[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 149 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4523-S4525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-44. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Arizona urging the United States Congress to 
     support hunting, angling, and wildlife conservation; to the 
     Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                   House Concurrent Memorial No. 2005

       Whereas, states are the primary caretakers of fish and 
     wildlife through the public trust doctrine; and
       Whereas, the American system of conservation funding 
     depends heavily on the financial support of hunters and 
     anglers, who make the largest monetary contributions to the 
     conservation of fish and wildlife through their purchases of 
     licenses and hunt permit-tags and excise taxes on ammunition 
     and outdoor recreation equipment; and
       Whereas, the historic uses of Arizona's rivers, lakes, 
     streams, forests and rural lands over several centuries have 
     included hunting and angling: and
       Whereas, Arizona has a rich, historic tradition of hunting 
     and angling that dates back to before statehood and continues 
     to this day; and
       Whereas, Arizona's wildlife is held in the public trust, 
     one of the core concepts guaranteeing opportunities for all 
     citizens to participate in hunting, angling and wildlife 
     conservation; and
       Whereas, Arizona's sportsmen and sportswomen were among the 
     first conservationists to support the establishment of the 
     Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) to conserve fish and 
     wildlife and their habitats and to help fund state efforts to 
     provide for healthy natural resources; and
       Whereas, Arizona sportsmen and sportswomen continue to 
     provide the funding for the AZGFD, which is the primary 
     steward of the state's fish and wildlife resources; and
       Whereas, more than 500,000 hunters and anglers in Arizona 
     represent an economic powerhouse with spending that exceeds 
     $900 million per year and an economic impact of $1.34 billion 
     to this state; and
       Whereas, Arizona's hunting and angling industries are a 
     vital economic driver, supporting more than 17,000 jobs that 
     generate $314 million in salaries and wages and creating 
     economic opportunity, particularly in rural communities; and
       Whereas, the annual spending by Arizona's hunters and 
     anglers generates $58 million in state revenue; and
       Whereas, AZGFD successfully conserves and protects more 
     than 800 native wildlife species; and
       Whereas, hunting and angling provide the financial backbone 
     for world-class stewardship of natural resources through a 
     ``user pays-public benefits'' approach that represents the 
     world's most effective system of fish and wildlife 
     management; and
       Whereas, hunters and anglers must respect private property 
     rights while they are engaged in their hunting and angling 
     endeavors; and
       Whereas, National Hunting and Fishing Day was established 
     in 1972 and is celebrated the fourth Saturday of each 
     September to recognize hunters and anglers for their immense 
     contributions to fish and wildlife conservation and to 
     society; and
       Whereas, hunting and angling in Arizona are a vital part of 
     the state and local historic customs, culture, heritage and 
     economies. Wherefore your memorialist, the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate 
     concurring, prays:
       1. That the United States Congress respect the historic and 
     current use of Arizona's recreational areas by sportsmen and 
     sportswomen, support the time-honored Arizona traditions of 
     hunting and angling, the very backbone of conservation, and 
     respect the administration of wildlife conservation through 
     the sound science delivered by the Arizona Game and Fish 
     Department and science-based policies developed by the 
     Arizona Game and Fish Commission.
       2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 
     of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State 
     of Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-45. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Arizona urging the President of the United 
     States and the United States Congress to halt the imposition 
     of unrealistic ozone standards on the state of Arizona; to 
     the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                   House Concurrent Memorial No. 2008

       Whereas, on September 16, 2022, the United States 
     Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reclassified Maricopa 
     County as a moderate nonattainment area for ozone limits 
     under the Clean Air Act; and
       Whereas, the EPA under the Biden Administration is trying 
     to force the adoption of ozone contro1 measures on the State 
     of Arizona and its individua1 citizens, motorists and 
     businesses that would devastate the economy; and
       Whereas, the main contributor to nonattainment for Maricopa 
     County was the adoption of the 2015 EPA guidelines, which 
     dropped acceptable ozone levels from 75ppb to 70ppb ; and
       Whereas, multiple studies have shown that higher ozone 
     levels in Maricopa County are being caused by natural events 
     and that external activity outside the state is beyond the 
     scope and control of the citizens of this state; and
       Whereas, there is no evidence that any of the control 
     measures being considered, including additional regulations 
     on business, expanding transit, adopting vision-zero zoning 
     programs or vehicle trip reduction requirements will result 
     in Maricopa County reaching attainment; and
       Whereas, the Maricopa Association of Governments has issued 
     public statements acknowledging that the removal of a11 
     4,000,000 internal combustion vehicles in the metropolitan 
     Phoenix area would not bring Maricopa County into compliance 
     with the ozone requirements mandated by the EPA; and
       Whereas, during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 ozone levels 
     increased from 79ppb to 87ppb despite the fact that most 
     vehicular and business activity was halted in Maricopa 
     County; and
       Whereas, the imposition of fines and penalties or the 
     withholding of Arizona's share of federa1 transportation 
     dollars by the EPA for nonattainment would be coercive and 
     unfairly punitive to the citizens of this state. Wherefore 
     your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State 
     of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
       1. That the Biden Administration and the United States 
     Congress stop the United States Environmenta1 Protection 
     Agency from imposing coercive and likely unconstitutional 
     penalties on Arizona to comply with an ozone standard that is 
     impossible to attain through any of the control measures 
     being considered.
       2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and 
     each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-46. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Arizona urging the United States Congress to 
     appropriate monies and federal entities to develop solutions 
     to eradicate salt cedars in Arizona waterways; to the 
     Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                   House Concurrent Memorial No. 2006

       Whereas, the salt cedar tree, also known as the tamarisk, 
     was brought to the United States in the 1800s as an 
     ornamental plant to stabilize soil and control erosion; and
       Whereas, salt cedars are now listed as an invasive species 
     by the United States Department of Agriculture: and
       Whereas, salt cedars spread prolifically by both seed and 
     sprouting, congesting thousands of acres of river land in 
     Arizona: and
       Whereas, the density of salt cedars creates dangerous 
     conditions by congesting flood-prone areas, impeding water 
     flow and exacerbating the impact of flooding; and
       Whereas, by increasing the frequency and intensity of 
     wildfires, salt cedars threaten existing and future 
     infrastructure in surrounding communities: and
       Whereas, this invasive plant out-competes native 
     cottonwood, mesquite and willow and displaces riparian and 
     other wildlife habitats by altering the ecology and hydrology 
     of native systems: and
       Whereas, each salt cedar tree consumes 200 to 300 gallons 
     of water a day, which lowers the water table and creates 
     large deposits of salt in the soil; and
       Whereas, salt cedars negatively impact Arizona's economy by 
     jeopardizing agriculture due to high water usage, tending to 
     obstruct irrigation canals and limiting recreational 
     opportunities: and
       Whereas, eliminating salt cedars will sustain precious 
     water supplies, reduce the risk of environmental disasters 
     and minimize structural and ecological damage and loss of 
     life.
       Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of 
     the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
       1. That the United States Congress appropriate monies to 
     the State of Arizona to eradicate salt cedars from Arizona 
     waterways.

[[Page S4524]]

  

       2. That the United States Department of the Interior and 
     the United States Department of Agriculture develop 
     innovative solutions to control the proliferation of salt 
     cedars.
       3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona 
     transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the 
     United States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the 
     Secretary of the United States Departmet of the Interior, the 
     Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture and 
     each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
                                  ____

       POM-47. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Michigan urging the United States Congress to allocate 425 
     million dollars for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 
     the fiscal year 2024 budget; to the Committee on Environment 
     and Public Works.

                        Senate Resolution No. 15

       Whereas, The Great Lakes are a critical resource for our 
     nation, supporting the economy and a way of life in Michigan 
     and the other seven states within the Great Lakes region. The 
     Great Lakes hold 21 percent of the world's surface freshwater 
     and 84 percent of the United States' surface freshwater 
     supply. This globally significant freshwater resource 
     provides drinking water for more than 30 million people and 
     directly supports 1.3 million jobs, generating $82 billion in 
     wages; and
       Whereas, The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) has 
     provided crucial funding to support long overdue work to 
     protect and restore the Great Lakes. In partnership with the 
     states, local governments, and other organizations, the 
     federal government has invested more than $3 billion and 
     supported over 6,800 projects since 2010, including over $600 
     million for more than 2,100 projects in Michigan. These 
     projects have cleaned up toxic pollution, reduced runoff from 
     cities and farms, combatted invasive species, and restored 
     fish and wildlife habitats; and
       Whereas, The GLRI has made a significant difference and 
     represents a sound investment in both the environment and the 
     economies of the Great Lakes region. A 2018 study calculated 
     that for every federal dollar invested in Great Lakes 
     restoration there is an additional $3.35 in economic 
     activity, with older industrial cities like Detroit seeing an 
     even higher return on investment; and
       Whereas, Far more work needs to be done. Whether toxic 
     algal blooms contaminating water supplies of Lake Erie, 
     invasive carp threatening billion-dollar fisheries, or 
     contaminated sediments restricting recreational 
     opportunities, substantial limitations and threats to the use 
     of the Great Lakes remain. These problems require a 
     collaborative effort to solve; and
       Whereas, The United States Congress allocated $368 million 
     to the GLRI as part of the federal spending bill for Fiscal 
     Year 2023. While a $279.8 million increase from Fiscal Year 
     2022, this allocation is less than the $400 million that the 
     GLRI was authorized to receive. This shortfall ignores the 
     national significance of our country's largest reserve of 
     drinkable, surface freshwater and jeopardizes the momentum 
     from more than a decade of unprecedented regional 
     cooperation. It is a short-sighted, short-term cost-savings 
     measure with long-term implications. Restoration efforts will 
     only become more expensive and more difficult if they are not 
     addressed in the coming years. The federal government needs 
     to remain an active partner with the Great Lakes Region; now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That we urge the United States 
     Congress to allocate $425 million for the Great Lakes 
     Restoration Initiative in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                  ____

       POM-48. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Louisiana urging the United 
     States Environmental Protection Agency to take such actions 
     as are necessary to timely review and grant the State of 
     Louisiana's application for primacy in the administration of 
     Class VI injection well permitting and to express this body's 
     support in furtherance thereof to maintain and extend 
     Louisiana's global leadership in transformative energy 
     innovation; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

                        House Resolution No. 229

       Whereas, for well over a century the people of Louisiana, 
     through their elected representatives in the Louisiana 
     Legislature and executive branch regulatory agencies, have 
     capably and conscientiously overseen the state's oil and gas 
     industry, including enactment of the first conservation laws 
     in 1906 and the establishment of the office of conservation 
     in 1921; and
       Whereas, since the state's first successful oil well was 
     completed in a Jennings rice field more than one hundred 
     twenty years ago, Louisiana has been a leader in exploring 
     the next energy frontier and pioneering the necessary 
     technologies and capabilities, including: the first over-the-
     water oil well in Caddo Lake, the first long-distance 
     pipeline from Shreveport to a Baton Rouge refinery, the first 
     fluid catalytic cracker unit critical to boost fuel 
     production and octane during World War II, and the first 
     offshore drilling rig and producing well out of sight of land 
     in the Gulf of Mexico; and
       Whereas, in 2009 the members of the Louisiana Legislature 
     had the foresight to enact the Louisiana Geologic 
     Sequestration and Carbon Dioxide Act and thus create the 
     statutory and regulatory framework enabling the Department 
     ofNatural Resources to request that the United States 
     Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allow the state of 
     Louisiana to administer and enforce the Class VI injection 
     well permitting program; and
       Whereas, the Department of Natural Resources, office of 
     conservation, submitted its primacy request in the fall of 
     2021, after more than two years of preparation and 
     coordination with EPA Region 6 as well as two public comment 
     periods; and
       Whereas, the EPA published a proposed rule to grant 
     Louisiana primacy in the Federal Register in early May 2023; 
     and
       Whereas, for decades Louisiana state government agencies 
     have been effectively administering a number of federal 
     regulatory programs to which the EPA has eithel delegated 
     authority or granted primacy to the state of Louisiana; and
       Whereas, in 1982, the office of conservation, Underground 
     Injection Control Section was granted primacy by the EPA to 
     administer the approved regulatory and permitting program for 
     Class I, Class II, Class III, Class IV, and Class V wells; 
     and
       Whereas, for more than forty years it has been a core duty 
     of state agency leaders and employees to protect underground 
     sources of drinking water, surface waters, and the land from 
     endangerment by regulating the subsurface injection of 
     hazardous and nonhazardous waste fluids; subsurface storage 
     of liquid, liquefied, and gaseous fluids; mineral solution 
     mining; and injection for enhanced oil recovery; and
       Whereas, Louisiana citizens employed at the appropriate 
     state government agencies are best qualified to evaluate 
     Class VI permit applications in light of Safe Drinking Water 
     Act requirements due to decades-long experience and knowledge 
     of Louisiana's subsurface geology; and
       Whereas, Louisiana's Class VI primacy application 
     incorporates a memorandum of agreement with EPA Region 6 
     reaffirming the state's commitment to inclusive participation 
     during the permitting process with a sensitivity to potential 
     impacts on susceptible sub-populations; and
       Whereas, there are currently twenty administratively 
     complete Class VI permit applications pending at the federal 
     agency representing tens of billions of dollars in potential 
     capital investment, tens of millions in metric tons of 
     captured carbon dioxide emissions, and untold thousands of 
     Louisiana jobs; and
       Whereas, the EPA has yet to issue a single Class VI permit 
     from a Louisiana applicant; and
       Whereas, Louisiana embraces an all-the-above approach to 
     the nation's energy supply as well as the ongoing energy 
     transition, of which carbon capture and sequestration plays 
     an integral part; and
       Whereas, Louisiana is committed to maintaining its position 
     as a national leader in energy production, job growth in the 
     energy sector, and innovative climate technologies; and
       Whereas, a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers economic analysis 
     showed that Louisiana's natural gas and oil industry 
     supported three hundred forty-six thousand jobs, provided 
     $25.8 billion in labor income and contributed more than $54 
     billion toward the state's economy; and
       Whereas, the anticipated carbon capture, utilization, and 
     storage activity in Louisiana, coupled with new 
     infrastructure and retrofitting needs, is critical to 
     retaining, sustaining, and growing the state's oil, natural 
     gas, pipeline, petrochemical, biofuel, liquefied natural gas, 
     and hydrogen economy as it transforms into an increasingly 
     decarbonized future; and
       Whereas, Louisiana serves a national strategic purpose in 
     protecting our country's energy security as it produces 
     sixteen per cent of domestic energy, and supports America's 
     allies across the world with energy exports; and
       Whereas, Louisiana officials have been in an active, years-
     long collaboration with the EPA to establish robust 
     regulatory requirements and oversight of Class VI wells in 
     order to ensure the safe implementation of carbon capture and 
     sequestration projects in the state: Now therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby 
     memorialize the United States Environmental Protection Agency 
     to take such actions as are necessary to timely review and 
     grant the state of Louisiana's application for primacy in the 
     administration of Class VI injection well permitting and to 
     express support in furtherance thereof to maintain and extend 
     Louisiana's global leadership in transformative energy 
     innovation; and
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 
     the Administrator of the United States Environmental 
     Protection Agency, the presiding officers of the Senate and 
     the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United 
     States of America, to each member of the Louisiana 
     congressional delegation, and submitted for inclusion in the 
     comments for Docket Number EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0073.

[[Page S4525]]

  

                          ____________________