Idaho lawmakers passed a suite of bills in 2016 stripping the ability of local communities to have a say in oil and gas permitting. The worst legislation, Senate Bill 1339, would make the permitting process for oil and gas much quicker, strip local control of oil and gas permitting, and reduce the ability for the public to comment or appeal permitting decisions related to oil and gas. Despite Idaho Organization of Resource Council (IORC) and many others opposition to the legislation, the bills passed pretty easily. Group members clearly were on record stating that the legislation was flawed. To get their message to folks outside of the legislature, IORC members went to the press in early March.
IORC Member Op-Ed Asking For Veto
On March 11, member Stuart Reitz penned an op-ed in the Idaho Statesman regarding why the bills passed by the legislature were bad for local communities dealing with oil and gas development and individuals interested in permitting decision on or near their land. The op-ed called for Gov. Butch Otter to veto the bad oil and gas legislation. Gov. Otter has until March 17 to decide whether to veto SB 1339.
IORC Idaho Landowner Bill of Rights
Beyond asking the Governor to veto the bad oil and gas legislation, IORC is also distributing a petition pushing for the Idaho legislature to adopt a set of protections for landowners living with or near oil and gas development in Idaho. The petition is called the Idaho Landowner Bill of Rights. IORC plans to invite all those who sign the petition to a meeting to further develop the Landowner Bill of Rights and determine their next steps to ensure that Idahoans do not get run over by oil and gas development.
For more information about IORC’s oil and gas campaign, visit their oil and gas campaign page.
Read more stories about oil and gas here.
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