The Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources will hold two field hearings in Colorado during the first week of May.

On Wednesday, May 2^nd the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold an oversight field hearing in Denver, Colorado on “Federal Regulation:  Economic, job and energy security implications of federal hydraulic fracturing regulation.”  At the hearing, Members will examine the on-the-ground impacts of the Interior Department’s proposed regulations on hydraulic fracturing.  A draft copy of the new regulations, reported in February by Politico, show that the Obama Administration is preparing to add significant red tape and delays to the job creating energy production that comes from harnessing U.S. shale gas resources.

On Thursday, May 3^rd, 2012 the Subcommittee will hold a joint oversight and legislative field hearing in Colorado Springs, Colorado entitled “Federal Geospatial Spending, Duplication and Land Inventory Management.”   The hearing will specifically focus on H.R. 4233,the Map It Once, Use It Many Times Act, and H.R. 1620, theFederal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2011.

“Colorado already has some of the toughest environmental regulations in the country for fracking. I believe that state lawmakers and regulators know the geology, water, and local conditions far better than federal bureaucrats in Washington. For that reason, I am concerned that increasing federal regulations could simply hurt energy production and lead to job losses and higher energy costs,”said Subcommittee Chairman Lamborn.  “We also need to hear from the experts on how Congress can reduce duplication among the more than 40 different federal agencies with geospatial activities. This duplication and overlapping has led to a culture within the federal government of ‘map it many times and horde the data’ whereas it should be to ‘map it once and use it many times.’”

Visit the Committee Calendar for testimony and additional information, once it is made available.  The hearing is open to the public and a live video stream will be broadcast at http://naturalresources.house.gov/live.

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