[Senate Hearing 116-369]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                   S. Hrg. 116-369

 THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2021

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                      ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                     ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             MARCH 10, 2020

                               __________
                               
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                       Printed for the use of the
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
        
                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
40-915                        WASHINGTON : 2021                     
          
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               COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

                    LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Chairman
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming               JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia
JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho                RON WYDEN, Oregon
MIKE LEE, Utah                       MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
STEVE DAINES, Montana                BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana              DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan
CORY GARDNER, Colorado               MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico
CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi        MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii
MARTHA McSALLY, Arizona              ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee           CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota

                      Brian Hughes, Staff Director
                     Kellie Donnelly, Chief Counsel
Lucy Murfitt, Deputy Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director of Natural 
                               Resources
            Nick Matiella, Senior Professional Staff Member
                 Renae Black, Democratic Staff Director
                Sam E. Fowler, Democratic Chief Counsel
                David Brooks, Democratic General Counsel
                     Darla Ripchensky, Chief Clerk
                            
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                   Page
Murkowski, Hon. Lisa, Chairman and a U.S. Senator from Alaska....     1
Manchin III, Hon. Joe, Ranking Member and a U.S. Senator from 
  West Virginia..................................................     3

                                WITNESS

Bernhardt, Hon. David, Secretary of the Interior.................     5

          ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

Bernhardt, Hon. David:
    Opening Statement............................................     5
    Written Testimony............................................     7
    Responses to Questions for the Record........................    48
Hirono, Hon. Mazie K.:
    Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-
      to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance: FINAL Environmental Impact 
      Statement prepared jointly by the U.S. Department of the 
      Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Washington State 
      Department of Ecology, dated 3/2019........................    33
Manchin III, Hon. Joe:
    Opening Statement............................................     3
McSally, Hon. Martha:
    Letter from the Arizona Delegation to Secretary Bernhardt and 
      Commissioner Burman dated 1/29/2020........................    14
    Letter from Arizona Irrigation Districts dated 3/6/2020......    18
Murkowski, Hon. Lisa:
    Opening Statement............................................     1

 
 THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2021

                              ----------                              


                        TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020

                                       U.S. Senate,
                 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m. in 
Room SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Lisa 
Murkowski, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.

           OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI,
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA

    The Chairman. Good morning, the Committee will come to 
order.
    There are not too many of us here this morning in the 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It is kind of a foul 
day. Mr. Secretary, I am sorry that you are coming before the 
Committee this morning when we thought that we were going to 
have some relatively good news for your Department and the 
Department of Energy because we would be moving forward with a 
package of energy-related bills that we have been working on 
for well over a year, in many cases, for years. Equities from 
some 70 different Members of the Senate, and we are stalled out 
right now. We are not done, but we are certainly stalled out 
not because of the good, strong work the people on this 
Committee have not participated in, but because of matters 
completely unrelated to the jurisdiction of this Committee, 
completely unrelated to anything that we had been working on 
prior to it, so we are stalled out right now.
    As a Committee Chairman, it makes me wonder why we work so 
hard around here to try to incorporate the good works of so 
many if the purpose is going to be to just tank good Committee 
work. So I am not in a particularly good mood, but my mood 
should not have anything to do with your responsibility as the 
Secretary of the Department of the Interior and all that you 
are seeking to do, but I do know that the work of the Congress, 
the work that we can do helps you do your job much, much more 
efficiently and better. It is incumbent upon us to update our 
policies working with the Administration to make sure that you 
have the tools that you need so you can best proceed.
    Whether it is initiatives like we are trying to advance 
with our American Minerals Security Act that can help agencies 
like USGS do more, know that we are going to continue to focus 
our efforts as we work through this process that has come to an 
unfortunate pause right now.
    I want to welcome you back to the Committee. It was just 
about a year ago, I think, that you were sitting here in the 
same chair for your confirmation hearing. I am glad that you 
have been in this place now for a year. I am glad that we were 
able to give you a Deputy Secretary, Kate MacGregor. I think 
you have some good folks working over there.
    You know that in Alaska, we look very closely and 
critically at what comes out of Department of the Interior 
because in many ways we have to be working hand in glove with 
you as a state that has such significant lands under federal 
management. Whether we are talking about lifting public land 
orders, activities on NPRA, access for the good people in King 
Cove, we do a lot with you and we appreciate that good work.
    To the budget for FY 2021, the Administration has requested 
$12.8 billion for the Department. That is a reduction of about 
$2 billion, or 16 percent, from last year's enacted. And while 
this year's request is not perfect, and I am sure you will hear 
from colleagues here this morning, I do acknowledge some real 
positives within it.
    For starters, the budget highlights the Dingell Act, our 
seminal public lands package that became law just about a year 
ago now that was good work from this Committee and it was 
recognized as such. Again, we want to try to do more of that, 
but the Dingell Act has done well, the steps to promote access 
for hunting, fishing, recreational shooting activities on 
public lands, the new economic development opportunities for 
states and local governments that advances at the same time 
measured and responsibly and locally supported conservation. 
Some of these things are very specific to Alaska, so I will ask 
in my questions to you this morning more directly about the 
Department's implementation.
    The budget request also maintains our shared commitment to 
an all-of-the-above energy strategy by investing in renewable 
energy development, promoting hydropower, wind, geothermal and 
solar energy on federal lands and waters. That is why we have 
to get an energy bill through because these initiatives that 
you are working on will be bolstered by updated policies. It 
also continues the oil and gas development program in Alaska's 
1002 Area in the non-wilderness portion of ANWR. We are looking 
forward to a successful lease sale this year.
    I am also grateful that the budget mentions the maintenance 
needs of the Denali Park Road in Denali National Park. This is, 
in my view, a clear definition of critical infrastructure. As 
you know, there is only one way in. There is only one way into 
that park and, right now, this road is compromised. We had an 
opportunity to talk about this last week when you were before 
my Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. I said it there. I 
will say it again that a longer-term solution to keep that road 
open and safe is really what we need.
    This budget proposal also invests in wildland fire programs 
including a new initiative to build a better wildland 
firefighting workforce that is designed to help implement 
active forest management activities, including hazardous fuel 
reduction and fire breaks to reduce wildfire risk and severity. 
I am looking forward to more discussion about this proposal. We 
had a tough year, as you know, in Alaska with last year's fire 
season. More than 2.5 million acres burned. It was the most 
expensive fire in the country--it burned for nearly four months 
and started on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in an area 
that has seen serious bark beetle infestation. We expect this 
same area will again be active landscape this fire season, so I 
am very concerned about the cuts proposed to programs that 
support state and tribal partnerships such as wildlife 
management and collaborative landscape conservation. I think 
these partnerships are important to address not only the beetle 
outbreak but also the issues related to vegetation management.
    I also think we should be looking at extending Good 
Neighbor Authority to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service so 
that we can partner more effectively in places like the Kenai. 
We know that wildfires don't know any boundaries there, so that 
is something that I would like to discuss with you.
    Last point is the cuts, the deep cuts, for USGS in their 
natural hazards program, particularly the earthquake and 
volcano hazards program. Senator Cantwell and I have worked in 
these areas for some time. It is certainly critical to Alaska. 
Again, 2019 was a standout year for seismicity in Alaska. The 
Anchorage Earthquake in 2018 is still very much on the minds of 
folks. There was an earthquake, a smaller one, over the 
weekend, but it just reminds you. When it comes to volcanoes, 
we started 2020 with an eruption at Shishaldin. We think that, 
I can't even pronounce them, Semisopochnoi--whatever, they 
always name these volcanoes really interesting names, usually 
Russian names, I believe--but we are seeing recent eruptions 
there as well. So I want to talk to you about that.
    I am pleased the budget bolsters reforms to the 
Department's workplace culture and anti-harassment programs at 
the Department of Ethics Office in the Office of Solicitor 
received a plus-up in training and staffing and it looks like 
some of these misconduct complaints are on the decline. That is 
important for you. I certainly would encourage you in those 
efforts. We have had a conversation about this and I think we 
all agreed that employee misconduct of any kind, any 
department, but certainly under your leadership there at 
Interior.
    With that, I will close my comments and turn to Senator 
Manchin for his so that we can get to members' questions and 
concerns. But again, Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here 
this morning and I look forward to the discussion.

              STATEMENT OF HON. JOE MANCHIN III, 
                U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA

    Senator Manchin. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and thank you, 
Secretary Bernhardt, for being here and I second what she said 
at the beginning. We are all a little bit challenged right now, 
but we will get through it. We have a lot of work to do.
    It is really a pleasure to welcome you to your first budget 
hearing before the Committee as Secretary of the Department of 
the Interior. You are not a stranger here to these types of 
hearings, but in your role that you have now, it is a first. I 
want to thank you for visiting Canaan Valley National Wildlife 
Refuge in Tucker County last year. We are getting ready to open 
a new visitor's center and it is going to be great, and we 
appreciate all you have done.
    The Department of the Interior has a huge amount of 
responsibility and a broad mission, whether it is preserving 
public lands for the enjoyment and inspiration of future 
generations, processing permits for the privilege of energy 
production on federal lands or ensuring that the U.S. 
Geological Survey can conduct its critical work for collecting 
and analyzing data on our changing climate. Like Chair 
Murkowski, I am both an authorizer and an appropriator, and I 
believe it is vital that your Department has the necessary 
funds to deliver the proper customer experience to our great 
nation. Unfortunately, I think that a 16 percent decrease in 
your budget would have some really dire consequences.
    For example, one of my top priorities, as you know, is 
making sure that the Federal Government makes good on its 
promises to coal country. Last year, Congress passed the bill 
that I worked on and so many of you all were so helpful and co-
sponsors on, the bipartisan Miners Act, to protect the 
healthcare and pension benefits for the United Mine Workers of 
America. However, to date, Mr. Secretary, the Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has yet to complete the 
transfer of benefits to the United Mine Workers Pension Fund. 
We have been waiting and we have been hearing it is supposed to 
be coming, but it has never happened.
    This budget also proposes, again, to eliminate the 
Abandoned Mine Land Pilot Program and that is so important to 
those of us in West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. We 
have utilized those grants from the program to eliminate the 
hazards and reclaim areas for future economic benefit. To see 
the elimination of this program which creates jobs and promotes 
prosperity is really disappointing, and it is going to be 
harmful for those areas.
    We are working on legislation that would help grow our 
outdoor recreation economy and establish West Virginia's first 
National Park and Preserve at the New River Gorge in Fayette 
and Raleigh Counties. West Virginia's outdoor recreation 
generates an estimated $9 billion in spending and supports over 
90,000 jobs. I look forward to continue working with you, Mr. 
Secretary, and the National Park Service to get the division of 
park and preserve right, and to get this bill enacted.
    I also need to call attention to the incredible opportunity 
that we have before us both to provide permanent, mandatory 
funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, or LWCF as we 
know it, at its fully authorized level of $900 million and 
address the deferred maintenance backlog of our federal land 
management agencies and the Bureau of Indian Education. I was 
proud to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
introduce the Great American Outdoors Act yesterday, a bill to 
accomplish both of these goals. I was very happy to see the 
President express support for this package last week as well 
and appreciate the recent departure from the position the 
Administration took when drafting their budget proposal. So 
it's a complete turnaround, and we are very appreciative of 
that.
    The day after we secured permanent authorization of LWCF 
last year, I went to work with all my colleagues to secure 
permanent, mandatory, full funding. LWCF funds have helped to 
protect federal areas designated by Congress for the national 
significance like national parks while also providing important 
financial assistance for many non-federal programs like state 
and local parks and state and local protection of historic 
battlefields. For the last 55 years, the LWCF has been the 
primary conservation tool, helping provide access for hunting, 
fishing and recreational use of public lands in every state, 
every territory. Almost every county in every state has 
benefited from it. We now have a historic opportunity to ensure 
this access is secure for many generations to come.
    The Great American Outdoors Act also includes $9.5 billion 
to address deferred maintenance on our public lands. The 
infrastructure projects that will be funded through this bill 
are critical to protecting many of our national treasures and 
will provide a significant benefit to the outdoor recreation 
economy. This is a necessary step for us to be good stewards of 
the taxpayer's land. This bill is a shining example of 
bipartisan work for both Democrats and Republicans coming 
together to put politics aside to do what is best for 
conserving the natural resources of this great nation. I am 
confident with the strong bipartisan support behind us that the 
Senate will be able to quickly pass the bill, and hopefully the 
House will be able to join us in sending this bill to the 
President.
    With that, Secretary Bernhardt, thank you for joining us 
today and for all the Department of the Interior and for our 
country and what all you do. I look forward to hearing from 
you.
    The Chairman. With that, we turn to you, Mr. Secretary. We 
appreciate, again, you being here. Your full statement will be 
incorporated as part of the record this morning, but please, 
present on behalf of the Administration.

              STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID BERNHARDT, 
                   SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, Chairman Murkowski, Ranking 
Member Manchin and members of the Committee, thank you for 
inviting me here today to discuss the 2021 budget request for 
the Department of the Interior. Before I turn to the budget 
proposal, I do want to note that as Senator Manchin said in his 
opening remarks, last week President Trump called upon Congress 
to send him a bill that fully and permanently funds the Land 
and Water Conservation Fund and restores our national parks. 
And I guess you took that step to do that yesterday.
    President Trump is the first President to seek mandatory 
funding for both of these items from Congress in the entire 
171-year history of the Department of the Interior. The 
enactment of such legislation would be historic and members on 
this Committee have, on both sides of the aisle, been working 
for this effort for a very long time. I believe the President's 
support is extremely significant in getting this across the 
goal line. In the time that I have led Interior it has been 
clear to me that the President takes in a lot of information 
when he makes a decision and once he makes a decision, he wants 
to see it through. He's willing to lean in to the face of 
headwinds, and I look forward to working with all of you to get 
it done.
    Turning to the matters at hand at today's hearing, I would 
like to begin by thanking the Committee and, frankly, its 
staff, for working with the Department over the last year to 
expeditiously confirm several of our nominees. That is deeply 
appreciated. Assistant Secretary Susan Combs, Assistant 
Secretary Rob Wallace, Solicitor Dan Jorjani, Inspector General 
Mark Greenblatt and Deputy Secretary Kate MacGregor. We thank 
you for your time and effort in doing that. In addition, I look 
forward to the confirmation of our Director of the Office of 
Surface Mining soon.
    As the Committee knows well, the Department's mission 
affects Americans across the country, and its mission delivery 
creates economic benefits both in terms of direct investment 
and facilitating private sector activities and contributions. 
The President has been clear in his direction and priorities, 
and he's set ambitious goals for challenging agencies to 
deliver results. Our 2021 budget will allow us to continue 
advancing the President's priorities. Overall, the budget for 
the Department totals $12.8 billion in current authority. We 
would also continue to have access to an additional $310 
million in the event of our wildfire season escalating, and we 
also anticipate that we have about $7.5 billion in additional 
permanent authority.
    In 2021 we are proposing several targeted investments to 
advance specific objectives, and I'd like to talk to you about 
a few of those. First, we have proposed in our budget an effort 
to strengthen the Department's wildfire program. We propose to 
transform our firefighting force, and we have an additional $50 
million in to add career firefighters. This would complement an 
effort I've already connected which was to extend our part-time 
firefighters' hours. The reality is, irrespective of where you 
are in the political spectrum, you should be able to agree that 
we are fighting more fires for a longer period of time and, 
frankly, we need to treat more fire, do more preventive 
treatment. That requires us to rethink our workforce and I 
think I've put in a good proposal to do that. And that's 
something very significant.
    We also are continuing in our efforts to implement the John 
D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, 
and we have some investments in there that I think are worth 
your consideration. And finally, and importantly, I'd like to 
emphasize that you really think robustly about the investment 
you're making in the Inspector General's Office. The return on 
investment of investing in the Inspector General's Office is 
something that is quite significant since we're protecting 
taxpayer dollars, and I would encourage you to think robustly 
about that office.
    I've also learned in my year that the President proposes 
and Congress completely disposes of the budget. So with that, I 
will conclude my statement and be happy to answer any of your 
questions.
    [The prepared statement of Secretary Bernhardt follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. We appreciate that.
    I wanted to start with the fire crews, your proposal to 
bring on about 342 full-time, wildland firefighters. I think we 
all recognize the impact that we are seeing as it relates to 
these wildfires and our efforts to contain them. We have had 
for years very significant fire crews that come out of our 
smaller villages, and we call them the Alaska Native Village 
Fire Crews. They have been hired by BLM each year. Ten years 
ago, BLM would hire about 70 crews. Today we have less than 15. 
This is an issue that we have been trying to work through with 
BLM.
    I understand that they are looking to contract out the 
process of hiring Alaska natives to the tribal governments, but 
the benefit that these native crews bring is they live in these 
areas. These are tough, as you know, you were out in the middle 
of nowhere. And so, when you have people who are very familiar 
with the areas and the land, they bring assets to the fight 
that, perhaps, others might not be able to. Do you know whether 
the hiring of these, of more permanent fire crews, makes it 
possible to restore the village crews like we have seen in 
prior years? It is something that I would like to better 
understand. If you don't have that answer today, I would like 
to visit with you about it.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So, I--let me give you my perspective 
overall. When I looked, when I began looking at our seasonal 
workforce challenges, I started with the reality that it takes 
us longer to hire seasonals than it should. And part of that is 
background and security issues. But in looking to streamline 
that, when I looked at firefighting hours, what I realized is 
we often hold seasonal hours to the end of the fire season and 
that's historically been done because they're worried about 
running out of hours.
    And so, what we did is we went to OPM and expanded our 
hours. So our proposal, in total, between the additional career 
folks which would free up some of our seasonal hiring by moving 
them up and then giving them some long-term security and then 
expanding hours, I would get over 700,000 additional man hours 
with this proposal which is a tremendous bang for the buck. And 
my goal is that we get seasonal firefighting down to 30 days. 
It typically takes 84. And in an economy like this, it's very 
hard to tell somebody to wait 84 days to get a job, right?
    And so, my view is that we try the test pilot. We got to 
about 32. So I really believe we can get under 30 and we 
should, we need to speed up. We were getting beat two years by 
the Forest Service, and I don't want to get beat by them on 
anything in terms of hiring and recruiting people. So we are 
really trying to up our game and what that will ultimately 
result in is more effective hiring and not a diminution on the 
number of seasonals but by having careers, our career 
leadership, more robust, I think we'll be able to move more 
quickly each year.
    The Chairman. Well, know that I want to work with you and 
the folks at BLM----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Would love to.
    The Chairman. ----on this very specific to the village 
crews.
    I mentioned in my comments the Denali Park Road, the 
landslide area at Polychrome Pass is getting tougher and 
tougher every year. The Park Service patches it up every year 
at the start of the season. They are already in the midst of 
that now. But I think we recognize this is a longer-term fix. 
We know it will be an expensive fix, but this is, outside of 
seeing glaciers and hoping to see a moose or a bear, what every 
tourist who comes to Alaska wants to see is to be able to see 
Denali and its limited access through the bus. But if we don't 
have a road in, these many thousands, millions, of people who 
come are going to be disappointed. We don't want them in an 
unsafe situation though.
    We had a chance to talk about this last week, but can you 
tell me when we might expect to see the proposal implemented? I 
am just curious about a timeline. We didn't really discuss 
this.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So the Park Service and the Highway 
Administration have told me that I can expect to receive 
options later this spring from a technical perspective. And 
then, as soon as I look into them I will get up here. I 
understand the need for a solution. I've stood on that road and 
looked at McKinley, so I'm there.
    The Chairman. We call it Denali.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Denali.
    The Chairman. That is okay. But I appreciate that, and I 
will look forward to walking through those alternatives with 
you.
    Senator Manchin.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and Mr. 
Secretary as I mentioned before on the transfer, first I want 
to thank all of us and everybody in your office, everybody else 
working with the pension, for the miners pension and----
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I was told before I walked in here 
that we were completely on time. So if we are not, I will deal 
with that as soon as I get back to the office.
    Senator Manchin. Yes and I am sure, I don't know----
    Secretary Bernhardt. It's a big deal for me to be on time 
on that one.
    Senator Manchin. I appreciate that because it is the '74 
fund it was going into.
    Secretary Bernhardt. I know.
    Senator Manchin. I don't know what has happened there, but 
we, as of last night, right? We didn't have it last night? As 
of last night, we knew the transfer was not made. No problem. I 
know you will get on it.
    The other thing, according to the Energy Information 
Administration, EIA, 468 million cubic feet, or MCF, of natural 
gas was vented and flared in the United States in 2018. That is 
a sharp increase from the 281 MCF in 2017 that was vented. The 
trend toward large increases is truly alarming, and we have 
said this before, it is past time to get serious about finding 
solutions for abating methane flaring not only because of the 
climate implications but also taxpayers are getting 
shortchanged. That product should be going to market. When an 
oil and gas operator on public land vents or flares methane, it 
does not go to the market. It goes up in the air.
    I don't know if you have had an opportunity or someone has 
brought this to your attention to review the amount of flaring 
that is going on on public lands. I know in the private sector, 
technology is there to capture it, they got more pressure put 
on it and anything we can do to assist and help, if you need 
legislation, let us know. But on this, we must curtail that. It 
is just unbelievable how much is going up into the atmosphere. 
So we lose twice. Taxpayers lose basically on the climate, and 
then we lose on the revenue. I don't know if you have anything 
on that you want to add.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, you know, we put out a rule. The 
rule is being litigated. I think I've seen a number of states 
making changes, New Mexico. Colorado has a good regulatory 
mechanism. I will tell you that if we were told to implement 
the prior rule today, I will be very upfront with you, I don't 
think we have the expertise at BLM to do the air quality work 
that really would be responsible. So if that's a pathway we go 
on, I think we need to rethink----
    Senator Manchin. Okay.
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----what we do with our own 
authorities and----
    Senator Manchin. Can we sit down with you then, maybe, as 
far, maybe----
    Secretary Bernhardt. I'm happy to----
    Senator Manchin. ----both sides of our Committees can sit 
down?
    Secretary Bernhardt. I know it's something you're 
passionate about, and I'm happy to visit with you and work with 
you on it.
    Senator Manchin. Okay. We will work with you on that.
    Finally, I would like to hear what sort of steps you are 
taking in preparing for the current COVID-19, Coronavirus. You 
have about 70,000 employees, 2,400 locations in all 50 states 
and territories, so tell me what you are thinking.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So let me give you a perspective, and 
I don't want to take more than your two minutes, but let me put 
this in perspective for you from my personal perspective. I was 
in the Secretary of the Interior's office looking out the 
window as the smoke billowed out of the Pentagon on 9/11. On 
that moment I--my life changed in a significant way. I became 
very understanding of continuity of operations. I became very 
understanding of continuity of operation plans and our 
emergency support functions.
    And one of the things I'm very proud about at the 
Department of the Interior is our employees have always stepped 
up in a variety of crises from that moment to pretty much every 
natural disaster where there's been an emergency. And at the 
Department we have a pandemic plan and just like with any other 
event, as this is unfolded, we've pulled out the plan. We're 
part of the emergency support functions. I have folks 
volunteering for certain duties. And on a really positive note, 
from my perspective, when I look at our Interior 
responsibilities, my first concern was our, the children we 
have in our school system, okay. The good news, the good news 
with this particular event compared to say, swine flu or some 
other things, is it looks like things are pretty good for 
children, honestly. There hasn't been a fatality, I believe 
worldwide, in anybody under 10 and I think only one under 20 
that they've identified. That's pretty significant for us given 
the populations that we serve.
    We also, in the Park Service, have the Office of Public 
Health which is longstanding, but is there and very positive. 
So here's what we've done. And I've participated in multi-
agency calls, but I appointed the Deputy Secretary to look at 
our pandemic plan and update it. I directed the bureaus to get 
on with looking at it and updating it, and we've already taken 
a whole series of steps and will continue to. I'm briefed daily 
on these matters, and we're taking it extremely seriously as we 
work through particular issues.
    So far, we've not had anyone in the Department that has 
contracted this illness. We have had, I believe, one employee 
that was on a cruise ship that is, you know, obviously on a 
cruise ship. But other than that, you know, when I look at it 
from a school perspective, we're watching what local 
governments are doing. We have set up protocols for our own 
schools for our children. We've set up protocols for our 
employees. We're trying to communicate aggressively with the 
employees to keep them updated so things----
    Senator Manchin. Let me ask you this question very quick, 
I'm so sorry, but visitations. Have you seen visitations dip 
down?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I visited with the Park Service 
yesterday precisely on that.
    Senator Manchin. Yes.
    Secretary Bernhardt. And you know, we receive a number of 
visitations from Asia, but we have not seen a dip in that 
because of the time of year we're in. It's, there's, you know, 
there's still snow in Yellowstone, for example. And so, we 
haven't seen that, you know, I've worried, not worried, but 
I've asked about that in terms of visitation, in terms of 
concessioners, in terms of our recreation fees, and so far 
there's no significant dip. There may be. We'll deal with it.
    We also have responsibilities in the territories and we've 
been talking to those folks and I've personally talked to some 
of them. Tourism is a big factor in some of the economies in 
the territories. So there they're seeing a drop in hotel 
reservations, things like that. So we're trying to figure out 
the pathway forward. Look, the President has made this a 
priority. He's focused the Vice President on it. He's 
certainly, I think, we'll be up, folks will be up here today 
talking about the economic side, but at the Department of the 
Interior I think that we've handled it in a way that we would a 
normal situation, an event, and we're managing it, 
appropriately.
    Senator Manchin. I want to thank you, and Mr. Wallace on 
Pearl Harbor, getting on that one and making us a little bit 
more proud than what we had been, what we saw, but you all have 
gotten on it and I appreciate that very much.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Copy that, sir.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Senator McSally.
    Senator McSally. Thank you, Chairwoman. Secretary 
Bernhardt, good to see you again. I look forward to hosting you 
in Arizona.
    One of the most pressing water issues in Arizona is the 
implementation of the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan 
(DCP). Last year, as you know, I led the bipartisan effort here 
in the Senate with 14 Senators from all the states to pass this 
into law in six days, got it through the House as well. That, 
you could say, was the easy part. We all knew that implementing 
the deal would be tough. The Federal Government's commitment 
during the negotiation phase to contribute toward the cost of 
DCP well construction in Pinal County was clear and 
unambiguous. In fact, the Arizona delegation was successful in 
securing $20 million in the Bureau of Reclamation's FY20 budget 
to be used specifically for this purpose.
    I would like to submit a letter for the record dated 
January 29th from all 11 members of the Arizona delegation that 
we sent to you and Commissioner Burman outlining the 
justification we had for securing that money and making clear 
that the intent of Congress was for it to be used for 
Reclamation DCP well construction. So, without objection, Madam 
Chair, can we put this in the record?
    The Chairman. It will be included.
    Senator McSally. Thank you.
    [Letter from the Arizona Delegation follows.]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator McSally. And while we have not received a written 
response, Commissioner Burman has informed me that the Bureau 
does not believe it has the legal authority to contribute to 
this project in the manner that Congress directed it to. So I 
now have a second letter here, dated March 6th, addressed to my 
office from five central Arizona irrigation districts, outlines 
the various statutory authorities that BOR has to lawfully 
contribute to the funding that we put in the Appropriations 
bill. This letter has been transmitted to your staff and 
Reclamation, so I would like that put in the record as well.
    [Letter from Arizona Irrigation Districts follows.]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator McSally. Can I get a formal review and a timely 
review of these letters and these authorities?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Absolutely.
    Senator McSally. Thank you.
    And if upon the review the Bureau finds it does have the 
authority to spend the money as we thought we directed in the 
Appropriations bill for FY20, can I get your commitment that 
the Bureau of Reclamation will follow through and contribute 
its share of funding to the DCP implementation?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I'll certainly promise to give it a 
hard look, and I'll get back to you on it, absolutely.
    Senator McSally. Great, thank you, I appreciate it.
    Next, I want to turn to the Hualapai Water Settlement. This 
is another really important element of water security in 
Arizona. Settling these claims legislatively instead of through 
the courts fosters a more cooperative, equitable and good 
outcome to all stakeholders, including the tribes, the 
communities, the state and everybody involved. So my bill, S. 
1277, is the Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 
2019. It is many years in the making, a comprehensive 
compromise between the Hualapai Tribe, multiple state parties 
to guarantee 4,000 acre-feet of water to the tribe and settle 
the remaining claims with the state and Federal Government.
    There was a lot of effort that went into this by the 
stakeholders and the state. The water rights and associated 
infrastructure promised in the bill are really essential to the 
health and economic well-being of the tribe as well as the 
water security for Mohave County and the state. The agreement 
is the result of many years of negotiations, as I mentioned. 
All parties within Arizona are on board which, as you know, is 
very difficult, very difficult to achieve with these 
settlements. The only party not on board is not a constituent, 
that is the Department of the Interior. Unfortunately, the 
water folks at DOI have had their heels dug in on this for 
several years, and we haven't been able to budge them at all. 
So something has got to give. We have to get this settlement 
done. What needs to happen to get the Department of the 
Interior on board to break the logjam to move this thing 
forward?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I have a lot of experience with 
Indian water right settlements and a long history for them, 
generally. I'll have to look at that, specifically.
    Senator McSally. Okay.
    Secretary Bernhardt. But what I will tell you is I will 
assign a counselor to look at it and then as soon as I get back 
to the Department, and we'll have an answer soon.
    Senator McSally. Great, thank you. I appreciate it. I feel 
like we are stuck, you know, where we all agree that this is, 
kind of, the best path forward and we just have individuals 
stuck saying that is not a path forward. And so, something 
needs to----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Yeah.
    Senator McSally. Thank you, I appreciate it.
    Okay, my last question here. Last year when you were here, 
we talked about the Grand Canyon and the importance of getting 
permanent leadership there. Not just because of how important 
that is for our tourism nationally, but they have a $300 
million backlog of infrastructure issues. They have a sexual 
harassment problem there, and last time we talked----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Yup.
    Senator McSally. ----you said we would have someone in May. 
We sent a follow-up letter, and then it was September. Now here 
we are a year later and still no superintendent, so.
    Secretary Bernhardt. That is, to be very honest with you, 
that is one of my biggest disappointments since being 
Secretary. We advertised that position multiple times and 
frankly, I think, it's one of the best positions in the United 
States Government. We had, and this is a challenge with hiring, 
we had a couple people who went all the way through the process 
and ultimately decided they didn't want the job. I want you to 
know that although for personnel reasons I can't announce a 
name, I've instructed the ERB to direct, assign a person who is 
phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.
    Senator McSally. Okay.
    Secretary Bernhardt. When he is or she is announced, you 
will be blown away. And so, it's somebody that I have a lot of 
confidence in, and they'll be there. We'll make an 
announcement, I would say, within three weeks.
    Senator McSally. Okay, so the timing of them being there 
will be shortly after that?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Fast, fast.
    Senator McSally. Okay, great, thank you. I am over my time, 
appreciate it.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Wyden.
    Senator Wyden. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mr. Secretary, in January 2018 then-Secretary Zinke 
proposed opening up nearly the entire U.S. coastline for 
offshore oil and gas drilling. Now Oregonians from across my 
state, especially those on the Oregon coast, whose livelihoods 
depend on oceans and beaches free from spilt oil and tar balls 
resulting from a drilling disaster lined up in overwhelming 
opposition to this plan. The outcry was so enormous, the Oregon 
legislature permanently banned all oil and gas drilling in our 
state's marine waters. And suffice it to say, there have been 
similar responses from other states.
    Now since you have taken over as Secretary, I have been 
trying to define what your plans are with respect to offshore 
drilling. So what I would like to see if we could do is if you 
could give me a yes or no answer to, I think, a straightforward 
question. On your watch, your watch, does the Interior 
Department plan to open up any additional coastline for 
offshore oil and gas drilling and I would like a yes or no 
answer. If you want to give some additional explanation after 
that, I have time and go ahead, but I would like first, a yes 
or no answer, on your watch does the Department plan to do 
anymore offshore oil drilling?
    Secretary Bernhardt. On my watch, the Department has not 
proposed to draft a proposed plan, but when they do, we'll let 
you know what it is.
    Senator Wyden. So let the record show you were asked 
specifically whether or not you plan on your watch to 
greenlight any more additional offshore coastline drilling for 
oil and gas, simple question, and your answer is essentially, 
well, maybe we will have a draft and maybe when we have a----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Let me be very clear.
    Senator Wyden. Sir, I've got the floor.
    Secretary Bernhardt. We don't need a five-year plan until 
2022, and we'll get one done on time. And when I'm following a 
Ninth Circuit case, when I see where that case is headed, I'll 
develop a plan. And that plan, at this time, has no vision of 
going one way or another. I don't know what the plan will be.
    Senator Wyden. Well----
    Secretary Bernhardt. When I see the case, I'll make a 
decision.
    Senator Wyden. Again, I asked for a straightforward answer 
on a question that, frankly, people all over the West, and 
particularly those on the coast who depend on recreation for 
their livelihood, they give people like me an election 
certificate to get some straight talk, some straight talk and 
now we have all kinds of things with court decisions and draft 
plans.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Let me be very clear.
    Senator Wyden. I'll hold, I'll hold the record open----
    Secretary Bernhardt. The beauty of OCSLA----
    Senator Wyden. I've got the----
    Secretary Bernhardt. The beauty of OCSLA is that----
    The Chairman. [Several taps of the gavel]
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----it requires both gubernatorial and 
public participation, and we will make sure you get that chance 
to comment.
    The Chairman. Senator Wyden, I think you got your answer. I 
think the Secretary said that there is no plan right now and 
that when one is available you will receive it.
    Senator Wyden. I still have additional time. Respectfully, 
Madam Chair--and we have worked together often, as Chair and 
Ranking Member--I didn't get that answer. I got an answer that 
down the road there will be various kinds of processes and 
maybe we will hear something and then at the end, I think you 
summed it up. I haven't decided yes or no.
    I can tell you people that I represent care passionately 
about this. That is why they went to the Oregon Legislature to 
control their own state waters, and I hope that you will give 
us additional clarity in the days ahead.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chairman. Senator Gardner.
    Senator Gardner. Thank you, Madam Chair, and Secretary 
Bernhardt, I commend you on, as a Coloradan, staying calm while 
an Arizonan asked you a water question. So good job, thank you 
for that.
    Secretary Bernhardt, I just want to start by saying thank 
you. Thank you for your comments at the beginning of the 
hearing on the Land and Water Conservation Fund as well as the 
Restore Our Parks Act and for the President's support of this. 
This is a historic opportunity for this country in 
conservation, environmental protections, so thank you for that 
and I look forward to this chamber's bipartisan passage as 
quickly as possible on that and getting it to the President's 
desk to fulfill that commitment. Thank you for that.
    Thank you as well for resolving the Anvil Points issue in 
Colorado. Thank you as well for the Arkansas Valley Conduit. 
This is, if you look at the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a 
bill that passed in 1965, now we are going to be able to fully 
fund, permanently fund a program built in 1965. If you look at 
the Arkansas Valley Conduit, 1962 when President Kennedy made 
that promise, now we are beginning to fulfill that promise. So 
it has been decades in the makings for many of these things 
that you have been able to succeed with, and I am grateful for 
it. So thank you.
    I started talking in this Committee several years ago under 
the Obama Administration about moving the Bureau of Land 
Management to the West, the importance of having decision-
makers grounded in the communities where those decisions have 
the most impact and the most effect. At the time, it was 
Director Neil Kornze of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) who 
had an exchange with me regarding BLM Planning Rule 2.0. I had 
said, if the BLM were headquartered out West, you would 
understand why so many county commissioners out West had a 
challenge or problem or questions about that rule, that 
regulation. I think at the time he joked and said, well, we 
should think about moving it out there or something like that 
and here we are today. In July of last year, the Department of 
the Interior announced that the relocation was happening and I 
can't thank you enough for that, because I believe the 
importance of having the headquarters of our public lands 
agencies headquartered in our public lands will make a crucial 
difference to better decision-making.
    Under the Department of the Interior's plan, every Western 
state will get additional staff, 222 current Washington 
positions will be moved to locations throughout the West from 
Arizona, Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Dakota, to North 
and South Dakota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah 
and Wyoming. The cost benefit analysis done by the Department 
of the Interior, you talk about, it would save money, but the 
real bottom line here and how more effective those dollars will 
be spent is going to be achieved by having those public land 
managers, the head of the agency, the headquarters, in the 
Western United States. And so, thank you for that because it is 
going to result in better public land decision-making and 
better public land policy.
    This is not new to have agencies--and this may be a shock 
to some in Washington--but it is not new for Washington 
agencies to operate outside of Washington. I think that has 
been hard for some people to swallow. They may be surprised to 
learn that there are Environmental Protection Agency offices 
outside of the beltway, there are National Institute of 
Standards and Technology offices outside of the beltway, NOAA 
offices outside of the beltway, a CDC laboratory in Atlanta, 
there is even one in Colorado in Fort Collins, and they all do 
incredible work. I am grateful for it. I believe they are more 
responsive to the communities they serve because they are out 
of Washington, DC, but the Robert F. Burford BLM headquarters 
building is now located in Grand Junction.
    Could you give me a little bit of an update of where that 
stands right now, the status of the reorganization and any 
issues in completing these moves going forward?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So let me say, first and foremost, I 
think the people that are most thrilled about this are our 
folks in BLM in the field. When I walk into a field office and 
I start talking about this, they immediately start clapping.
    Here's something that you should know, Senator. We're on 
track. We already have headquarters out there on a beta test 
operational. Our lease expires in, at the end of 2020 here, and 
that facility will be battle tested and hardened and very, very 
full. I think we're going to have a grand opening sometime this 
spring. But let me tell you something that I have found 
remarkable and that is the people that are applying for these 
jobs are absolutely through the roof. The quality of applicants 
and the number of applicants we're getting compared to 
advertising for the same job here, is absolutely astounding. 
And the one big reason for that is some of our BLMers are 
really excited about moving to Grand Junction.
    Ironically, they were less excited about moving here. And 
part of that, I think, is the cost of housing. I think it's the 
length of commute. I also think it's the fact that they're not 
around public land, but more importantly to me, or equally 
importantly, over the last several months we've done everything 
we could for folks here that don't want to leave to ensure that 
we've hired them in other departments or within the Department 
of the Interior and as of today there's not a single person 
below a GS-11 or below that's expressed an interest in staying 
that we haven't hired here. And so, we're taking care of our 
people as we do the relocation. So I'm pretty excited about it, 
honestly.
    Senator Gardner. Well, thank you, Mr. Secretary, again, for 
your leadership.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Great job.
    Senator Gardner. Thank you.
    I will follow up with you a little bit more about this, 
going back to the Arkansas Valley Conduit, just wanting to make 
sure the Department and the Bureau specifically, Bureau of 
Reclamation, have all the tools they need to make sure they get 
the project completed on a reasonable timeline.
    I am out of time. We can follow up on that later, but thank 
you for your work.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Thanks.
    Senator Gardner. Let us know how we can help you with 
additional Arkansas Valley Conduit tools and resources.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Absolutely.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Heinrich.
    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    I want to start, Secretary, and just thank you for your 
help with getting the Great American Outdoors Act together. I 
am very proud of what we have introduced. I think it is a once 
in a lifetime opportunity to see full funding for the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund as it was always intended, and it is an 
enormous opportunity for us to address the maintenance backlog 
on our public lands. I am particularly proud that it is not 
just our parks, which really are crown jewels, but also our 
forests, our refuges and BLM lands. Those are all critically 
important public lands to people across the West and across 
this country. So we are going to need your help to get this 
across the finish line. It is certainly not done, but I 
appreciate your efforts on that behalf.
    I have a question on behalf of my colleague, Minnesota 
Senator Tina Smith--and I have to admit I am not disinterested 
in this question she asked me to raise for you--but it involves 
the Boundary Waters and that is a place that has always been on 
my bucket list and, I think, is one of the great swaths of 
American public lands that we have seen protected. In September 
2018, the Department canceled a mineral segregation and 
withdrawal study for the Rainy River Watershed in Northeastern 
Minnesota just three months before it was to wrap up. Last 
week, the Twin Cities Star and Tribune published a link to this 
environmental assessment. That wasn't particularly helpful. 
This is the link. It appears from the cover page, to be done, 
but having sat on the Intelligence Committee, I have never seen 
something so fully redacted in my life.
    I guess my question for you is simply that, is it possible 
for those of us on this Committee to get a copy of the 
unredacted version, whether it was fully done or even if it was 
in draft?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So, well first off, let me say 
something about the Boundary Waters, since it is on your bucket 
list. I have a 161/2-year-old boy who I think has camped in the 
Boundary Waters over 200 days. He loves it up there, and he's 
gone to a camp since he was in third grade up there. And last 
year he did a 450-mile canoe trip which was pretty impressive 
for a group of seven boys.
    Senator Heinrich. It is the miles of portages that----
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's exactly right, a lot of miles 
of portages.
    That said, I'll have to look at that document. I do believe 
it was a draft and I'll go back and look at what our equities 
are, and I'll try and work something out in a way that it's 
accommodating.
    Senator Heinrich. Okay. I know there are a number of people 
on this Committee that sit on Intel, so if we have to go to a 
skiff somewhere.
    Secretary Bernhardt. That may be, like, there may be a way 
to accommodate you. I'll figure it out.
    Senator Heinrich. Okay.
    I want to shift to the BIA real quickly. The Crownpoint and 
the Shiprock Chapters of the Navajo Nation have a number of BIA 
buildings that are vacant, that pose health and safety risks at 
this point. There are actually 22, I think, abandoned BIA 
buildings in the Crownpoint Chapter, and 37 in the Shiprock 
Chapter. My understanding is, it is going to cost about $2 
million to demolish just those on the Shiprock Chapter alone. 
You know, in this budget the BIA only has $2 million to 
demolish unsafe buildings across the entirety of Indian 
Country.
    Navajo Nation is incredibly interested in using the land 
that these abandoned buildings sit on for economic development 
and, obviously, that can't move forward until those buildings 
have been removed safely. I would simply ask you to work both 
with the Nation and with my office to expedite and to move 
forward on seeing those buildings removed as quickly as is 
feasible.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So, you know, we have under our 
jurisdiction about 43,000 buildings and about 80,000 structures 
and we don't have, with all of them, we don't have a perfect 
window in the asset management category. We're trying to update 
that across the board. It certainly comes into play in the 
maintenance backlog and other things, but with those specific, 
I'll look at them and we'll try and find a pathway forward. I 
do think that at times we, we're a little slow on the 
demolition side. So I'll give it a look and we'll see where 
we're at.
    Senator Heinrich. I will stick around for a second round 
and we will go from there, since I only have ten seconds left.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chairman. Senator Barrasso.
    Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. 
Secretary Bernhardt, thanks for joining us this morning.
    You know, Wyoming is a federal land state and the decisions 
made here in Washington, result in real effects, real impacts 
on jobs and the economy in my home state. There has been a lot 
of discussion over the last week about the President's support 
for the Restore Our Parks Act and the Land and Water 
Conservation Permanent Funding Act. No question, I share the 
President's commitment to supporting our National Park System, 
strong conservation programs, but there is an inconsistency 
though in terms of addressing the maintenance backlog when at 
the same time we are adding many new lands to the federal 
footprint. Is the Department of the Interior prepared to 
maintain the land that it currently manages while adding new 
federal lands?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Senator, we're trying to do everything 
we can to improve our management and maintenance of lands 
across the board and we will continue to be aggressive in that 
area, absolutely.
    Senator Barrasso. Because, you know, with any new federal 
land acquisitions, future maintenance, future underlying costs 
need to be considered, I believe, prior to any purchases are 
made final. The Great American Outdoors Act proposal would 
provide for mandatory spending of about $900 million per year, 
current LWCF statute limits the federal portion for land 
acquisitions to $400 million. Could the Department of the 
Interior truly spend that money allotted to it if mandatory 
funding were passed, especially since the federal side of LWCF 
is limited to land acquisitions?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I've spent a lot of time over the 
last week working on precisely that issue, and I think that 
we'll have a plan that would be effective if we get to that 
point.
    Senator Barrasso. In the last several months a number of 
candidates running for President have committed to banning the 
practice of hydraulic fracturing that has been so instrumental 
in leading to the renaissance of American energy. They want to 
ban it. It is a proven technique. It allows operators to access 
vast reserves of oil and natural gas that have been previously 
locked up in shale rock formations. It has really transformed 
how our nation uses energy and works toward energy 
independence. What effect would a ban on hydraulic fracturing 
have on our nation?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, it'd be very significant. You 
know, if you look at our revenues on--from oil on federal land 
and Indian land, they've gone up 98 percent in the last two 
years or since 2016. And the reality of that is a lot of that 
is the revolution that took place on private land has migrated 
over to public land over the last couple of years. And so, it 
would be very significant and very negative.
    Senator Barrasso. Because I have heard some of these same 
candidates state that they would ban the leasing of federal 
minerals if elected, I wonder what effect that would have on--
--
    Secretary Bernhardt. Yeah, everyone I get that says that, I 
say, call the Governor of New Mexico and ask her how much the 
Department of the Interior sent her last year, and I even think 
she's not for a complete ban on federal revenues.
    Senator Barrasso. Yes, one other thing is since, well you 
and I have discussed the need to lower the royalty rate on 
trona, soda ash, a mineral that is a key component of glass. 
Wyoming's trona mines are challenged in the global market as 
China and other countries flood the global markets with cheap, 
synthetic trona. Uncertainty in terms of global trade has made 
the need for a royalty rate reduction, to me, I think, more 
pressing than ever. I want to thank you for taking the steps to 
streamline this royalty rate reduction process. Do you know 
when you would plan to release the final rule?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Soon.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Barrasso. Finally, in December 2016 the Obama 
Administration finalized a rule called the Competitive Leasing 
Rule, a rule intended to assist renewable energy developers in 
siting new wind and new solar facilities while also recovering 
rents and fees for the American taxpayer but projects that were 
underway when the rule was finalized, I believe, should be 
grandfathered in from the rule, and it imposes significant 
unforeseen costs on projects that could jeopardize their 
viability.
    In nearly every case, the new regulation would 
significantly increase cost of existing operations with no 
benefit of the regulation. When will you move forward with the 
Secretarial Order to grandfather in projects that were underway 
at the time the rule was finalized?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I'm in some discussions about 
whether that would be a viable way to do it. I could get back 
to you in two weeks on it, but that's really where we're at.
    Senator Barrasso. Well, I would appreciate hearing back 
from you in two weeks.
    [Secretary Bernhardt's response to Senator Barrasso's 
question:
    The Department has been enjoined from implementing 
recommendations made by the RPC.]
    Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thanks, Madam 
Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Barrasso.
    Senator Cantwell.
    Senator Cantwell. Thank you, Madam Chair. Secretary 
Bernhardt, I have a couple of different questions so hopefully 
you can help me work through them.
    On that exchange with my colleague, Senator Wyden from 
Oregon, I just hope you will understand that you are not the 
first Secretary that has had this discussion before the 
Committee. I was just trying to remember, Madam Chair, what the 
discussion was when your father was Chair of the Committee and 
I was here, but I guarantee you when Senator Domenici and 
Senator Bingaman was here, there were a lot of votes on even 
whether we wanted to study offshore drilling. And you know, I 
know what my constituents said--they did not want to.
    So the point is that now since the Trump Administration has 
reversed, or tried to reverse, what Obama put in place and your 
predecessor, Secretary Zinke, tried to open up 90 percent, 
there was a lot of confusion and a lack of input. I am just 
saying, there is a great deal of interest by crab fishermen and 
coastal communities about what a plan might be. I know you are 
not going to answer any more, but I am just trying to put into 
context that this is a very large and historical discussion. I 
think people want to know they are going to have the input that 
they seek. That is it, so, you'll----
    Secretary Bernhardt. They should have great comfort in the 
fact that the law requires input and the law requires processes 
that provide for that and those will all take place should we 
proceed forward in any way.
    Senator Cantwell. Well, alright. I will eat up all my time 
if I discuss what happened under the last process because I 
guarantee you it didn't feel very input driven. It felt like 
the Florida Governor said one thing and he got X-ed out and 
then it was like, well, if your state wants out, we will let 
you out. So I am sure there will be a process.
    Can I turn to the San Juan Islands? Every state has 
beautiful places, every--I really mean that, my colleagues 
here, like it is a hard competition. But within the State of 
Washington, the San Juan Islands, I guarantee you, are one of 
our crown jewels. Before we finish that management plan for the 
San Juans, can we get a commitment to have the Management 
Advisory Committee put in place? They give input as to what 
that management, that plan, looks like.
    Secretary Bernhardt. I'm not familiar with that particular 
plan----
    Senator Cantwell. Okay.
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----but I'm happy to go look at it.
    Senator Cantwell. Yes. Well, it has been established for 
several years and the management plan requires an advisory 
committee and that advisory committee doesn't have a quorum. 
So, anyway, if you will look at that.
    Okay, turning to Alaska and Arctic drilling in the ANWR. 
Are you coming out with an EIS this week?
    Secretary Bernhardt. An EIS was finalized months ago, so 
the EIS is final. The next step is a Record of Decision and 
then after that would be a, potentially, a proposed call for 
nominations and then, potentially, a lease sale. So that would 
be the process as contemplated under the statute that I think 
requires us to have two sales within a set day.
    Senator Cantwell. So is that happening this week?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Not that I am aware of.
    Senator Cantwell. Okay.
    Two things that I am concerned about, obviously, is that we 
can see where oil markets are today and when we look at the 
return we are very concerned about, obviously, the wildlife and 
what you would possibly get out of that return. But one thing 
that I was very concerned about is just how you can, on the 
impact of, there was an analysis, you know, and obviously we 
wanted to have no impact on polar bear dens, but I understand a 
one mile buffer is currently applied to polar bear dens that 
discover that oil and gas industries in activities above the 
Beaufort Sea. Would you support a one-mile protective buffer in 
the 1002 Area?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, I think that when we come out 
with our plan, it's likely that there will be areas that are No 
Surface Occupancy and some other things. But we're, and you can 
look at the various alternatives in the EIS to look at some of 
the choices that people have thought through and some of the 
conditions that would be applied. The Marine Mammal Protection 
Act has been in place for many, many years and polar bears are 
one of those species that falls within/under that and there are 
insurances that must be given to ensure that things are 
complied with.
    So I feel very confident that should activity occur up 
there, it will be entirely consistent with the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act as a matter of law.
    Senator Cantwell. Well, I certainly hope so, but it is 
supposed to have negligible impacts so I just don't understand 
how you can have negligible impacts, but we will look forward 
to more discussion on this.
    Madam Chair, just for the record, since you know how much I 
care about the Washington-Alaska relationship, it just strikes 
me that in the midst of all of this crisis that we are having 
on oil and everything else and the challenges of your state, we 
made a decision somewhere last week to spend, basically, about 
$10 billion in a very short order period of time on our public 
lands. I am all for that, but I am also for continuing a way to 
help Alaska make it through a transition. And if there was 
anything we could do to help preserve this land and make 
progress, I would do both. And so, I am just saying, I am all 
supportive of our public lands. I think they are a great 
economy for us and they are, more importantly, a great aspect 
of American society for recreation.
    As we spend all our money on LWCF and parks and open space, 
I am all for that, but here is a crown jewel, in my opinion, 
that we should also figure out a way to help Alaska as well.
    So thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chairman. I think part of Alaska's ask is that we be 
allowed to help ourselves. We appreciate the work of the 
Department to help us advance opportunities, but to do so in a 
way that is consistent with an environment that we all want to 
respect, an environment that consists of the land, the animals 
and the people. And so, Senator Cantwell, you and I have 
differing views on the 1002 Area. My charge is to make sure 
that as we work with the Administration, as we work with 
Congress, that we do development in a responsible, in more than 
a responsible, way. I look forward to doing that with all of 
you.
    Let's go to Senator Hirono.
    Senator Hirono. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mr. Secretary, I appreciate the level of attention that you 
have provided to the rebuilding of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano 
Observatory on Hawaii Island as well as the dock repair at the 
USS Arizona. As I mentioned during your nomination hearing, 
both of these are very important assets to Hawaii, and I want 
to recognize the level of coordination that has been provided 
by your Department in addressing these issues. I would like to 
get a commitment that the Department or USGS will provide me 
with six-month updates on the progress in rebuilding the USGS 
Hawaiian Observatory, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
    Secretary Bernhardt. You want an update every six months? I 
think we can certainly manage that, Senator.
    Senator Hirono. Great.
    I also appreciate your focus this morning on strengthening 
the wildlife program and your request for a robust investment 
in the IG Office. I couldn't agree with you more.
    Let me turn to another concerning issue. During this 
Administration, news articles highlighting efforts by officials 
in your Department to suppress, interfere with or deny or alter 
science have surfaced at a steady rate. It is so pervasive that 
Columbia Law School has a, ``Silencing Science Tracker,'' that 
lists 52 instances at DOI since the 2016 election. A recent New 
York Times article describes how a career Department official, 
nicknamed ``Goks,'' whose personal opinion is that climate 
change benefits society, seized an opportunity within the Trump 
Administration to influence science change-related matters. The 
article describes how Goks used his new influential position 
with the Deputy Secretary's Office to pressure departmental 
scientists to include uncertainty language. In fact, 
uncertainly language became a term of art of questioning the 
impacts of climate change.
    Emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show 
the lengths that career staff had to go to in order to ensure 
that ``Goks uncertainty language'' was included in documents. 
One email discussing the text of a final environmental impact 
statement from December 28th shows a scientific integrity 
officer, who is charged with upholding the Department's 
scientific integrity policy, requesting, ``Please however make 
sure that the attached uncertainty language is incorporated 
within the document'' and that, ``This was a requirement 
established with the Department in 2017.''
    In another email dated May 2019, a scientific integrity 
officer notes that he was, ``starting to wonder whether our 
agreement--likely in reference to Goks uncertainly language 
that was negotiated in 2017--is still in place, and I don't 
think he's in the Department Secretary's office,'' referring to 
Goks and that this scientific integrity officer was trying to 
think of how best to test that though, whether that agreement 
still was in place. It is clear from this exchange that the 
scientific integrity officer was wanting to abandon this 
agreement but did not know if he could based on whether or not 
the official was still in an influential position.
    In last week's hearing before the Senate Interior 
Appropriations Subcommittee, you pointed out that the 
Department publishes many documents that comment on climate 
change and that this long-term career official has his own 
views, which presumably he should keep to himself, except that 
in this case, Goks used his position of influence within your 
Department to insert those views which go against the 
scientific consensus on this issue into scientific documents. 
You also said that you undetailed this official, but the fact 
is he was in this position of influence within your Department 
for roughly two years under your leadership.
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's not true. That's not true.
    Senator Hirono. Let me finish. This is my time.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Yes, ma'am.
    Senator Hirono. You said that you will get to the bottom of 
what happened, whatever that means, and that you have asked to 
be shown what documents include the uncertainty language. I 
have one example here today of a document that includes the 
uncertainty language that I would like to insert into the 
record, Madam Chair.
    [Link to document including uncertainty language follows.]
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T0915.009
    
    Senator Hirono. My question to you. Is it okay for a career 
employee in a position of influence to pressure scientists to 
insert biased uncertainly language into scientific documents?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, let me be very clear. I don't 
think that person has a position of influence. Science plays a 
critical role in our decision-making as does the law, and I am 
the first Secretary in decades to have a career scientist as my 
Science Advisor. I brought Bill Werkheiser from the USGS----
    Senator Hirono. So I am running out of time.
    Secretary Bernhardt. He's a chief science--he's the Chief 
Scientist, Chief Scientific Integrity Officer----
    Senator Hirono. Would you answer my question, please?
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----for the Department----
    Senator Hirono. I take it you are saying it is not okay.
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----and our scientific integrity 
claims are actually down under my administration.
    Senator Hirono. So you are saying that it is not okay for 
anybody to be using his position, his or her position, of 
influence to insert uncertainty language into your scientific--
--
    Secretary Bernhardt. I didn't say that.
    Senator Hirono. I take it that, you mean, the answer is 
yes.
    Secretary Bernhardt. The reality is there is--we discuss 
uncertainty in the IPCC. We discuss uncertainty in every, 
virtually every climate document I get from the USGS. What USGS 
has told me is to use best practices which I'm completely 
committed to----
    Senator Hirono. Which means science-based analysis. So is 
this uncertainty language still being used by the Department?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Are you asking me if the word 
uncertainty appears in the documents?
    Senator Hirono. When it is scientifically appropriate to 
express uncertainty, I think that is scientifically based, but 
when it is somebody's personal view to question the facts of 
climate change, I think that is a whole another matter.
    Secretary Bernhardt. The IPC uses--IPCC uses the word 
uncertainty dozens of times.
    Senator Hirono. Madam Chair, I do have a few other 
questions for Mr. Secretary.
    The Chairman. They can be included as part of the record.
    Senator Hirono. So my time is up, unfortunately. I just 
want to make it really plain that this is not the first time 
that the Administration's commitment to science has come into 
question. It is not just this Department, but other departments 
and I think it is really important for us to be reassured that 
you base your reports on the best science that is available and 
not somebody's personal views.
    Secretary Bernhardt. I can assure you that I spend a lot of 
time with scientists. I'm sure that I understand the science, 
both the certainty and the uncertainty in it, and that I make 
decisions that are well-grounded in the law and well-grounded 
in the information that I am provided. I am, by law, required 
to not make a decision that is arbitrary or capricious and I 
strive to do that every day.
    The Chairman. Senator Cortez Masto.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being 
here. I am going to talk about something, a little bit about 
something that is really unique to Nevada going on right now 
and it is getting significant attention there. This is the land 
withdrawal expirations for both Nellis Air Force Base and 
Fallon Naval Air Station. Just a little background, and I know 
you are aware of this. The Air Force's Nellis expansion 
proposal would effectively transfer 826,000 acres of the Desert 
National Wildlife Refuge currently co-managed by the Fish and 
Wildlife Service as the largest national wildlife refuge in the 
Lower 48 states, it would transfer it to the Air Force. It 
would also provide the Air Force access to an additional 
260,000 acres of the refuge resulting in severe reductions and 
public access and potentially harmful impacts to our bighorn 
sheep population.
    The Navy's Fallon proposal would result in acquisition of 
private lands and a loss of access to more than 600,000 acres 
of public lands that are vital to an array of my constituents' 
interests including grazing, recreation, mining and renewable 
energy development.
    This has been a concerted effort between stakeholders 
throughout our communities to work with our military to find 
that balance--right?--between military readiness but at the 
same time the outdoor use of our public lands where 
economically we benefit as well. So my question to you is, the 
Navy and Air Force are expected to transmit to Congress their 
own legislative proposals. Have you provided input into this 
process and will Interior's perspectives be reflected in these 
proposals?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, what I can say is we certainly 
have been in discussions with folks. The way a legislative, 
legislation is cleared, everybody gets input and sometimes the 
output is different than the input. So I can't even guess----
    Senator Cortez Masto. Have you weighed in? Has Interior 
weighed in on those proposals yet?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So we certainly, we certainly have 
opportunities as part of the process to have discussions on any 
formal proposal that comes through the process, absolutely. And 
frankly, we've had, you know, Paul Souza is an exceptional 
Regional Director for the service. He's engaged in discussions. 
We've had discussions at my level, and I've committed to have 
more. So we're having discussions. How that turns out, I don't 
know.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Will your discussions become public 
at some point in time so that we are aware of Interior's 
position on these withdrawals?
    Secretary Bernhardt. I don't know, honestly. We'll 
certainly communicate our thoughts to you, as appropriate, 
absolutely.
    Senator Cortez Masto. As you know, I recently introduced a 
compromise bill regarding the Air Force's proposal expansion 
and it has the support of our Congressional Delegation, the 
Governor, our hunting and recreation groups and several other 
groups. And I have to say, I have to appreciate the Fish and 
Wildlife Service providing technical assistance to my bill. I 
hope you give these issues greater attention and we can work 
together on these toward a resolution benefiting all 
stakeholders.
    Secretary Bernhardt. We share the same goal, Senator.
    Senator Cortez Masto. I hope so. My concern is I can't get 
any answers out of Interior, and I know this is supposed to be 
a public process. So as we move forward and you weigh in or 
Interior weighs in, I would appreciate just some sort of 
commitment that you would be willing to let us know Interior's 
position on these expansions.
    Secretary Bernhardt. We will do that as appropriate.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Perfect.
    Let me also continue with the military withdrawals and talk 
a little bit about our tribes in Nevada. As you well know, your 
role as Trustee of the Tribes carries a lot of weight in our 
communities. The Walker River Tribe is near the Fallon Naval 
Air Station, and it has been unable to utilize portions of 
their reservation for years due to ordinance contamination from 
neighboring military activities. Can you commit to resolve 
their concerns of impacts to their sacred sites and their 
request to have replacement lands from the BLM?
    Secretary Bernhardt. I can commit to spending some time 
looking at it.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Have you spent any time thus far 
looking at it? Has it been brought to your attention at all?
    Secretary Bernhardt. No.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Okay, so this is my opportunity to 
bring it to your attention. I would love the opportunity to 
have BLM weigh in, work with our tribes, address the issues 
that I have been hearing from our tribes, not just in Nevada, 
but across the country who are concerned about the protection 
of their ancestral lands from military activity. So is that a 
commitment, yes?
    Secretary Bernhardt. I'd be happy to have the conversation 
and see where it could go.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
    And then finally on this subject, have you had any 
conversations with DoD about where they propose current 
livestock grazing will be eliminated under their expansion plan 
when it comes to the Naval Air Station? Has that occurred at 
all?
    Secretary Bernhardt. I have expressed some concerns 
regarding the need to make sure that our grazers are adequately 
considered, but we haven't gotten to the point of having 
discussions.
    Senator Cortez Masto. I know my time is up and I will 
submit the rest of my questions for the record.
    Is there a timeframe you can give me as to when the 
information that you are providing on these land withdrawals 
will be made public so we are aware in Nevada of Interior's 
position?
    Secretary Bernhardt. I won't know that until I know the 
timing of what's appropriate to convey to you.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Okay, I have to say, I have been an 
attorney for over 20 years and I have never had anybody that I 
have asked a question do a better job at dancing around 
answering the questions. You are very good at that and the only 
challenge I have is, I am here to work with you, not against 
you. I think there is an opportunity for Department of the 
Interior to work with the State of Nevada and all the 
stakeholders. My goal is to balance between our military and 
national security and the stakeholders who live in Nevada where 
over 80 percent of the land is owned by the Federal Government, 
most of that is the BLM. I think we can do it working together, 
and I would be hopeful that you would be willing to just give 
me direct answers and work with us to address these concerns.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, let me be very direct, read 
Circular A-130.
    The Chairman. Senator King.
    Senator King. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    First, a positive note, I want to thank you for your 
commitment to the Restore Our Parks Act. You stated that at 
your confirmation hearing. There has been a lot of work 
recently, as you know. The President has come out firmly in 
favor of this proposal as well as permanent funding for the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund. I know that you had a role to 
play in that and as I was thinking about this, I think we are 
close, but we are not there. We have some legislative 
consideration, but we can see the light at the end of the 
trail. I really appreciate the work and the attention that you 
have paid to that issue and look forward to continuing to work 
with you.
    I presume this is one where you could give me a yes or no 
answer. You are still in full support of Restore Our Parks Act?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Absolutely.
    Senator King. That was the answer you gave before. I like 
that answer. Thank you.
    A couple of specific questions. In the tax bill that passed 
in December 2017, maybe? I have lost track. The big tax bill, 
there was a provision that allowed drilling in ANWR. Could you 
give us a quick update on the status of that? Are there leases? 
Has there been an auction? What is the status of drilling in 
ANWR?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So the Bureau of Land Management 
completed an environmental impact statement (EIS) a few months 
ago. We're in the process of completing it and we'll eventually 
issue something called a Record of Decision which is actually 
the formal decision which would be the establishment of a 
leasing program which is what Congress directed. And then, the 
process--and it's really embarrassing right now because I can't 
think of the specific date--but there's a mandatory time for us 
to hold two lease sales----
    Senator King. So there have been no lease sales.
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----and we lay out--the first one 
would be within a year of the completion of the EIS.
    Senator King. So there have been no lease sales yet, and we 
don't know yet whether----
    Secretary Bernhardt. As of today, there has not been a 
lease sale. But I think when people look at the language that 
was used by Congress, what they're going to find is that these, 
there are a lot of rights that go with these leases, if they're 
leased. And I think that that's going to be very significant in 
how people think of them.
    Senator King. I don't want to interrupt you, but I have 
other----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Sorry. I'm sorry, Senator.
    Senator King. But the answer is no leases yet and that is 
in the process, probably in the coming six months?
    Secretary Bernhardt. It's absolutely accurate there's not 
been any leases yet, and I would think that months is certainly 
an appropriate statement for a lease sale time.
    Senator King. Of course, if the price of oil stays where it 
is today, there may not be any bidders given the----
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I don't know about that, Senator. I 
have some experience in that space and I don't think people 
make decisions based on what oil is today.
    Senator King. Oil price.
    Secretary Bernhardt. The reality is they will look at what 
are their rights that they're likely to acquire, what's the 
speculate, you know, the potential of the area which it seems 
from a technological perspective relatively clear. So there's a 
lot of factors that go into making those investment decisions 
and you know, our--we're conscious of those.
    Senator King. We will see how that plays out.
    Second, this is to stay on oil for a minute, a 
straightforward yes or no question. Are there plans within the 
Department to proceed with exploration research or drilling off 
the East Coast of the United States?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Well, we certainly don't have any 
present plan and as I, we've, said, we spoke about this issue 
before.
    Senator King. Right.
    Secretary Bernhardt. And you know, the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act lays out a very specific process. That process 
involves the development of a proposed plan and then a lot of 
comment on that. We're not even to that stage yet. What I 
believe I committed to you a year ago was that we would visit 
when we got to that point and then as we go through the 
process, it's required that the states' views not only be 
listened to but really considered and weighed. I do not know of 
a single incident since OCSLA passed where a state objected to 
leasing and then the leasing occurred. So that's just the 
history----
    Senator King. That is the history.
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----and that, nothing's changed----
    Senator King. Well, I hope that history----
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----in regard to my view and our prior 
conversation.
    Senator King. I hope that that history holds.
    Finally, I am a little worried about moral hazard. The fact 
that we are talking about Restore Our Parks Act and full 
funding of Land and Water Conservation and your budget cuts 
maintenance and major construction and major maintenance by 50 
percent. I don't want us to rely upon Congress having to, every 
ten years or so, deal with a deferred maintenance issue that 
should be taken care of, as I am sure you agree, on an ongoing 
basis. I am worried about this cut coming at the very time that 
we are talking about trying to fix this problem.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So----
    Senator King. The line for, it is called construction and 
major maintenance. It is cut 50 percent. There is an overall 17 
percent cut to the National Park----
    Secretary Bernhardt. So if you look at our budget, most of 
our budget for things that you would expect to be maintenance 
like painting a room to ensure upkeep and stuff like that 
typically doesn't come out of the construction budget. And so 
from those types of things, I don't think we've backed away 
from our operations in a significant way at all and we won't. I 
mean, the worst thing we could do is get this investment for 
maintenance, get things up to snuff and then fall back into 
this hazard.
    Senator King. My point exactly.
    Secretary Bernhardt. And we're not going to do that. I'm 
spending, the Park Service is a little frustrated, but I'm 
spending a lot of time saying if we're going to make major 
investments like this, we have to have asset management plans 
for everything because what I can't have happen is 3 years 
later or 10 years later or 13 years later, we're in exactly the 
same soup we are now. So we are in the process of completely 
rejiggering the process of evaluation to ensure that we're up 
to snuff and moving. And I will tell you that, you know, in 
many instances it's been somewhat sporadic and that's gotta 
change. And you know, it's easy--here's what's happened. Our 
operations budget has declined over time if you go back and 
look from 2009 to today. And so, people have taken money----
    Senator King. Maintenance is often the first thing to go.
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's exactly what's happening, but 
it can't be that way. And you know, we have, we have a 
wonderful opportunity with the parks with this infusion. We 
have great relationships on the donation side to ensure that 
for certain things we have committed O&M. We just need to be 
better at our planning and not just make it any 
superintendent's decision of whatever they want to do, because 
it's not a very good way to run the railroad. And that's got to 
change.
    Senator King. Thank you. I look forward to working with you 
on that. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator King.
    Senator Hoeven.
    Senator Hoeven. Greetings, Mr. Secretary. Thanks for your 
recent visit to our state. It was much appreciated. I really 
have to just start out by thanking you for a number of things 
that you have done because it just seems appropriate when 
somebody addresses issues, we need to recognize it around here 
and you really have and we are deeply appreciative.
    It starts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife easement process 
now where you have given farmers the ability to appeal a 
decision on an easement. I mean, that is just the American way. 
That is democracy in action. I included the requirement for a 
site visit in the last Farm Bill in legislation. So not only 
now do they have an appeal, but they actually, it is required 
that your people show up and talk to them and take a look.
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's right.
    Senator Hoeven. That is just the way it ought to be.
    In Theodore Roosevelt National Park, thank you for coming 
out there. Your troops have been really good. They have started 
on a fix for the scenic loop, getting a temporary fix in place, 
working with DOT and Secretary Chao has been fabulous too. The 
key there is to get from that temporary fix to a permanent fix. 
You were just touching on the importance of maintenance in the 
parks. Of course, that is why we are trying to move the Restore 
Our Parks Act. But again, you have it underway. And enjoy the 
scenic beauty of the park which you witnessed, including all 
the bison and the elk and wild horses and everything else, that 
is important.
    Third, Director Jim Reilly at USGS is undertaking a study 
of the resources in the Bakken, really important, you know, 
with what is going on in oil. North Dakota produces 1.5 million 
barrels a day. We are a low-cost producer, but obviously the 
current situation between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the world 
supply is putting real pressure on us. And then the Oaks Area 
Test Site, which is actually an irrigation project, we are 
working to get it to the farmers so that they can actually 
operate it and keep operating it as they have.
    So I am going to start out with those four. Thank you. And 
if there is anything you want to touch on in any of those 
before we go on to some other things, again, we really 
appreciate it.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I am thrilled for the accommodation 
we were able to figure out for the easements because, number 
one, it's a great program for wildlife and it's a great program 
for farmers and we're thrilled about that landing in the right 
place. The park stuff is coming along. So it was great for you 
to spend some time with me out there. I really appreciated 
that, meeting your constituents and so, thanks.
    Senator Hoeven. Yes, and our animals and scenic views, 
fishing, hunting, all that, I know the Chairman is very proud 
of Alaska. We are very proud of North Dakota. It is pretty 
spectacular.
    The BLM Mineral Spacing Act is legislation I have whereby 
when the Bureau of Land Management does not own any surface 
acres, nada, zero, and they own less than half of the minerals 
that rather than requiring we go through their permitting 
process as well as all the other state and federal, that they 
would just agree to get on board with the owners of the surface 
acres and the other minerals. Your thoughts and whether you 
could be supportive of that kind of legislation.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I think there's, that's really a 
recognition of a commonsense approach. You know, the balance is 
we need to protect the federal interest, obviously, but we have 
some of these parcels where we have a very small interest and 
it's causing a lot of problem when you look at the overall 
scope of directional drilling and other things to require pad 
staff, some of these things is not making much sense.
    Senator Hoeven. Yes, no surface acreage and we may be 
drilling miles away to have a few acres that you may have.
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's right.
    Senator Hoeven. The Chairman is working with me on this 
legislation. She has been fabulous and obviously understands 
not only wildlife management but energy. So that has been good, 
but it is, again, common sense.
    Two other things relate to Native Americans. I chair the 
Indian Affairs Committee. One is any help on streamlining the 
process in approving gas gathering systems so we can reduce 
flaring on the reservation. Three affiliated tribes you have 
seen make incredible amount of energy development there. And 
the other is working with tribes on Coronavirus, making sure 
that we are working and proactive with the tribe on the 
Coronavirus. If you could address those two, I would appreciate 
it.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So we've taken--let me take the second 
one first. We've been reaching out to tribes. There have been 
all tribal calls. There's been a whole series of things to 
address potential concerns from tribes. There are some tribes 
that, you know, we've been more involved with than others, but 
we've really made an effort. It's part of our pandemic plan to 
be reaching out, make sure that our schools are protected, that 
we're acting consistently and with our own employees. And so, I 
think so far, we've done a really good job of standing that up. 
Assistant Secretary Sweeney has done a great job of getting 
things stood up, and our emergency management folks are moving 
along at a pretty good pace. I actually feel pretty good about 
things. If you have a specific situation in North Dakota, but 
right now----
    Senator Hoeven. No, the biggest thing though is keeping an 
eye on IHS and making sure they are getting it done, right?
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's right. We have a lot of 
coordination with them. I'll have a call this afternoon and if 
there's some wrinkle in Indian Country I'm happy to visit with 
you, but so far, we've been very aggressive because we're 
taking this extremely seriously.
    Senator Hoeven. Yes.
    Secretary Bernhardt. The good news, as I said in the----
    Senator Hoeven. IHS and then the BLM schools and so forth--
--
    Secretary Bernhardt. Yeah.
    Senator Hoeven. ----really have to be making sure you're 
talking to tribal leaders, good consultation, getting the help.
    Secretary Bernhardt. One of the great things, and I said 
this in my opening, you weren't here at that moment, is that 
the really good thing from my perspective on this so far is its 
impact on children seems much less than say the swine flu. And 
so, as a result of that, you know, I feel better about our 
schools. We have protocols in place, but you know, our younger 
population is, looks like they do very well in this situation.
    Senator Hoeven. Yes. Thank you, Secretary.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Hoeven.
    I wanted to go back to Dingell Act implementation, and 
hopefully these will be relatively quick questions here. Our 
Alaska Native Vietnam Veteran allotments provision is one that, 
as you know, I care very much about as we try to deliver 
equity, finally, to those natives who were serving during the 
Vietnam War and who were unable to obtain their land 
allotments. Under the Dingell Act we directed BLM to identify 
and make available lands that these veterans could seek 
application for. Can you tell me whether you are on track for 
identifying those lands and publishing the rules to implement? 
I am getting a lot of questions from folks back home on the 
timing.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So, we know, I mean, we know that this 
is very important to you. I also think it's notable that when 
the President signed the Act this was one of the things that he 
specifically referenced. So it's important to him.
    We, I am told that we are at the point where both the 
report and the Federal Register Notice will be at the Federal 
Register very, very soon and the report will be available. So 
I'm told we're on track.
    The Chairman. Okay.
    Secretary Bernhardt. I know it appeared and I get a report 
every week and I know that we're supposed to have it very, very 
soon. And the minute we get it, we'll get it up here.
    The Chairman. Good. We will be looking forward to that.
    One of the things that we have had a conversation about are 
these public land orders, PLOs, that date back to ANCSA. They 
prevent land conveyances, whether it is to natives or to the 
State of Alaska, and one of the things that I have appreciated 
is under your leadership and with this Administration you have 
really been looking keenly at this process for lifting these 
PLOs that have been sitting out there for decades and you moved 
forward, partially revoking some of them. Last year it, again, 
has been significant for a host of different reasons, but most 
immediately to what it might mean for the native veterans' 
allotments though. But it has been interesting, as you look to 
some of the feedback that you get, whether it is in the press 
or otherwise, it becomes clear to me that some people are 
equating a lifting of these PLOs with this, somehow or other, 
mass transfer----
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's exactly right, Senator. That's 
exactly right.
    The Chairman. ----of public lands which is exactly, exactly 
wrong, so it is very frustrating that it is being confused in 
that way. I guess I would just ask for a level of reassurance 
that Interior understands the importance of lifting the PLOs 
and remains committed to----
    Secretary Bernhardt. So we certainly understand the 
difference. We're moving through a number. We have certain 
environmental processes that we have to go through as we do 
them, and I don't, there's certainly nothing slowing anything 
down.
    The Chairman. Good.
    Secretary Bernhardt. It's just working through it. And the 
State Director, I think, is working hard on those issues.
    The Chairman. I appreciate that.
    On another Dingell Act provision, we had commissioned a 
joint study between Interior and USDA Forest Service to 
determine lands for potential exchange with the Chugach Alaska 
Corporation----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Yup.
    The Chairman. ----to resolve this split surface and mineral 
estate issue. The Act required a study within 18 months. Do you 
think you are going to be on track with that one?
    Secretary Bernhardt. We are absolutely on track and it's 
underway.
    The Chairman. Excellent. I am liking the answers so far.
    How about within the USGS space? I mentioned in my opening 
comments the concern that I have about the cuts within USGS on 
the earthquake monitoring and the volcano hazards. In the 
Dingell Act we have a requirement for implementation of the 
National Volcano Early Warning System Act. Can you tell me 
where we are with implementation of that and then the one that 
really I would love it if you could look at, last year USGS 
released an update of the National Seismic Hazard Model but the 
whole State of Alaska is excluded.
    Secretary Bernhardt. I'm very familiar with that problem, 
Senator.
    The Chairman. The most seismically active state in the 
country, and we are not included on that, within that model. 
Can you give me updates, if you can and let me know how we are 
going to fix that?
    Secretary Bernhardt. So our budget request on that matter 
keeps things on track to ensure that we have everything done by 
the next update, including with Alaska. So I think that's in 
good shape.
    Volcano monitoring or repairs and upgrades, we have 51 
analog stations in Alaska that need to be converted to digital. 
We plan to do 26 this year and the rest next year, and I think 
we've asked for $23 million or, sorry, $2.3 million in our 2021 
budget to do that. So I think that's where we are.
    The other thing, we've just reached an accommodation with 
the Forest Service on our ShakeAlert process to expedite the 
NEPA on that. It was really slowing things down. We've been 
able to find a way that they can accommodate us a little more. 
So that's not an Alaska-specific thing.
    The Chairman. Right.
    Secretary Bernhardt. But Jim Reilly is making really good 
progress on both ShakeAlert and volcanoes.
    The Chairman. Well, volcanoes, earthquakes and, of course, 
landslides, are part of our disaster trifecta in Alaska. It 
really hit home just a couple weeks ago. A grocery store in 
Ketchikan--where I come from, that has been there for 50 
years--a rock slide came down after real serious rains and, by 
all estimates, that store will not reopen. The good news is 
that the landslide took place at about one a.m. and so no loss 
of life but extraordinary property damage.
    Again, we need to make sure that within USGS, whether it is 
earthquakes, volcanoes or landslides, Senator Cantwell has been 
a good team partner on this landslide issue as they had seen 
the extreme devastation in her state some years ago. Just 
again, putting that on your radar.
    I am going to turn to Senator Heinrich here.
    Senator Heinrich. Thank you.
    Secretary, I want to talk to you for just a moment about 
disposal of BLM lands. In particular, I want to thank you for 
Secretarial Order 3373. I think when FLPMA was passed we 
probably didn't think about the importance that a very small, 
isolated piece of BLM land can have unlocking a larger 
landscape of public lands. The importance that even a 40-acre 
fragmented section of BLM land can be the gateway to 1 million 
acres of Forest Service land, for example. I think that 
Secretarial Order is appropriate and very welcomed by many 
different corners. I am just curious if it makes sense to 
potentially look at amending FLPMA to make that sort of the 
standard going forward given the importance of outdoor 
recreation to many of these Western states' economies.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So I have not actually thought about 
that as a legislative proposal, but I certainly support the 
underlying policy and feel very strongly about it. I think 
there's no reason for the Department to not contemplate impacts 
on public access as it thinks about not only disposals but 
acquisitions and transfers. If you look at the Lower 48, access 
is a critical issue when you talk to folks and certainly, you 
know, where I grew up hunting and fishing access is like 
really, really important. And having the Department go through 
a process to evaluate that, I think, is informative. Other 
people can argue that there's other things that they'd also 
like to see in those, may be legitimate, but to me, those are 
very, before we make a transfer, before we make an acquisition 
and certainly before we make a disposal, I think it's relevant 
to think about those factors.
    Senator Heinrich. No, I appreciate that. And it seems it is 
a sentiment that spans the political spectrum.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Oh, I don't think there's any doubt 
about that.
    Senator Heinrich. It is quite a broad coalition of folks 
who raise this more and more with my office.
    I want to move to a place you are familiar with real 
quickly, because in December the Park Service closed 17 
campsites at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Now this 
is very legitimate. It is due to rock fall risk. The Park 
Service is working to relocate these campsites away from the 
risk zone, but that process is probably going to take years. 
The nearest public campground is out at Angel Peak Scenic Area. 
That is 39 miles away. You have been to Chaco, obviously, and 
you know it is quite a drive to the nearest hotel or motel. I 
would just ask if you would be willing to look at interim 
options to see if we can't find a way to address this as we 
look for a long-term solution.
    Secretary Bernhardt. 100 percent. I've been told that, 
basically, 32 campsites will remain open, but I will absolutely 
be happy to work with you on it and I'm happy to ask David Vela 
to take a hard look at it. No problem at all.
    Senator Heinrich. Great. Yes, we may be able to work 
between BLM and the Park Service, for example.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Oh, that might be really great.
    Senator Heinrich. So they should do that once in a while.
    Secretary Bernhardt. That's a great idea.
    Senator Heinrich. Navajo Area Bureau of Indian Affairs 
Roads Department, this is an area that hasn't seen significant 
funding increases in the last two decades. You brought up the 
issue of asset management plans, and I guess I would just ask 
if they might apply in that case as well, because I do think 
that we really need to be in a place where we have continued 
commitment across administrations for reinvesting in 
infrastructure. It is dire in many cases with BIA roads issues. 
We have a situation where the principal of Sanostee Day School 
had to cancel six days of school in 2018 just due to road 
conditions. On at least seven occasions, 80 percent of the 
students couldn't attend school due to washed out roads. I am 
curious if your thinking is with respect to transportation 
assets as well when it comes to having asset management plans 
so that we manage these things for the long-term and we make 
the investments that we need.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So we have about 100,000 miles of 
roads. Think about that for a minute. That's a lot. And I will 
tell you that you all, governors, I get so many concerns 
regarding BIA roads and in some instances, the roads are of a 
condition that they create very significant safety threats. And 
my view on asset management is across the portfolio because--
and we just haven't done that and it's just been completely 
dispersed and nobody really pays attention. And the problem is, 
it's out of control. Our parks' roads are not in good 
condition, but our BIA roads, some of them, are very bad 
condition, very bad.
    Senator Heinrich. I appreciate that.
    Secretary Bernhardt. And I know we are talking to your 
folks----
    Senator Heinrich. Right.
    Secretary Bernhardt. ----on the Navajo situation, but it's 
actually broader than that.
    Senator Heinrich. Thank you.
    The Chairman. When you think about the significance of the 
road issue on our parks and within our public lands, this is 
the biggest, the biggest financial impact that we have. It is 
not making sure that we have adequate rest facilities. It is 
the roads and the road issues. So this is a significant one for 
us.
    Mr. Secretary, I want to thank you for the time that you 
have given us. Just very, very briefly, because I mentioned it 
in my opening statement, this was the Good Neighbor Authority 
potential and potentially expanding it to Fish and Wildlife 
Service for wildfire protection. I think we have seen the 
benefits play out there with partnerships like this as we have 
been focused on BLM lands, Forest Service lands, so I just ask 
if you could think about it.
    Secretary Bernhardt. We wouldn't, I don't, I mean, in 
concept we have absolutely no objection to it and I just need 
to go back and figure it out, honestly, but from a policy 
perspective, it should be a no brainer.
    The Chairman. Good. Well, I think it is something worth 
exploring.
    Last thing, and it is also just somewhat related, well, it 
is related to firefighting and this relates to the grounding of 
the drones, Interior's entire fleet, about 800 drones, most of 
which we understand were Chinese manufactured. I think they are 
still undergoing evaluation for the data security risks, but 
what you have done is you have put in place this process that 
allows land managers to use drones for emergency purposes----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Absolutely.
    The Chairman. ----whether it is wildfires, search and 
rescue, through the ability to request waivers. How is that 
working? Have you been granting any of these waivers?
    Secretary Bernhardt. Yes.
    The Chairman. Do you have training sessions for drone 
operators that are being handled? What is the status, because I 
know people look at that as a valuable tool.
    Secretary Bernhardt. So it's my hope that the review is 
completed relatively soon and that there are no issues. That 
would be my hope. But until that time, we've laid out 
conditions where I'm willing to have these vehicles, machines, 
flying and to the extent that somebody wants a waiver, they go 
through a process. And I don't think we've had any problem 
granting them yet.
    The Chairman. Okay.
    Secretary Bernhardt. And you know, I've been very clear 
that health and human safety is predominant, but we have two 
things here. One is our overall security. The other is making 
sure that we have responsible suppliers for these types of 
equipment going forward. So we're focused on both of those 
issues, and it's my hope that the review comes back and says 
that there's no problem, but until it's done, I can't make that 
promise.
    The Chairman. Yes, well, no, I understand that. You have a 
responsibility on that one, but we also recognize----
    Secretary Bernhardt. Absolutely. I appreciate that
    The Chairman. ----that they are invaluable tools as we work 
to ensure safety of the men and women that are on these lands.
    Mr. Secretary, I want to thank you. You have come before 
this Committee numerous times. You have been before the 
Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and you were asked some 
hard questions, but your default, and I shouldn't say it in 
that way, is always, my job is to implement the law and you do 
that. I appreciate that you are doing that, whether it is the 
Dingell Act and the very specific initiatives, whether it is 
something that is a Chugach land conveyance study or what we 
are trying to do with the Native allotments. You are 
implementing the law.
    You are doing the same when it comes to the Tax Reform Act 
of 2017 where the law says you shall move forward with these 
leases within the 1002 Area within a prescribed period of time 
and you are doing that, you are following that law and you are 
working to balance it to ensure that you are in compliance with 
the Marine Mammal Act and all other Acts.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Absolutely.
    The Chairman. You are following the law when you are 
dealing with these public land orders that, subject to ANCSA, 
you have to work within all of this. You are following the law 
as it relates to the offshore, to OCSLA, when we are talking 
about these lease sales that the members are concerned or 
anxious about. We can poke fingers, but you have the law to 
implement and unless we decide that we are going to change that 
law, you are implementing it.
    I appreciate the fact that you come back to us saying, ``My 
job here is to implement the law.'' Thank you for what you are 
doing as you are leading in that way. You have been a good 
partner for my state, and I appreciate the leadership that you 
and your team have provided.
    With that, we have taken a lot of your morning and we 
appreciate the time that you have given us.
    I know members will have follow-on questions that they will 
submit as part of the record, and we look forward to your 
responses as well.
    Secretary Bernhardt. Thank you.
    The Chairman. With that, the Committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:58 a.m. the hearing was adjourned.]

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