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Commitment to Oklahoma

Do you want to keep up to date on Senator Inhofe's work on the EPW Committee? Be sure to read the Inhofe EPW Press Blog or subscribe to the Inhofe EPW Press email list. 

Update: See Which Oklahomans testified before the EPW Committee in the 111th Congress.

Through my leadership position on the EPW Committee, I have worked to improve our nation’s infrastructure, strengthen our national security though energy independence and further protect our environment. Of all my work on the Committee however, I am most proud of my efforts to address the challenges confronting Oklahoma. Let me share with you some of these accomplishments.

Passage of the Highway Bill was an historic victory for Oklahoma. As the author of the legislation, I am particularly proud of the increase in funding the state receives from this bill. One of my top priorities when I became Chairman was to increase the rate of return for donor states such as Oklahoma. Passage of this bill includes about 32 percent more funding over the previous highway authorization bill for Oklahoma and this highway bill increases Oklahoma’s formula rate of return to 92 cents per dollar in 2008. Additionally, I secured over $300 million in funding for specific highway projects around the State. (Update - See Tulsa World Story "State gains in road funding")

I am proud to have led the effort in the Senate in 2007 to ensure enactment the critically important national infrastructure bill called the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Enactment of WRDA is a victory for addressing Oklahoma’s as well as America's water resources needs in a fiscally responsible manner. Over the past seven years, I have worked closely with my Senate colleagues to write and shepherd this bill through committee, through the Senate, through conference, and finally, through gaining support to override the President's veto. While final enactment of this bill is long overdue, I am particularly pleased to see such strong, overwhelming bi-partisan support of this important bill.  (Read More: Oklahoma Newspapers Support Inhofe Leadership on WRDA) 

I have successfully worked to focus federal attention and action toward the Tar Creek Superfund site.  The Tar Creek Superfund site is one of the most severe and largest superfund sites in the country.  It is a part of the former Tri-State Mining District which included parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.  The lead and zinc mining have left a legacy of human health and environmental deterioration.  The mining and milling of lead and zinc ore left approximately 300 miles of underground tunnels, 75 million of tons of tailings (generally, the tailing with the consistency of gravel are called chat), more than 1,320 mine shafts, and thousands of drill holes.  The mine tailing are deposited in hundreds of piles and sediment retention ponds near the residential communities and in undeveloped urban and rural areas.  Some piles are as high as 200 feet and contain elevated levels of lead and other heavy metals.  Parts of this area are so heavily undermined that homes and roads have literally begun to collapse into the ground. 

Since becoming Chairman in 2003, I made a priority of ensuring the federal agencies responsible for remediating the Tar Creek Superfund Site were all working together.  Since that time, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Department of Interior (DOI), US Army Corps of Engineers, White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and US Federal Highway Administration (FHA) have established a unified and cooperative federal approach for the first time in the history of the Tar Creek site.  At my request, the White House issued the first Tar Creek Task Force report, and I have hosted officials from these federal agencies in tours of the site.  Federal departments and agencies are finally working with each other along with the state, local and tribal governments to find a solution to this problem that has plagued Ottawa County.  Since 2003, I have also specifically designated a total of $45 million to date through a number of federal appropriations bills to fund state and federal agencies to conduct clean up operations and address area safety concerns.  Part of these funds also directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the undermining in the Tar Creek Superfund site and estimate the risk of subsidence in the area.  Using this information, a local board of trustees appointed by the Governor is developing plans to provide relocation assistance to residents with nearly $19 million of the remaining federal appropriation funds. (See Tulsa World Editorial - Evacuating Tar Creek Will Be His Legacy)

Throughout my career I have championed policies that encourage the U.S. to meet its energy needs domestically.  Developing energy at home translates to energy security to ensure stable sources of supply and well-paying jobs for American workers.  Perhaps no place else in the country appreciates that more than Oklahomans where the oil and gas industry that helped to build our state years ago is experiencing a resurgence and is contributing to a healthy economy.  During the 2005 Energy Bill, I worked to include provisions that clarify environmental regulations so that oil and gas can be produced more efficiently.  I have also sought a balanced energy policy that promotes renewable energy in a measured way that makes economic sense.  Specifically as Chairman, I passed legislation that served as the template to the historic Renewable Fuels Title to the energy bill – legislation that calls for the use of domestic biofuels in our cars and trucks.

I am also proud the President signed into law my Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act in 2006.  The Partners Program has proven results in Oklahoma habitat conservation and is a responsible and true partnership between land owners and the government.  These on-the-ground initiatives are the programs that actually succeed in protecting and recovering species, as opposed to the endless and expensive litigation that has become the hallmark of the Endangered Species Act.  In Oklahoma alone, the Partners Program has restored and created habitat on a total of 124,285 acres through 700 individual Partners Program voluntary agreements with private landowners.  The costs in each agreement are shared between the landowners and the federal government.  Since 1990, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has provided $3,511,121 to restore habitat in Oklahoma through the Partners Program and private landowners have contributed $12,638,272. I was honored in 2007 to be named “Conservation Legislator of the Year” by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for my work on the Partners Program.

Last, but not least, the EPW Committee also oversees the Economic Development Administration (EDA).  EDA has an excellent record of assisting local communities create and retain jobs and spur economic growth.  As Chairman I worked to ensure that local officials and development organizations remain key players in EDA’s process and that communities across Oklahoma -- such as Elgin, Oklahoma City, Miami and Durant -- are able to benefit from EDA’s grant programs. 

Now in 2010, my commitment to Oklahoma remains the same: to continue to ensure Oklahoma receives the attention we deserve by the federal government. I am proud to have worked with my colleagues in the Senate to pass significant legislation for Oklahoma and the country, as well as provide the necessary oversight of the federal government.

 

Related Records:

03/11/2008 [ Webcast ]

RESCHEDULED: Full Committee hearing entitled, “Examining the President’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2009 Budget for the Civil Works Program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Implementation of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007.” **Please note that this hearing was originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 12th at 10am.**

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02/06/2008

Full Committee Business Meeting S. 2146, A bill to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to accept, as part of a settlement, diesel emission reduction Supplemental Environmental Projects, and for other purposes *This bill was passed out of the Environment and Public Works Committee by voice vote on February 6, 2008.*

02/06/2008 [ Webcast ]

Full Committee hearing entitled, “Perspectives on the Surface Transportation Commission Report.”

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01/31/2008 [ Webcast ]

TIME CHANGED: Full Committee hearing entitled, “A Hearing to Receive the Report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.” Start time for this hearing has been changed to 10:30am.

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08/23/2007

Field Hearing entitled, "A Perspective on the Endangered Species Act’s Impacts on the Oil and Gas Industry."

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03/15/2007 [ Webcast ]

Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure Hearing on Water Resources Needs and the President’s Budget Proposal for the Army Corps of Engineers for Fiscal Year 2008

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