Frank Wagner's Lies Set Up Virginia as a Pawn for Big Oil

As I've reported before, it was what I called "perjurous" testimony for State Senator Frank Wagner to testify before a congressional committee on natural resources that "my constituents, an overwhelming 75% supported offshore exploration and development of our offshore resources".

But this episode pales in comparison to, and is just the beginning of, Frank Wagner's more severe "truthiness" issues.  

In his June 28, 2007 testimony again before the same congressional committee, Frank Wagner spreads more "mistruths".  

Lie #1: "Keeping Virginia in the five year program is consistent with the desire of the Virginia General Assembly".

Lie #2: "Virginia has adopted Renewable Portfolio Standards".

First, with regard to the Lie #1, here's Virginia's official position:

Virginia's Secretaries of Commerce and Trade and of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Governor, respond to the plan's option to hold a special interest sale in OCS waters offshore Virginia, by restating portions of the state policy as set forth in state legislation. Specifically, Virginia supports Federal efforts to determine the extent of natural gas resources 50 miles or more offshore. The Commonwealth finds the PP inconsistent with its policy in four respects.

First, MMS should include areas in the whole of the Atlantic Planning area, not just off the shore of one state. Second, Virginia policy only addresses natural gas, not oil. Third, Virginia policy only addresses exploration, not production as set forth in the PP. Lastly, the PP excludes a 25-mile buffer zone, whereas the Virginia policy calls for a 50-mile minimum setback. Virginia urges MMS to modify its planning to be fully consistent with the Virginia policy or remove the Virginia planning areas from the plan entirely. Virginia also objects to the use of equidistance to determine the state administrative boundary.

Frank Wagner not only misrepresents Virginia's position on offshore drilling, but he also fails to correct MMS for its misreporting Virginia's position - a misrepresentation that Delegate Al Pollard however did correct in his testimony before Congress that same day.  

The Proposed Final Program Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, released in April 2007 by the Department of Mineral Management Service makes a grievous error, which seems technical in nature, but is in fact very important

On page 6 of the PFP, there is the mistaken notion that the Commonwealth "as called for in Virginia's legislated energy policy" requests a 50 mile buffer off the Virginia coasts. This is consistent with a general perception that the Energy Policy passed by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, of which I am a former member, encourages offshore exploration of oil and gas.

In fact, no such request takes place in Virginia's energy policy and any drilling off the Virginia coast is contrary to Virginia's Energy Policy as passed by the General Assembly. This policy is enumerated in 12 points in Sub-section A of -º 67-102 of the Code of Virginia.

Moving on to Lie #2: "Virginia has adopted Renewable Portfolio Standards"...

On Feb. 6, 2007, two bills went into the Senate Commerce and Labor committee: 1) Dominion's electric re-regulation bill and 2) Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple's RPS bill.  Only one bill came out of that committee, and take a wild guess which one it was?  It wasn't the RPS bill.  But that didn't stop folks like Frank Wagner from spinning a great yarn about that re-regulation bill.  Yes, there was RPS language in it - VOLUNTARY RPS requirements that is.  

As noted by the U.S. Department of Energy:

A renewable portfolio standard is a state policy that requires electricity providers to obtain a minimum percentage of their power from renewable energy resources by a certain date. Currently there are 24 states plus the District of Columbia that have RPS policies in place. Together these states account for more than half of the electricity sales in the United States.

Four other states, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, and Vermont, have nonbinding goals for adoption of renewable energy instead of an RPS.

Wagner's continual lies have greatly contributed to Big Oil's agenda to crack open areas otherwise closed by the OCS moratorium.  Thanks to Wagner and his lies, Virginia has been served up on a platter to Big Oil, used and set up as the weakest link - the loss leader - as Big Oil eyes not the measily little 6 month supply of oil (4 barrels)  in the Atlantic but instead the additional leases in the Gulf Coast (72 barrels) and off Alaska (27 barrels) and the Pacific (13 barrels).  "That's where the big game is, not Virginia", says Big Oil.

Comments