 80 
        percent of government revenues, Nigeria faces serious social and 
        economic challenges, including extreme income inequality and high 
        unemployment rates;
Whereas Nigeria's economic growth rate is among the highest in Sub-Saharan 
        Africa, but its human development indicators remain low, with more than 
        half the population living on less than $1 a day;
Whereas the International Monetary Fund reports that progress on Nigerian 
        efforts to meet Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty has been 
        slow;
Whereas successive governments have pursued ambitious reforms since the 
        country's return to civilian rule and through such efforts Nigeria was 
        deemed compliant with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative 
        (EITI) in 2011;
Whereas Nigeria's southern Niger Delta region has been the backbone of Nigeria's 
        economy in recent decades, with oil and gas extraction there accounting 
        for over 95 percent of Nigeria's export earnings;
Whereas despite having the largest natural gas reserves in Africa, an estimated 
        one-third of Nigerian natural gas is burned during oil drilling due to a 
        lack of infrastructure, placing the country second in the world, after 
        Russia, in gas flaring, according to the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Association;
Whereas deadlines for oil companies to stop flaring gas at oil wells, estimated 
        at roughly one-third of annual production and $2,500,000,000 in lost 
        revenue, have repeatedly been postponed, most recently to December 2012;
Whereas the Niger Delta is well-endowed with other natural resources beyond 
        hydrocarbons, including water, timber and other forest resources, 
        wildlife, and various species of aquatic organisms, and the Niger Delta 
        is one of the world's largest wetlands;
Whereas oil production in the Delta has caused significant harm to the area's 
        fragile riverine ecosystem and to the livelihoods of the region's 
        inhabitants, 30,000,000 inhabitants, including minority ethnic groups 
        like Ogoni, who have received international attention for their efforts 
        to highlight the extensive environmental damage;
Whereas by some estimates, over 500,000,000 gallons of oil, nearly the 
        equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year for 50 years, have been 
        spilled in the Niger Delta since oil production began in Nigeria, 
        limiting locals' access to clean water and largely destroying fishing 
        stocks, while gas flares from the oil wells contribute to acid rain and 
        air pollution;
Whereas oil contamination in Ogoniland is widespread, according to a study 
        conducted by the United Nations Environment Program, with wells used for 
        drinking water measuring high levels of carcinogens;
Whereas for example of most immediate concern, community members at Nisisioken 
        Ogale in Ogoni land are drinking water from wells that are contaminated 
        with benzene, a known carcinogen, at levels over 900 times above the 
        World Health Organization (WHO) guideline;
Whereas the study determined that it may take 25 to 30 years to restore the 
        environment;
Whereas Nigeria's oil wealth has also contributed to long-standing political 
        tensions, protest, and criminality in the Delta, feeding recruitment by 
        various vigilante and armed groups and hindering both oil production and 
        regional development;
Whereas corruption and nonrespect for rule of law at multiple levels of 
        government, business, environmental oversight, and community relations, 
        is the number one cause that permeates the activities of the Niger Delta 
        that cause problems to remain unsolved, regardless of the verbal pledges 
        and recriminations that occur on an ongoing basis;
Whereas in 2009, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua extended an offer of amnesty 
        to Delta militants, pledging pardons and rehabilitation in exchange for 
        disarmament and demobilization, and, by Government of Nigeria estimates, 
        almost 20,200 self-declared militants accepted the offer and 
        demobilized, bringing relative calm to the region and allowing oil 
        output to increase;
Whereas the Presidential Amnesty and rehabilitation program, which includes job 
        training and social reintegration for ex-militants, offers a new 
        opportunity for peace in the restive region, provided that the 
        Government of Nigeria delivers on promised infrastructure improvements 
        and job creation;
Whereas the United States has been supportive of the Government of Nigeria's 
        reform initiatives, including not only the programs to promote peace and 
        development in the Niger Delta, but also anticorruption efforts, 
        economic and electoral reforms, and energy sector privatization; and
Whereas in 2010, the United States and Nigeria established the United States-
        Nigeria Binational Commission, a strategic dialogue to address issues of 
        mutual concern: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) as one of the world's important wetland and coastal 
        marine ecosystems, the Niger Delta should be protected and its 
        recovery and economic development a priority;
            (2) all the stakeholders in the Niger Delta oil and gas 
        industry, the Nigerian federal, state, and local governments, 
        oil and gas companies, and other private sector actors, civil 
        society, and the local community, including youth, women, and 
        faith-based leaders, with input from the United States 
        Government when requested, should work together to collectively 
        address the environmental impact of oil and gas production in 
        the Niger Delta by--
                    (A) urgently providing relief and assistance to 
                those affected by oil spills in the region;
                    (B) urgently ensuring that oil pollution is cleaned 
                up as a matter of urgency, in line with international 
                good practice, and subject to independent verification, 
                and take all necessary steps to prevent further oil 
                spills by equipment failure, sabotage, oil bunkering, 
                or illegal refining;
                    (C) enforcing zero tolerance policy on corruption;
                    (D) respecting and adhering to the rule of law as a 
                fundamental requirement of all players in regards to 
                operations, oversight and involvement in the 
                activities, governance, business, environmental 
                protection, and citizens' engagement and entitlements 
                with respect to the Niger Delta;
                    (E) ensuring robust, independent, and coordinated 
                monitoring of the petroleum industry;
                    (F) establishing a committee to monitor the 
                environmental and social impact of the oil industry, 
                hold regular sessions on the activities of 
                multinational companies in the Niger Delta, discuss any 
                impact of their practices, and make recommendations on 
                how to address them;
                    (G) promoting investments in the region that 
                contribute to job creation for the Delta's 
                underemployed youth and provide alternative livelihoods 
                for those affected by oil pollution;
                    (H) developing an effective and comprehensive plan 
                to prevent any further oil spills, in line with United 
                Nations Environment Program recommendations, that is 
                fully consistent with Nigeria's human rights' 
                obligations and in consultation with affected 
                communities and be implemented transparently with local 
                communities' full and active participation;
                    (I) developing an action plan to address illegal 
                oil trade, bunkering, and building a stronger Gulf of 
                Guinea Energy and Security Strategy (GGESS) to tackle 
                the cause, crime, and violence in the Niger Delta and 
                the entire region; and
                    (J) conducting a campaign to--
                            (i) end corruption and illegal oil related 
                        activities by including an awareness component 
                        highlighting the disproportionate environmental 
                        footprint of artisanal refining and design 
                        training, employment, and livelihood incentives 
                        that will encourage people away from 
                        participating in this illegal activity; and
                            (ii) educate the community on the public 
                        safety, risk, and danger in drinking 
                        contaminated water;
            (3) the international oil and gas companies with operations 
        in the Niger Delta region should--
                    (A) make a clear public commitment to addressing 
                pollution and its human rights' impacts, promptly, 
                transparently, and in consultation with key 
                stakeholders, particularly affected communities; and
                    (B) improve the control, maintenance, and 
                decommissioning of oilfield infrastructure and apply 
                industry best practices and international standards for 
                public safety;
            (4) the United States Government should--
                    (A) increase engagement with, and support of, the 
                Government of Nigeria to ensure independent oversight 
                of the oil industry and to increase access to effective 
                remedy for people whose rights are affected by oil 
                operations in the Niger Delta;
                    (B) increase engagement with, and support of, the 
                Government of Nigeria in improving access to effective 
                remedy for people whose rights are affected by oil 
                operations in the Niger Delta;
                    (C) assist the Government of Nigeria to implement 
                the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in depth 
                Ogoniland oil assessment report which provides clear 
                operational recommendations for addressing the 
                widespread oil pollution across Ogoniland; and
                    (D) assist the Government of Nigeria in tackling 
                illegal oil trade, bunkering, and building a stronger 
                Gulf of Guinea Energy and Security Strategy (GGESS); 
                and
            (5) the Government of Nigeria should--
                    (A) establish a Commission of Inquiry to 
                investigate companies' compliance with environmental 
                legislation and regulations in the Niger Delta, assess 
                actual losses, make recommendations for improving 
                compliance with Nigerian regulations, and report 
                publicly on all findings;
                    (B) ensure enforcement of the national and 
                international regulatory system and impose effective 
                penalties when regulations are not followed;
                    (C) ensure that Nigerian petroleum regulations 
                address the social and human rights' impacts of the oil 
                industry and include an assessment of the potential 
                impacts on human health, including access to clean 
                water and livelihoods, meaningful consultation with 
                communities, and greater transparency and access to 
                information for affected communities;
                    (D) amend laws on compensation to ensure that any 
                sums awarded are fair and adequate, and cover long-term 
                impacts, health issues, and all other reasonable 
                damages;
                    (E) amend the laws regulating the petroleum 
                industry to ensure that they address the social and 
                human rights' impacts of the industry, that they 
                include a mandatory assessment of the potential impacts 
                on human health and that environmental regulations are 
                clarified to enhance the remediation process;
                    (F) make public information about the impact of oil 
                operations on the environment and human rights, to 
                include companies' oil spill contingency plans, the 
                Niger Delta Environmental Survey, and all information 
                regarding oil spills, any environmental impact 
                assessments related to oil companies' infrastructure 
                and operations, the Environmental Evaluation Report, 
                and any post impact assessments;
                    (G) encourage the Nigerian Parliament to pass the 
                Petroleum Energy Bill that increases transparency, 
                establishes a fair sharing mechanism for oil and gas 
                revenues with federal, oil-producing countries, 
                protects the environment with better wetland 
                conservation, encourages the use of clean technology 
                equipment, allows diversification of energy production, 
                and builds the region's sustainable economy; and
                    (H) arrest and prosecute those involved in 
                corrupted, illegal, and oil bunkering activities and 
                artisanal refineries.
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