The DPA Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) is the conduit for all things political and legislative for AAPG. Members of the committee are (Chair), (Vice Chair), , , , , , , , , , and . Currently the GAC also sends info alerts and action alerts to over 40 additional leadership members of AAPG and other GAC friends. Since the last meeting in New Orleans, two information alerts were sent on behalf of the GAC and GEO-DC.
AAPG Statements
The last task I asked of Carl Smith before taking on the GAC was to finalize the 15 Statements that the DPA prints in a booklet. As of May, seven of the statements were complete and required no more action. Completed statements are those on Hydraulic Fracturing, Endangered Species Act, Tax Reform, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Access, Climate Change, Geologic Carbon Storage, and Oil and Gas Workforce Needs in the 21st Century. Three statements are complete except for GAC and DPA review. These statements include Preservation of Geological and Geophysical Data, Research and Development Needs in the 21st Century, and Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Resources. Two statements are still in need of AAPG committees to review and recommend. Those would be statements on Energy Policy and Natural Gas Supply Concerns. Carl also recommended retiring two statements on Offshore OCS Access and Reformation of the Clean Water Act, while suggesting a new statement on Access to Onshore.
David Curtiss, Paul Britt and I would certainly entertain any comments or attempts at writing statements on the Access to Onshore. We have a good start, but welcome additional information from the membership!
Congressional Visit Days
The last GEO-CVD meeting was held September 21st and 22nd, 2010. There were 11 attendees this fall, including David Curtiss. Those attendees were Jennifer Burton, Michael Campbell, Ross Clark, Cheryl Desforges, Michael Fogarty, Bryant Fulk, Jim Hill, Dan Smith, Dan Tearpock and I.
The tentative dates for the 2011 Spring Congressional Visits Day have been set for May 23-25. However, the new calendar for the House has up-ended those dates. We are looking at new dates in May to make sure the Congressmen would be available, and will keep everyone informed when we settle on the new dates.
Next year the Eastern Section meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. David and I are working on ways in which we can incorporate the Fall CVD into the meeting. We view this as a way to extend the outreach of the GEO-DC office to more members of AAPG.