It Pays Well To Use The System That Is Supposed To Make Proper Federal Decisions
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
On Friday the Nevada Legislature’s Committee on Public Lands will take up an agenda item as part of their Ely meeting hearing details of the way in which the El Paso Corporation that is involved with the Ruby Pipeline bought off a couple of so-called environmental groups to get their silence on the 680-some mile natural gas pipeline. Depending on the information you see it was between $20 and $22 Million for the Western Watershed group and a similar organization in Oregon to drop their opposition to the pipeline.
It would seem that the price for any other project that requires federal approval just went up. Now you have to buy off the anti-management folks in order to get through the system without their tying things up in the appeal and other litigation actions. Western Watersheds will likely use the $20-some Million for their brand of activities aimed at driving livestock grazing from the federal lands.
There is a term for business paying these types of funds in order to be protected from the aggressive use of the system to prevent progress. The word represents what once was considered a crime, but then I would imagine that the organizations which employed these tactics in the past didn’t have the cloak of environmental correctness to provide the cover that this “transaction” involves.
Thank you El Paso Corporation for demonstrating your “concern” for the proper use of federally managed lands and best wishes for your pipeline’s success…as to the methods used to conduct your business -- we are not impressed.
It promises to be an interesting presentation on Friday.
On Friday the Nevada Legislature’s Committee on Public Lands will take up an agenda item as part of their Ely meeting hearing details of the way in which the El Paso Corporation that is involved with the Ruby Pipeline bought off a couple of so-called environmental groups to get their silence on the 680-some mile natural gas pipeline. Depending on the information you see it was between $20 and $22 Million for the Western Watershed group and a similar organization in Oregon to drop their opposition to the pipeline.
It would seem that the price for any other project that requires federal approval just went up. Now you have to buy off the anti-management folks in order to get through the system without their tying things up in the appeal and other litigation actions. Western Watersheds will likely use the $20-some Million for their brand of activities aimed at driving livestock grazing from the federal lands.
There is a term for business paying these types of funds in order to be protected from the aggressive use of the system to prevent progress. The word represents what once was considered a crime, but then I would imagine that the organizations which employed these tactics in the past didn’t have the cloak of environmental correctness to provide the cover that this “transaction” involves.
Thank you El Paso Corporation for demonstrating your “concern” for the proper use of federally managed lands and best wishes for your pipeline’s success…as to the methods used to conduct your business -- we are not impressed.
It promises to be an interesting presentation on Friday.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 7/27/2010 3:06 PM 
Categories: Public Lands
Tags: Nevada El Paso Corporation Natural Gas Pipeline Western Watersheds
Categories: Public Lands
Tags: Nevada El Paso Corporation Natural Gas Pipeline Western Watersheds
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