United States Senator John Hoeven for North Dakota

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to the new draft federal rule on hydraulic fracturing published by the U.S. Department of the Interior:

“America needs a practical, forward-looking, all-of-the-above energy plan that will help us to develop more energy with better environmental stewardship and lead us to the long-elusive goal of North American energy security. The way to achieve that goal, however, is not to add a new layer of regulation and bureaucracy on top of the thorough regulatory regimen that states already administer.

“The new federal rules proposed by the Interior Department will exacerbate permitting delays, duplicate state regulatory activities and impede energy development by adding additional costs. For example, under the current federal regimen it takes between 180 and 290 days to permit a well. On private land in North Dakota, the same permit takes just weeks.

“The...

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the United States Senate confirmed Ernest Moniz to be U.S. Secretary of Energy. Hoeven, who is a member of the Senate Energy Committee, has pressed Moniz to support a states-first approach to hydraulic fracturing and to work with him to develop a comprehensive energy plan for the nation similar to Empower ND. As governor for ten years, Senator Hoeven worked to develop Empower ND, the state’s first comprehensive energy plan, which continues to provide North Dakota with an ever-evolving, dynamic blueprint for successful energy development.

“North Dakota is a leader in energy production for our nation because more than a decade ago we took an all-of-the-above approach to energy development that partners traditional and renewable energy sources in new and inventive ways,” said Hoeven. “I’ve pressed Secretary Moniz to work with us to take a truly comprehensive approach to energy development ...

WASHINGTON – The States’ Water Rights Act, an amendment sponsored by Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), and cosponsored by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), today passed in the U.S. Senate. The measure blocks the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from charging residents and businesses a surplus water fee for access to Missouri River reservoirs. The legislation was adopted into the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which passed in the Senate today.

Since 2010, the Corps has restricted access to the Missouri River reservoirs and has proposed charging an unprecedented fee for so-called surplus water taken from the major reservoirs in the upper basin. Upper basin states relinquished prime lands to create dams and reservoirs from Fort Peck in Montana, through Garrison Dam in North Dakota, to Gavins Point in South Dakota. The states never ceded the right to use Missouri River water for municipal and in...

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Senate has passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which includes authorization for permanent flood protection in the Red River Valley and legislation barring the Army Corps of Engineers from charging residents and businesses for Missouri River reservoir water.

“The WRDA bill successfully addresses two important priorities for North Dakota, one in the east and one in the west,” Hoeven said. “With authorization for permanent flood control in the Red River Valley we take a big step toward the construction phase of the project, and with inclusion of our States’ Water Rights Act, we block a misguided and unfair proposal by the Corps to charge a fee for access to Missouri River reservoirs.”

Permanent Flood Protection for the Red River Valley

Authorization obligates funding for construction of the project, which represents a large ste[. Hoeven said. Because...