Click here or the image above to watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, participated in a hearing titled, “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Proposed Fiscal Year 2025 Budget” with FWS Director Martha Williams.

HEARING HIGHLIGHTS:

ON FWS COMMITTING TO PRIORITIZING THE ROARING RUN BRIDGE PROJECT:

RANKING MEMBER CAPITO:

“I want to talk about the field office in West Virginia, unexpectedly determined that a formal consultation was necessary for the Roaring Run Bridge project, which is a part of the Corridor H project. But there's an issue here, and I think you're aware of it, in order to ensure that federal funding can still be spent on this project this year this consultation needs to be completed by July. The field office and the regional staff, including Director Weber have committed to making this a top priority. And I've been told that the Department of Highways and the field office had a very productive meeting last week. Director Williams, I'm just asking if you would commit to making this a priority because if we don't get this done by July it's going to be another year.”

FWS DIRECTOR WILLIAMS:

“Ranking Member Capito, absolutely. I will make it a priority.”

ON FWS’S CURRENT PERMIT BACKLOG:

“So, it's been two years since we came, we met with DEP (WV Department of Environmental Protection) and DOH (WV Department of Highways) and some other people.

“And then I want to give you a chance to respond to my opening statement where I said that the Coal Association is intending to sue because the field office is in, they believe, in violation of the 2020 Biological Opinion. We are restarting consultation on 880 mining permits with seemingly no plan to handle the workload. DEP is experiencing months of back and forth on the Protection Enhancement Plans that ultimately require no substantive changes. And DOH has decided to go to formal consultations because the back and forth is taking too long. How do we resolve these challenges? And we still need to I think work on improvement. And what are we going to do about all these permits that are going to have to be looked at and, as I mentioned in my opening statement, asking that goes well beyond what has been asked for in the past.”

ON FWS STAFFING ISSUES IN WEST VIRGINIA:

“As I stated in my opening statement, DOH, the Gas and Oil Association in West Virginia, DEP, recognizing that there's a capacity issue here, has funded into that office positions that haven't been filled. So, if the argument is we don't have the money…we don't have the people to do the processing. And you're given the money to do the processing, but you're not hiring the people…”

Click HERE to watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions.

Click HERE to watch Ranking Member Capito’s opening statement.

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