Bishop Amendment Ending Sweetheart Deal for Oil and Gas Passes House Committee

Press Release

Today, a key House committee adopted an amendment sponsored by Congressman Tim Bishop to hold the oil and gas industry to the same standards as every other industry in preventing unnecessary runoff from construction sites. Introduced in partnership with Congressman Mike Arcuri (D-NY), the amendment was added to legislation responding to the BP Gulf Oil Spill during debate in the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Bishop's amendment strikes a provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempted the oil and gas industry from having to obtain stormwater discharge permits when they construct drilling sites, despite the documented harm that construction runoff can cause to sensitive lakes, rivers, streams and bays.

"Big oil and gas companies should have to play by the same rules as everyone else," Congressman Bishop said. "No one should have the right to pollute our public waterways the way BP and other big oil and gas companies have. Today, we are one step closer to that coming to an end."

Prior to 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had sought to regulate the building of the oil and gas location sites by insisting on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, commonly referred to as stormwater discharge permits for the construction of the site. However, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ended that process by redefining the exemption for "oil and gas production and exploration activities" to include all construction activities at drill sites -- giving the industry a permanent exemption for all construction activities for oil and gas exploration and production.

The only member of the Long Island Congressional Delegation to serve on the powerful Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Bishop has been a steadfast supporter of legislation to protect waterways. His Clean Estuaries Act of 2010 (H.R. 4715), legislation to protect and enhance America's estuaries, passed the House in April and was approved yesterday by a Senate committee.

In separate action today, Congressman Bishop voted with the full House to pass the SPILL Act (H.R. 5503), which reforms outdated maritime liability laws to ensure that the families of those killed or injured in the BP Oil Spill and other such tragedies are justly compensated for their losses.

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