Clark has served as a member of the ND PSC since 2000, and Clark was President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (“NARUC”) from November 2010 to November 2011.   Also, prior to being elected President of NARUC, Clark served as Chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party, but he resigned from that position in November 2010.  Before joining the ND PSC, Clark served as a state legislator for District 44 in the North Dakota State House of Representatives and also served as North Dakota’s Labor Commissioner.  Clark focused on a variety of issues while serving as President of NARUC, including pipeline safety.  During his tenure, NARUC sponsored a report on state pipeline safety requirements and initiatives. 

Clark’s Senate confirmation will be undertaken by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  The Committee will likely hold a hearing on Clark’s nomination and may choose to report the nomination favorably, unfavorably, without recommendation, or take no action at all.  If the Committee votes to report the nomination, then the process will move to the full Senate.  In some instances, one or more Senators may place a “hold” on a nomination, thereby delaying or preventing it from reaching the floor for further action.  The Senate then has three options: confirm, reject, or take no action on the nomination.  Confirmation requires a simple majority vote.  The last three FERC Commissioners have averaged 97 days to confirm.

A copy of the President’s press release is available here.

• Opening more than 75% of America’s potential offshore oil and gas resources;
• Requiring companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals used;
• Promoting clean-energy tax credits;
• Allowing the development of clean energy on public lands;
• Announcing the U.S. Navy will purchase enough clean energy capacity to power a quarter million homes (1 GW); and
• Proposing that Congress pass a bill to promote energy efficiency in manufacturing facilities.

President Obama also directed the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) to develop 3,500 MW of renewable projects on public lands this year.  DOI has stated that this increase in 2012-approved projects would mean that it would meet the Energy Policy Act of 2005’s mandate to site 10 GW of non-hydroelectric renewable energy projects by December 31, 2015.  DOI also recently announced plans for a natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico.  The sale is expected to take place on June 20, 2012 and will include approximately 7,250 unleased blocks that span nearly 38 million acres.  Federal estimates speculate the region contains 31 billion barrels of oil and 134 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Obama’s address renewed his request for Congress to pass a “clean energy standard” that would require electric utilities to obtain 80 percent of their power from natural gas, nuclear and renewable sources by 2035 and a permanent extension of a federal production tax credit for wind power.  The current wind energy tax credit is set to expire on December 31, 2012.  The American Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Extension Act has been introduced and proposes to grant a four year extension to the wind energy tax credit.  Obama made reference to the Solyndra bankruptcy stating “some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail.”  (See September 23, 2011 edition of the WER).

The Ag Committee markup included a number of bills to rationalize the CFTC’s implementation of Dodd-Frank.  The bills had already been approved by the House Financial Services Committee.  Unlike the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House utilizes sequential referrals of pending bills through various committees of jurisdiction.

“[The bills] are intended to restore the balance that I believe can exist between sound regulation and a healthy economy,” Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said at the markup held last week.

Although the bills voted out of the Ag Committee generally had bipartisan support, Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) expressed reservations about the roll-back of Dodd-Frank.

“The sad part of this exercise is that we may find out later it wasn’t even necessary,” Peterson said. “What is potentially even sadder is that even if we do find that any of these bills are necessary, they have no future. The majority of Senate Republicans and their leadership have dedicated themselves to the repeal of Dodd-Frank.”

“Swaps” are used by energy companies to hedge commodity risk.  Swaps are contracts that are based on prices of commodities, credit and world currencies.  Supporters of the Dodd-Frank roll-back effort argue that swap “end users” such as utilities should not be subject to stringent oversight for trades used to mitigate risk on an energy company’s own account.

The State Department is currently authorized to receive applications for Presidential Permits for all oil infrastructure projects that cross a U.S. Border pursuant to Executive Order 11423.  Executive Order 11423 also indicates that the Secretary of State shall consult with other individuals, including Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning.  Ultimately, however, the Secretary of State will issue or deny the Presidential Permit unless an official required to be consulted with requests the Secretary of State refer the application to the President for consideration and final decision.  President Obama became involved in the Keystone XL Permit decision when Congress enacted the “Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act” and required a decision on the Permit within 60 days.

On December 2, 2011, Representative Lee Terry (R-NE) introduced HR 3548, which is now garnering greater attention after the denial of the Presidential Permit for Keystone XL Pipeline.  HR 3548 would require FERC to issue a permit for the “construction, operation and maintenance” of the Keystone XL Pipeline within 30 days of receiving the permit.  If FERC declines to act within 30 days, the permit will be deemed to have been issued.   In addition to issuing a permit, HR 3548 requires FERC to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Nebraska for review of a modification to the pipeline route in Nebraska.

At the hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power on January 25, 2012, Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs from the State Department testified that HR 3548 would not resolve any concerns that the State Department had with the Keystone XL Pipeline prior to recommending denial of the Presidential Permit.  Dr. Jones indicated that the proposed legislation would impose “narrow time constraints and create[s] automatic mandates that prevent an informed decision.”   In addition to Dr. Jones, Jeff C. Wright, Director of the Office of Energy Projects at FERC, testified that while the Commission has no position on HR 3548, it should provide “clear and effective procedures” for conducting a review of the Keystone XL Pipeline project application.  Wright also testified that HR 3548 poses some concerns for the Commission’s ability to exercise reasoned decision making.  He also testified that HR 3548 could “be construed as providing that federal jurisdiction which supplants local authority” as individual states currently have some authority to site oil pipelines within their jurisdiction.

A copy of HR 3548 is available here.