Friday, November 02, 2007
Ken Arnold's Plan for Energy Production Facilities on Indian Reservations
THE ENERGY AND PRODUCTION RESERVATION ACT (EPRA)
BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM: America is within an energy crisis. It’s a crisis of many facets. And it threatens our national security, our economy, and perhaps even our very lives. Unfortunately, in the past, our country has had far too short of memory in this area. The current crisis is the THIRD one we have experienced since the 1970s. It can only be hoped that we learn from this one and install PERMANENT and long-lasting solutions that will prevent future generations from facing similar threats.
Among the many facets to solve this energy crisis are several original and creative solutions that candidate Ken Arnold has developed – well before the current crisis. The one this paper outlines concerns the TRANSPORTATION AND MANUFACTURING of energy as well as the gambit of petrochemicals and other manufactured products that are a direct by-product of petroleum (i.e. petrochemicals and plastics).
All of the above products and activities directly relate to our economy and our national security. On the national security front: This EPRA initiative would concentrate energy and petrochemical related production into a smaller and isolated area and prove to be much more defensible and safe than present day facilities so spread out and close to major metropolitan areas. An article in the January 23, 2006 issue of U.S. News and World Report outlined just how vulnerable America presently is in this area.
Within this petroleum and energy area, our country has far too often been stagnant in the expansion and development of production capacities in this realm. This has led not only to being in crisis with the advent of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita with our constrained petroleum refining capacity; but, exposed our vulnerabilities should there be disruptions from ANY cause -- including a belligerent action of other countries! Not only would this threaten our national security, it would disrupt and potentially cripple our economy.
America has also started to awaken, in this day and age of balance of payment problems with foreign countries and our other economic problems, to the fact that far too many of some of the highest-paying industrial jobs have been given away overseas to countries such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. These jobs are ones that not only would supply good livelihoods to Americans – but would be relatively uninterrupted in the event of any belligerent crisis within the world.
ANALYSIS AND SOLUTION:
In addition to our historical, short-term memories of when such capacities have been pinched, and nobody previously pointing out the loss of such high-paying industrial jobs to overseas producers, there has been the convenient over-reliance on foreign sources while we languished in further developing these areas. Several factors for such over-reliance have been:
1) During most historical times, such petroleum and petroleum-related products from overseas have been low in cost.
2) America previously being spoiled with rather continuous provision of uninterrupted electric power – no brownouts and no blackouts.
3) The national opposition (with resultant over-abundance of regulatory hurdles) to any endeavor which produces any amount of air or water pollution. This opposition includes untenable amounts of forms, regulatory compliance, lawsuits, and public hearings. And all such obstacles instill enormous lead times to get any project off the ground.
4) Local opposition from area landowners from the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) syndrome of citizens wishing all the product or services - but not wishing an industrial facility close to their own homes. This point is an increasingly prevalent one as areas once sparse are becoming ever more populated in the United States.
5) Areas anywhere near metropolitan areas are experiencing greatly escalating land prices – making such land increasingly less economically attractive for massive refineries, power generating stations, and petrochemical plant sites even if one wished to place one there (ignoring the other obstacles).
A perfect opportunity and solution to the above problems exists under our very noses. It marries the need for high-paying jobs among some of our most needy Americans to the demands for energy and petroleum-based production to be increased within our country. And this initiative ensures that such development addresses all of the problems related to above. The solution is called The Energy and Production Reservation Act of 2007.
This Act involves addressing the various obstacles and problems we face in energy and production development in a creative way that enhances our domestic energy supplies as well as economic/national security. It has the following components:
1) The Federal government approaching the Indian Nations of our country and offering Federal incentives and assistance in developing their economic base. This initiative would involve the Indian Nation inviting the establishment of an “Energy and Production Reservation Area” (EPRA) within their Indian Reservation. It would still be Indian Reservation land, and would not be established without the approval of such Indian Nation.
2) Upon such establishment, all manner of energy and production facilities related to petroleum and petrochemical activities would be invited to set up major facilities within these EPRAs (Energy and Production Reservation Areas). These would include oil refineries, petrochemical plants, plastic and plastic part manufacturing, and electrical generation by such means as coal and nuclear power.
3) All industry choosing to establish themselves within these areas would be required to hire over the first ten (10) years of operations a minimum of 50% of their employees from the pool of American Indians residing within the area Indian Reservation. Special credits would be given for any required trade school or college education required so that specified targets of management, petrochemical engineers, production supervisors, and other high level jobs are similarly filled by our American Indians within that geographic area.
4) In exchange for such industries coming in, both the Federal government and the Indian Nation would reduce and/or eliminate various regulatory process constraints and obstacles (both local and Federal). The intent would be to materially speed the process and reduce legal and compliance costs on the part of the entering company. Based upon EPA review/recommendation - as well as approval by the Indian Nation - certain pollution standards could also be slightly relaxed on either an ongoing or temporary basis to provide further inducements to plant development.
ADVANTAGES
The enactment and implementation of this entire program materially addresses all the problem facets mentioned earlier. These include: A) Enhancing our economic and national security by locating such facilities upon our own shores and in more protected and isolated areas, B) Reducing the legal and regulatory costs for industry to even consider developing new and additional facilities within our own country, C) Placing such facilities in areas where the land is of very low cost and – because of sparse population and a welcoming need for jobs – where the “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) syndrome would be almost non-existent, D) More concentrating such facilities to allow closer and more frequent monitoring of emissions from such plants; and, E) Providing some of the highest paying industrial jobs to our fellow Americans!
This later advantage of high-paying jobs is most critical. Not generally known among most Americans is that fact that American Indians suffer the highest rates of unemployment – and alcoholism – of any group in America. In fact, unemployment on Indian Reservations can exceed 50 percent! It is, indeed, a national tragedy that – miraculously – can be greatly addressed while we address our own needs for energy, petrochemical products, and economic/national security. What a marvelous, multi-faceted solution to problems!
This initiative is feasible and relatively easily done. Not only will this initiative likely be welcomed with open arms by various Indian Nations (because of the high-paying jobs it would bring), but it would involve activities which today - coincidentally – already have transportation infrastructure in place for it.
If one were to transpose maps of electric high tension lines and petroleum pipelines in the U.S. over the designated Indian Reservations, one would find many today having such transportation routes either going thru, or by, their reservations! The best case in point is the fact that the major gasoline pipeline that comes into the Chicagoland area (the Whiting, Indiana area) passes thru the State of Oklahoma – a state with some of the highest number of Indian Reservations in the Nation.
An additional consideration is that today, a large bulk of U.S. coal (especially low-sulphur coal) is mined in the state of Wyoming. In addition to Indian Reservations there, this State is near other western States that have numerous Indian Reservations such as the Dakotas. And the cost of transporting such coal to these western areas would be far less than transport for additional power generation in Indiana, Pennsylvania, or Georgia. Generated electricity would thereafter be placed upon our national high tension wire grid and transported to the areas of need.
This initiative is feasible now. But what would help even further is to also enact Ken Arnold’s Railroad Right-of-Way Act – a separate, innovative energy and economic security proposal that would ensure the preservation of additional right-of-ways for electrical, chemical, natural gas, and petroleum transportation for generations to come. Enacting this additional initiative would ensure even more options for transport between the point of production (i.e. the EPRA) and the point of ultimate consumption (i.e. the major metropolitan areas).
America has the opportunity to help solve several problems with one legislative initiative. Unemployment, energy production and security, and our economic stability and future are all addressed with this creative Energy and Production Reservation Act initiative. And when Americans think about it, wouldn’t they rather give a high-paying job that they help support to even ONE deserving American Indian than ONE-HUNDRED Venezuelans or Arabians? We help ourselves as we help each other!
The Energy and Production Reservation Act is an idea whose time has surely come…
U.S. Congress – 8th District of Illinois
January 13, 2006
Labels: 8th Congressional District, Energy, Ken Arnold
