10.15.21

Livestreams Next Week: Huntington Beach Oil Spill Field Hearing on Monday, Colorado River Drought on Wednesday, the U.S. Nuclear Legacy in the Marshall Islands on Thursday

Washington, D.C. – The Natural Resources Committee is holding three livestreamed events next week.

MONDAY, OCT. 18

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations & Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led by Chair Katie Porter (D-Calif.), and the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, led by Chair Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), will hold a joint oversight field hearing titled, Southern California Oil Leak: Investigating the Immediate Effects on Communities, Businesses, and the Environment. The field hearing will be held at the Irvine Ranch Water District in Irvine, Calif.

Earlier this month, a nearly 18-mile-long offshore pipeline owned by Amplify Energy released thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Huntington Beach, Calif. The disaster created a 13-square-mile toxic oil slick on the ocean’s surface and has caused lasting damage to the area’s economy, wildlife and ecology, and the wellbeing of residents. The beach and its waters were closed for more than a week and major tourist events were cancelled. 

Offshore oil and gas drilling poses significant risks. When fossil fuel companies fail to mitigate these risks, the consequences and costs of their actions often fall on the American people. This hearing will feature testimony from community members whose lives have been adversely affected by the spill. 

 

Witnesses

  • Dr. Michael Ziccardi, Director, Oiled Wildlife Care Network; and Executive Director, One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis
  • Mr. Scott Breneman, West Caught Fish Company, Newport Beach, CA
  • Mr. Vipe Desai, Founding Member, Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific Coast
  • Dr. David Valentine, Norris Presidential Chair in Earth Science and Professor of Marine Science, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Minority Witnesses TBD

 

When: 9:00 a.m. Pacific time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/0nGUyjRhXAI

 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 20 

Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife

The Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, led by Chair Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), will hold an oversight hearing titled, Colorado River Drought Conditions and Response Measures – Day Two. This will be the second session of a two-part hearing. The recording of the first session, which was held Friday, Oct. 15, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, is available to view here: https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/hearings/colorado-river-drought-conditions-and-response-measures_day-one

Climate change and severe drought in the Colorado River Basin threaten water supplies for 40 million people in the Southwest. The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan authorized by Congress in 2019 is helping mitigate some drought impacts until its expiration in 2026, but additional response measures are needed to strengthen climate resilience for communities across the Southwest.

 

Witnesses

  • Mr. Adel Hagekhalil, General Manager, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
  • Mr. Enrique Martinez, General Manager, Imperial Irrigation District
  • Ms. Taylor Hawes, Colorado River Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
  • Ms. Anne Castle, Senior Fellow, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment, University of Colorado
  • Pat O’Toole (Minority Witness), President, Family Farm Alliance 

 

When: 11:00 a.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/EjGvvhdWL8I

 

THURSDAY, OCT. 21

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led by Chair Katie Porter (D-Calif.), will hold an oversight hearing titled, Runit Dome and the U.S Nuclear Legacy in the Marshall Islands. 

From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands, with an explosive yield equivalent to 1.6 Hiroshima-sized bombs every day for 12 years. At the time, the U.S. administered the Marshall Islands in a United Nations Trust, with absolute responsibility for the health and welfare of the Marshallese people. The U.S. has never apologized to the Marshallese, and claims paid out under a settlement agreement amounted to less than 10% of total damages. 

This hearing will focus on environmental monitoring programs at Runit Dome, a containment facility for nuclear waste at the former nuclear test site on Enewetak Atoll. The Department of Energy has failed to comply with environmental testing requirements under the 2011 Insular Affairs Act, citing a variety of reasons including a lack of funding from the Department of the Interior, and legal advice provided by the Department of State. The subcommittee will hear testimony on environmental monitoring at Runit Dome from multiple agencies and from expert witnesses on the connection between this issue, the wider U.S. nuclear legacy, and the U.S.-Marshallese relationship.

 

Witnesses

Panel I: Administrative Panel

  • Mr. Matthew Moury, Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety and Security, U.S. Department of Energy
  • TBD, U.S. Department of the Interior
  • TBD, U.S. Department of State

 

Panel II: Expert Witness Panel

  • The Honorable Casten Nemra, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Marshall Islands
  • Mr. Dean Cheng, Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, The Heritage Foundation
  • Ms. Melissa Laelan, Founder and Executive Director, Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese
  • Ms. Rhea Moss-Christian, Chair, Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission

 

When: 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/RUrTu7Z0Q1E

Press Contact

Media Contact: David Shen

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 860-6494 mobile