WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed its first significant energy bill since 2007 in overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion.
Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, and Cory Gardner, a Republican, praised the Energy Policy Modernization Act, which passed 85-12.
“This bill takes important steps toward the 21st century energy policy that our country so badly needs,” Bennet said in a statement.
Gardner, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the final bill – which includes provisions that he and Bennet backed – would positively impact Colorado and other Western states.
“This legislation will increase energy efficiency, modernize our electrical grid and create more jobs in the energy sector,” Gardner said.
The bill would increase funding for research and development of energy-related technology, promotes renewable energy and seek to modernize the oil and gas industry’s infrastructure. It was authored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the committee’s ranking member.
Gardner worked to include the reauthorization of a Department of Energy program to provide money to modernize dams and river conduits and a provision expediting the approval of export applications of liquid natural gas.
Bennet worked to include a package that would protect public lands in Colorado, including portions of Arapaho and Pike national forests. Along with Gardner and other senators, Bennet secured a provision that reimburses states that paid to reopen national parks closed during the 2013 government shutdown.
“Colorado’s public lands help drive our state’s tourism and outdoor recreation economy,” Bennet said. “This amendment ensures that Colorado is finally repaid for stepping in to keep Rocky Mountain National Park open during the government shutdown.”
One of the most significant provisions in the bill calls for the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was temporarily extended for three years in December’s omnibus spending bill. Bennet and Gardner have long supported permanently reauthorizing the fund, a 50-year-old program designed to preserve public lands and waters.
Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental organization, applauded the move.
“The permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund is a tremendous win for conservation in America, allowing this critical program to continue its long tradition of successfully providing clean water, conserving natural resources, increasing recreation opportunities and supporting communities in every state across the nation,” Tercek said.
Bennet told The Durango Herald that the LWCF has helped preserve public lands across Colorado, including providing funding for the Animas River Trail in Durango.
“Permanent reauthorization offers certainty to our communities that they’ll be able to protect these open spaces and our state’s natural heritage,” Bennet said.
The energy bill heads to the House, where lawmakers will try to forge a compromise bill between the Senate’s version and legislation that passed the House last year.
egraham@durangoherald.com. Edward Graham is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.
