Chairman Capito Asks FWS Nominee About Permitting Reform and National Parks

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, held a hearing to consider the nomination of Kevin Lilly to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

During the hearing, Chairman Capito asked Mr. Lilly for his commitment to work with stakeholders to streamline the Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation process following the D.C. District Court's 2020 decision to vacate the biological opinion that governed consultations under the Act ESA for coal mining activities in states that have primacy under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).

Chairman Capito also asked Mr. Lilly about his plans to reduce hurdles for projects going through the ESA consultation process. Finally, she asked Mr. Lilly about his work to strengthen local economies around national parks, and for his commitment to install a permanent superintendent at West Virginia's New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

HIGHLIGHTS:

2020 BIOLOGICAL OPINION:

Chairman Capito:

"Recently, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia vacated the biological opinion that governed consultations under the Endangered Species Act for coal mining activities in states that have primacy under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). You and I have already talked about this. This leaves states like my state of West Virginia in tremendous limbo with respect to how the ESA reviews will be carried out.

We did have Director Nesvik in front of the committee, as Senator Whitehouse mentioned, and I asked him to make the same commitment that I'm asking of you right now. Do I have your commitment to work with the Office of Surface Mining, state regulators, including the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, and the mining industry on a path forward that allows ESA consultations to take place in an efficient manner and avoid unnecessary delays in the permitting process in the wake of this court decision?"

Kevin Lilly, nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

"Yes ma'am."

PERMITTING REFORM:

Chairman Capito:

"So, let's talk about permitting reform. As you know, we are in dire need of permitting reform. This is something we've said for years, and Senator Whitehouse and I are working with our staffs very diligently with the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. We need the ability to build critical infrastructure in a timely manner, but we need to do it the right way. And one of the biggest hurdles projects can face is under the ESA consultation. In this position, how will you work with Director Nesvik to ensure that the implementation of the ESA protects endangered species without a stonewalling effect?"

Kevin Lilly, nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

"[…] I think that the fundamental reality is that many things, while well-intended, become subject to the unintended consequences of their own action. I think that is reflective in the Endangered Species Act. I think, when it was established in 1973 and passed, […] it was […] a wildlife management process in which the objective was to recover and delist species. Consequently, the delisting of species should be received with great fanfare and celebration. […] And it seems that, in some sort of a perverse sense, that […] when we have successes, we are immediately sued. […] The only thing that it benefits are legal fees and the perpetual litigious nature that the ESA has become.

So to answer your question directly, ma'am, working toward ESA reform is a benefit to all, and I believe it is a bipartisan reality to deregulate, to protect our environment, to protect our species, no question, but also to be reasonable and not use it as a burden upon American industry, upon private landowners, upon tribal communities, and upon stakeholders."

NEW RIVER GORGE:

Chairman Capito:

"I want to turn briefly […], and this is not a brief topic, but it's the National Parks. Obviously, they are stellar. West Virginia's [New River Gorge] National Park was signed into law by President Trump in 2020 as the latest park, the 63rd park, and I mentioned its successes. It's a real source of pride for all of us in our state. How will you, using your professional background, use that to strengthen local economies and grow tourism in our national parks?"

Kevin Lilly, nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

"[…] The National Park Service is one of the most complex ecosystems and organizations in the United States, and in the United States government. The multiple sources of revenue, capital leases, deferred maintenance, law enforcement, housing, concession contracts, trademarks, IP, bridges, tunnels, golf courses, dealing with gateway communities. And realizing that the balance that must exist in the collaboration with all of these varying components, which I have spent a career as a fiduciary dealing with, and having some degree of experience in, and also working with these businesses that are so reliant upon the success of the parks, is extremely important.

One of the things I do every time I go to a park, I make sure that I spend a tremendous amount of time in round tables with local business, community and tribal leaders. I want to hear directly from them how we can better serve one another, to serve the American people, to make this not a mutually exclusive relationship but an inclusive one."

Chairman Capito:

"I'll take license here to ask you something I mentioned in my opening statement, and it's back to my New River Gorge Park and Preserve. I mentioned that we hadn't really had a full-time superintendent. So, we're getting off the ground, [have] numerous visitors, challenges on infrastructure. It's not a very large by what we see in in states like Utah and others, but it is exceedingly important, and it needs the full attention of a full-time superintendent. So, I would hope that, when you are confirmed, that I have your commitment that a new superintendent, that would just be focusing solely on this New River Gorge Park and Preserve, would be something West Virginians could look forward to."

Kevin Lilly, nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

"[…] Within the National Park Service, and certainly also with Fish and Wildlife and our refuge managers, a park superintendent can make a huge difference, and especially as it relates to parks that sometimes are remote. And so, I have made a commitment to the Secretary and to the National Park Service that I am taking a personal interest in our hiring and development of our leadership, and […] not just at the superintendent attendant level, but the deputy superintendent levels as well. And so, I completely agree that finding strong leadership for a park as important as yours to the people of West Virginia is paramount, and one that I'm fully committed to endeavor toward."

Click HERE to view Chairman Capito's first round of questions.

Click HERE to view Chairman Capito's second round of questions.

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