Dick Cheney on Environment

Vice President of the United States; Former Republican Representative (WY)

Allow snowmobiles in National Parks

Dick Cheney said he disagrees with a decision by the National Park Service to ban snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. But he stopped short of saying he’d work to overturn the ban if elected. He said he hadn’t yet raised the issue
with Bush. But a new administration might look into the issue if asked. Cheney said he opposes the National Park Service’s plan to ban snowmobiles from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks by the winter of 2003-2004. An environmental study says the
machines are noisy, polluting and are not allowed by federal regulations. Instead, Yellowstone should be visited by snowcoaches, the plan says.

“I disagree with the decision,” Cheney said. “I think it’s a great way for people to see the park,” he said
of snowmobiling. “A lot of people will be denied access.” “Over time technology will let us mitigate some of these impacts,” he said. Yellowstone has enough room for skiers and snowmobilers, Cheney said.

Source: Angus M. Thuermer, Jackson Hole News
Oct 24, 2000

Don’t designate national monuments without local input

Cheney said he might review the recent designation of several national monuments made by President Clinton. “There are places in the West where Clinton has used his authority without regard” to what area residents think, Cheney said. As a result,
monuments were designated with “none of the rigors of negotiation and compromise” that marked other conservation efforts, like the Wyoming Wilderness Act which Cheney shepherded into law in 1984. “There is resentment in various places,” Cheney said.

Source: Angus M. Thuermer, Jackson Hole News
Oct 24, 2000

Don’t drill off California coast; but do drill ANWR

CHENEY [to Lieberman]: We support the moratorium on drilling off the coast of California, but there are places where we ought to develop those resources. The Arctic National Wildlife Reserve is one of them. It’s right next to Prudhoe Bay. The
infrastructure is there to be able to deliver that product to market. We think we can do it, given today’s technology, in a way that will not damage the environment, will not permanently mar the countryside at all. We’re looking for balance with respect
to environmental policy and energy policy.

LIEBERMAN: I’m against drilling in the Arctic refuge. This is one of the most beautiful, pristine places that the good Lord has created on Earth. It’s just not worth it to do that for what seems to be the
possibility of six months worth of oil 7 to 12 years from now. That’s not much of a response to the immediate problem that gasoline consumers & home heating oil customers are facing this winter. There are more resources within the US that we can develop.

Source: Vice-presidential debate
Oct 5, 2000

Voted against Clean Water Act and air pollution sanctions

[In Congress in the 1980s], On the environment, Cheney opposed refunding the Clean Water Act. He voted to postpone sanctions slapped on air polluters that failed to meet pollution standards.
And he voted against legislation to require oil, chemical and other industries from making public records of emissions known to cause cancer, birth defects and other chronic diseases.

Source: CNN.com
Jul 24, 2000

Sponsored bills for amending CAA; user fees; grazing; energy

Cheney sponsored the following bills in Congress:

H.R.1679 (1987): A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to control certain sources of sulfur dioxide to reduce acid deposition.

H.R.1089 (1987): A bill to amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act to permit the use of park entrance, admission, and recreation use fees for the operation of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

H.R.1066 (1987) and H.R.5667 (1986): A bill to provide for a comprehensive energy policy for the US.

H.R.2790 (1985): A bill to make permanent the formula for determining fees for the grazing of livestock on public lands.

H.R.1568 (1983) and H.R.5625 (1982): A bill to designate certain national forest system lands in
Wyoming for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, to release other forest lands for multiple use management, to withdraw designated wilderness areas in Wyoming from minerals activity, and for other purposes.

Source: Congressional Record
Jan 1, 1987

Sponsored bills for extending mining leases

Cheney sponsored the following bills in Congress:

H.R.1434 (1987): A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act to permit states to set aside up to 10% of the annual state allocation from the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation fund
for expenditure in the future for purposes of abandoned mine reclamation.

H.R.1934 (1985): A bill, the “Mineral Lands Leasing Act”, which allowed continued ownership of coal leases even if they were not developed for over ten years.

Source: Congressional Record
Jan 1, 1987

OK to hunt, trap, & ski in National Parks & Forests

Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:

144. H.R.4489 (1986):A bill to provide for ski areas on national forest lands, and for other purposes.

H.R.1493 (1984):A bill to redesignate public land in Alaska to allow hunting.

H.R.4962 (1984):A bill to specifically permit trapping in certain units of the national park system, subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as may be prescribed.

H.R.2837 (1984):A bill to establish a National Outdoor Recreation

Resource Review Commission to study and recommend appropriate policies and activities for government agencies at the Federal, state, and local levels and for the private sector, to assure the continued availability of quality outdoor recreation
experiences in America to the year 2000, and for other purposes.

H.R.1675 (1984):A bill to require the protection, management, and control of wild free-roaming horses and burros on public lands.

Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes
Jan 1, 1986

User fees in National Parks & Forests; drill ANWR

Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:

H.R.5481 (1986):A bill to amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to permit the use of park entrance, admission, and recreation use fees for the operation of the National Park System.

H.R.1082 (1988) & H.R.49 (1989):A bill to authorize the leasing, in an expeditious and environmentally-sound manner, lands in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration, development, and production.

H.R.1662 (1988):A bill to provide for a clarification of the receipt-sharing of amounts received from the National Forest System, geothermal leasing, mineral lands leasing, and oil and gas royalties.

H.R.5277 (1988):A bill to provide
for the exchange and transfer of certain public lands; to establish certain new components of the national wild and scenic rivers system, the national trails system, the national park system, and the national wilderness preservation system.

Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes
Jan 1, 1986

Co-sponsored bills on acid rain & unleaded fuel

Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:

H.R.2795 (1986):A bill to provide for a study of the use of unleaded fuel in agricultural machinery, and for other purposes.

H.R.5370 (1984) & H.R.2679 (1986):A bill to amend the Clean
Air Act to control certain sources of sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides to reduce acid deposition.

H.R.2124 (1984):A bill to repeal the highway use tax on heavy trucks and to increase the tax on diesel fuel used in heavy trucks.

Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes
Jan 1, 1986

Sponsored numerous bills for flood control & dams

Cheney sponsored the following bills in Congress:

H.R.1246 (1985) and H.R.5055 (1984): A bill to establish a federally declared floodway for the sections of the Colorado River below Davis Dam and Hoover Dam.

H.AMDT.982 (1984): An amendment to strike TITLE XII, Water Resource Policy Act, which establishes a National Board on Water Resources Policy.

H.R.3733 (1983): A bill to modify the Jackson Hole
Snake River local protection flood control project in Wyoming to authorize maintenance work to be performed by the Corps of Engineers.

H.R.3444 (1983): A bill to revise the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to deliver
water to the North Platte Irrigation Project.

H.R.6796 (1982) and H.R.3332 (1979): A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct, operate and maintain modifications of the existing Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir.

Source: Congressional Record
Jan 1, 1985

Added 671,000 acres to Wyoming wilderness despite objections

On the House Interior Committee, Cheney is a major player and an able conciliator between the more aggressive pro-development forces and the environmentalist majority. Although originally favorable toward Interior Secretary James Watt’s proposal to open
up wilderness areas to oil and gas leasing, Cheney joined his Demcratic colleagues in opposing the Secretary after learning of several leases pending near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Cheney introduxed legislation in the 97th Congress banning
oil and gas leasing in Wyoming wilderness areas and added 480,000 additional wilderness acres. Unlike the Democrats, though, Cheney would release potential wilderness areas for development. Democrats had proposed to extend the ban to potential
areas as well as current ones.

Although the Senate passed the Wyoming wilderness measure, the House failed to act. Cheney reintroduced his measure in the 98th Congress, adding another 171,000 acres to be designated wilderness.