SECRETARY SALAZAR'S REMARKS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY ON PUBLIC LANDS

Secretary Of Interior Ken Salazar

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Secretary Salazar: Renewable Energy on Public Lands and Waters Making Rapid Advances
Looming sequester threatens to slow progress on permitting

BOSTON – The Obama Administration’s renewable energy program has authorized dozens of renewable energy projects on public lands and will hold the first-ever auctions for commercial wind development in the Atlantic this year, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told offshore wind stakeholders at a conference in Boston today. Salazar noted that the rapid progress – as well as conventional oil and gas development on federal lands and waters – could be stymied by potential cuts under sequestration.

"We have made impressive gains, approving dozens of utility-scale solar, wind and geothermal projects in the West and transitioning from planning to commercial leasing for offshore wind," Salazar told about 300 industry leaders in a keynote address at the Offshore Wind Power USA Conference. "The potentially devastating impact of budget reductions under sequestration could slow our economy and hurt energy sector workers and businesses."

Salazar said he elevated renewable energy development to a departmental priority and Interior worked with industry, state, tribal and local partners to approve 34 projects on public lands in western states and to build an offshore regulatory framework in the Atlantic. The 18 utility-scale solar facilities, 7 commercial wind farms and 9 geothermal plants Interior green-lighted onshore would provide 10,400 megawatts when built, enough to power 3.4 million homes. The developers estimate that these projects would support 13,000 construction and operations jobs.

Mandatory budget cuts under sequestration, however, could delay Interior’s ability to issue permits for new development, plan for new projects, conduct environmental reviews and lease new federal lands for future development – both for renewable and conventional energy. Delays in offshore oil and gas permitting in the Gulf of Mexico, for example, could affect more than 500 exploration plans and development documents that are anticipated for review this year.

Onshore, nearly 300 oil and gas leases issued for public land in western states could be threatened under sequestration, delaying prospective production and deferring payments to the states and the U.S. Treasury. Delays in coal leasing could defer $50-60 millions of dollars in revenue sharing among states and the Treasury. Sequestration could have serious consequences for the emerging domestic renewable energy industry. The cuts would mean fewer studies, fewer opportunities to obtain meaningful stakeholder input, and delays in identification of potential use conflicts. The result could be a slower pace in identifying and leasing wind energy areas in federal waters, adversely impacting Interior’s ability to address offshore renewable energy management in a timely manner.

Under a ‘Smart-from-the-Start’ strategy, Interior has identified six Wind Energy Areas along the Atlantic coast that contain the greatest wind potential and fewest conflicts with competing uses. Interior has already issued two non-competitive commercial wind leases, one off Massachusetts and another off Delaware, and is moving forward with the first-ever competitive lease sales for Wind Energy Areas off Virginia and Rhode Island/Massachusetts, which will offer nearly 278,000 acres for development. The areas proposed could support more than 4,000 megawatts of wind generation – enough electricity to power 1.4 million homes. Salazar also signed a lease and approved a Construction and Operations Plan for the 130-turbine Cape Wind project, the first commercial wind development slated for federal offshore waters.

Calling 2013 a pivotal year for the industry, Salazar said Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will propose additional commercial lease sales this year for Wind Energy Areas offshore New Jersey, Maryland and Massachusetts and is working to determine industry interest in three areas off North Carolina. BOEM also is processing a lease request from a company with Department of Energy funding to develop cutting-edge floating wind turbines in federal waters off Maine. Other demonstration projects are proposed off Virginia and Oregon.

In addition, BOEM is considering a mid-Atlantic wind energy transmission line that would 7,000 megawatts of wind turbine capacity to the grid. This Atlantic Wind Connection would run from southern Virginia to northern New Jersey, collecting power produced by wind facilities off New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia and bringing it ashore.

RENEWABLE ENERGY ZONE IN ARIZONA

Photo:  Solar Panels.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Secretary Salazar Finalizes Plan to Establish Renewable Energy Zone on Public Lands in Arizona
First-ever state-wide plan to identify, set aside previously disturbed lands to encourage wind and solar energy development

WASHINGTON, DC -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that Interior has designated 192,100 acres of public land across Arizona as potentially suitable for utility-scale solar and wind energy development, furthering President Obama’s ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy to expand domestic energy production.

The publication of the Record of Decision (ROD) for this initiative, known as the Restoration Design Energy Project, caps a three-year, statewide environmental analysis of disturbed land and other areas with few known resource conflicts that could accommodate commercial renewable energy projects.

The ROD also establishes the Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone, the third solar zone on public lands in Arizona and the 18th nationwide. The Solar Energy Zones are part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to facilitate solar energy development by identifying areas in six states in the West with high solar potential, few resource conflicts and access to existing or planned transmission. With the Agua Caliente zone, Interior is delivering on the promise made as part of the Western Solar Plan to identify and establish additional solar energy zones.

"This project is a key milestone in our work to spur smart development of solar and wind energy on public lands across the West," Secretary Salazar said. "Arizona has huge potential when it comes to building a clean energy economy, and this landscape-level plan lays a solid foundation for making sure that it happens in the right way and in the right places. As we advance the President’s energy strategy, we continue to work closely with states, local communities, tribes, industry, conservation and other groups to reduce potential resource conflicts and expedite appropriate projects that will generate jobs and investment in rural communities."

Since 2009, the Obama Administration has approved 34 renewable energy proposals for public lands, including solar, wind and geothermal projects. Together, they could generate 10,400 megawatts of electricity, or enough energy to power more than 3 million homes.

The lands identified in Arizona today include previously disturbed sites (primarily former agricultural areas) and lands with low resource sensitivity and few environmental conflicts. Bureau of Land Management lands in Arizona containing sensitive resources requiring protection, such as endangered or threatened wildlife and sites of cultural and historic importance, were eliminated from consideration. Additionally, the areas selected had to have reasonable access to transmission lines and load centers as well as be situated near areas with high electricity demand.

The ROD also sets standards for projects to avoid impacts to sensitive watersheds, ground water supplies and water quality and establishes a baseline set of environmental protection measures for proposed renewable energy projects. Today’s action does not directly authorize any solar or wind energy projects; any proposal will need to undergo a site-specific environmental review.

"This initiative exemplifies our ‘Smart-from-the-Start’ review process, which puts appropriate pieces in place for responsibly developing renewable energy projects on public lands," said Mike Pool, acting BLM Director. "The Arizona project can really serve as a model for future statewide analyses for responsible energy development in the West."

The new 2,550-acre Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone is located in Yuma County near Dateland, and the BLM estimates that the zone could generate more than 20 megawatts through utility-scale solar projects. The BLM administers about 12.2 million surface acres of public lands in Arizona.

To implement the ROD, eight BLM resource management plans will be amended to identify Renewable Energy Development Areas and provide guidance on how public lands are to be used. These identified areas are within 5 miles of a transmission line or a designated transmission corridor, and are close to cities, towns, or industrial centers.

U.S. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR KEN SALAZAR IS GOING HOME



Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. 

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Secretary Salazar to Return Home to Colorado

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that he will return to his home state of Colorado, having fulfilled his promise to President Obama to serve four years as Secretary. Secretary Salazar has informed President Obama that he intends to leave the Department by the end of March.

"Colorado is and will always be my home. I look forward to returning to my family and Colorado after eight years in Washington, D.C.," said Secretary Salazar. "I am forever grateful to President Obama for his friendship in the U.S. Senate and the opportunity he gave me to serve as a member of his cabinet during this historic presidency."

"I have had the privilege of reforming the Department of the Interior to help lead the United States in securing a new energy frontier, ushering in a conservation agenda for the 21st century, and honoring our word to the nation’s first Americans," added Salazar. "I thank the more than 70,000 employees at the Department for their dedication to our mission as custodians of America’s natural and cultural resources. I look forward to helping my successor in a seamless transition in the months ahead."

Secretary Salazar has helped usher in a new era of conservation to protect America’s lands, wildlife, and heritage. Under the banner of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors program, Interior has established ten national wildlife refuges and seven national parks since 2009; established forward-thinking protections for wildlife and preserved millions of acres of land; and implemented community-driven, science-based conservation strategies that take into account entire ecosystems and working landscapes.

"From the Crown of the Continent in Montana to the prairie grasslands of Kansas to the Everglades Headwaters in Florida, we are partnering with landowners, farmers, and ranchers to preserve their way of life and the irreplaceable land and wildlife that together we cherish," Salazar said. "We have established an enduring vision for conservation in the 21st century that recognizes all people from all walks of life."

Under Secretary Salazar’s leadership, Interior has played a keystone role in developing a secure energy future for the United States, both for renewable and conventional energy.

Since 2009, Interior has authorized 34 solar, wind and geothermal energy projects on public lands that total 10,400 megawatts - or enough to power over 3 million homes. Salazar also oversaw a visionary blueprint for solar energy development in the West and established the nation’s first program for offshore wind leasing and permitting in America’s oceans.

"Today, the largest solar energy projects in the world are under construction on America’s public lands in the West, and we’ve issued the first leases for offshore wind in the Atlantic," said Salazar. "I am proud of the renewable energy revolution that we have launched."

Salazar has also undertaken an historic overhaul of Interior’s management of oil and gas resources, implementing tough new ethics standards for all employees. He led Interior’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and split the former Minerals Management Service into three independent agencies with clear, independent missions to oversee ocean energy management and revenue collection. Interior has offered millions of acres offshore in the Gulf of Mexico for safe and responsible exploration and development and is proceeding with cautious exploration of Arctic resources. Onshore, Interior has also leased millions of acres for oil and gas development over the last four years while protecting special landscapes for hunting and fishing and other uses.

"We have undertaken the most aggressive oil and gas safety and reform agenda in U.S. history, raising the bar on offshore drilling safety, practices and technology and ensuring that energy development is done in the right way and in the right places," said Salazar. "Today, drilling activity in the Gulf is surpassing levels seen before the spill, and our nation is on a promising path to energy independence."

Secretary Salazar’s term was marked by historic progress for Indian Country with the passage of the Cobell settlement that honorably and responsibly addressed long-standing injustices regarding the U.S. government’s trust management. The President also signed into law six Indian water rights settlements, totaling over $1 billion, that will help deliver clean drinking water to tribal communities and provide certainty to water users across the West. Salazar spearheaded a sweeping reform – the first in 50 years – of federal surface leasing regulations for American Indian lands that will streamline the approval process for home ownership, expedite economic development, and spur renewable energy in Indian Country.

"President Obama has made it a priority to empower our nation’s first Americans by helping to build stronger, safer and more prosperous tribal communities," Salazar said. "This administration has been marked by a renewed commitment to honoring a nation-to-nation relationship and ensuring tribes have a greater role in federal decisions affecting Indian Country."

Salazar, a fifth-generation Coloradoan, has served his state and the nation for 14 continuous years as Colorado Attorney General, United States Senator and as the 50th secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

PINNACLES BECOMES 59TH U.S. NATIONAL PARK



Photo:  California Condor.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

AMERICA’S GREAT OUTDOORS: Salazar, Jarvis Celebrate Pinnacles’ New Status as 59th National Park

President signs legislation to elevate status of 1908 national monument in California’s Gabilan Mountains

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Director of the National Park Service Jonathan B. Jarvis today celebrated the establishment of America’s 59th national park with President Obama’s signature of legislation to elevate Pinnacles National Monument to become Pinnacles National Park.

"This ancient and awe-inspiring volcanic field with its massive monoliths, spires, cave passages and canyons is a place that restores our souls and energizes our bodies with its beauty and abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation," Salazar said. "I commend Rep. Sam Farr and Sen. Barbara Boxer for their vision in sponsoring the legislation to make it a national park."

"As with our other national parks and lands, Pinnacles also is an economic engine, supporting jobs in local communities," he said, noting that last year Pinnacles hosted more than 343,000 visitors. Each year, visitors spent about $4.8 million and support 48 jobs in the local economy.

Rising out of the Gabilan Mountains east of central California's Salinas Valley, Pinnacles is the result of millions of years of erosion, faulting and tectonic plate movement. Within the park's boundaries lie nearly 27,000 acres of diverse wild lands. Visitors delight in the beauty and variety of its spring wildflowers and more than 400 species of native bees. The Pinnacles rock formations are a popular destination to challenge technical and beginner climbers alike.

Designated as a national monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt, the park’s management will not change by the legislation. The Pinnacles National Park Act recognizes the broader significance of park resources, specifically the chaparral, grasslands, blue oak woodlands, and majestic valley oak savanna ecosystems of the area, the area's geomorphology, riparian watersheds, unique flora and fauna, and the ancestral and cultural history of native Americans, settlers and explorers.

"We are proud to add Pinnacles to our family of national parks," said Jarvis. "The beauty of the land and the diversity of recreational and educational opportunities offer a unique experience to every visitor. Pinnacles is a place worthy to be called part of ‘America’s Best Idea.'"

Pinnacles National Park is also well known as an incubator of America’s fragile population of California Condors. It is one of three condor release sites in the country, and the only release site in a national park. Pinnacles has been a partner of the California Condor Recovery Program since 2003. The park manages 31 free-flying condors. Each bird is monitored after its release to increase its chances of survival. Park biologists and volunteers monitor chicks hatched in the wild. They check blood and feather samples for signs of poisoning from ingestion of lead-contaminated food. They also monitor condors to aid research about their habitat and movement.

In addition to changing the park’s status from national monument to national park, the legislation names the park’s 16,000 acres of wilderness as the Hain Wilderness. The name honors Schuyler Hain who was an 1891 homesteader from Michigan. Within 20 years he became known as the "Father of Pinnacles" leading tours up through Bear Valley and into the caves. Hain spoke to groups and wrote articles urging preservation of the area and acted as unofficial caretaker for many years. His efforts proved fruitful with the establishment of Pinnacles as a 2,500-acre national monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

The rock formations of Pinnacles National Monument and the Gabilan Mountain Range divide the park into East and West Districts which are connected by trails, but not by a vehicle road. More than 30 miles of trails access geological formations, spectacular vistas and wildland communities. Pinnacles National Park is a day-use park, with occasional full moon hikes and dark sky astronomical observations led by ranger-interpreters.

The National Park System is more than 84 million acres in size and contains 398 natural, cultural and historic landscapes. This system includes 59 national parks, 125 national historical parks, national and international historic sites, 75 national monuments, as well as many national memorials, battlefields, parkways, preserves, recreation areas, seashores and lakeshores and trails.