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Field Notes


Big wins in the legislative interim — but we’ve still got work to do

Posted on by Kristen Gunther

DECEMBER 2019 UPDATE: Bills for the Wyoming State Legislature’s 2020 budget session are being prepared for introduction. In the coming weeks, we’ll begin our pre-session planning — stay tuned for more details about the bills we’ll expect to see. We’re excited to support the formation of a Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund account, and we’ll continue tracking efforts around Greater sage-grouse mitigation and new channels to fund wildlife crossings from the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee. Along with those details, we’ll be keeping you posted about the best ways to engage with ongoing budget negotiations, and how to speak up against legislative attempts to interfere with big game migration corridors.

Last month, we shared an update with you about the chaos and lack of transparency that has riddled this legislative interim. We highlighted four problematic bills that would have explicitly undermined our shared Wyoming conservation values: two that would have essentially killed rooftop solar in the state; one that would have opened the door to making Wyoming the nation’s dump for nuclear waste; and another that would jeopardize big game migration corridors, undermine science-based wildlife management, and strip authority from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

You responded in force. Because of your dedicated engagement — writing to and calling legislators, showing up at committee meetings, and spreading the word about the importance of fighting these bad bills — we have some great news to report. 

Anti-solar and pro-nuclear waste bills defeated

When the legislature’s Joint Corporations Committee considered gutting the state’s net-metering law — the statute that enables homeowners and small businesses to connect rooftop solar panels to the grid — the response from the public was swift. We’ve been in touch with hundreds of you who are passionate about protecting renewable energy options for Wyoming consumers, and supporting the small but growing in-state solar industry. After hundreds of messages were sent to the committee (more messages than the committee has received on any other topic this interim); after citizens gathered around the state to discuss these bills; and after four hours of public testimony in a packed meeting room, the committee voted not to advance either anti-solar bill forward. The Wyoming people spoke up, and the committee took the time to listen — that’s right, Wyoming people won. 

Strong, spirited public opposition was also a factor in defeating a proposal to store the nation’s high-level radioactive waste in Wyoming. This “zombie” bill reflected an idea has been considered repeatedly by decision-makers in the last several decades, and defeated each time — it’s been rejected by two different governors. Analysis also quickly revealed it would bring in only a few million dollars, while posing risks to Wyoming lands and people. Once again, Wyomingites of all stripes reached out to decision-makers and to their friends and neighbors, making it clear that the Wyoming public won’t allow our state to be turned into a nuclear waste dump. And at the Joint Minerals Committee meeting earlier in November, it was clear that the public response against this bill had been heard loud and clear: the bill’s original proponent withdrew the bill wholesale. 

We are grateful to the legislators on these committees for taking the time to listen — and then respond positively to — strong, unified public input against both proposals. The successful outcomes on these bills reflect the power of Wyoming citizen voices and input: when we say that your voice matters and makes a difference, this is why. 

Still on the horizon: legislative takeover of wildlife migration management 

Unfortunately, not everything we have to share is good news. Despite strong public opposition against a Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee bill that would derail conservation of wildlife migration corridors, the committee elected to move this bad bill forward. Stakeholders ranging from agriculture and county governments to sportsmen and conservation groups weighed in to raise concerns — both in advance and in the meeting room. A Game and Fish Commissioner objected to the idea that anyone but the Game and Fish has the authority to designate habitat, while the governor’s policy advisor said the timing for the legislation was problematic given the pending migration corridor executive order that Gov. Gordon will issue. But the committee refused to take a step back. 

That said, the public continued to make a big impression: the committee readily acknowledged that Wyoming people are incredibly invested in protecting wildlife and the landscapes that support them, and referenced the immense amount of contact they’ve received on this issue. Though the committee made some attempts to make the bill look more palatable, it remains a dangerous, anti-wildlife, and anti-science proposition. We’ll need your help to make sure this bill doesn’t move forward in Cheyenne in 2020, and that the Governor’s executive order is strong and will be successfully implemented. 

As always, thank you for all that you do to fight for good conservation policy for Wyoming. Your voice is critical — and it matters. Please stay tuned as we move toward this year’s session … we’ll need your help again! 

Field Notes


This chaotic and rogue legislative interim requires citizen voices!

Posted on by Kristen Gunther
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Over the last several months, we’ve been hearing from many of you who are frustrated that the Legislature has been unusually difficult to keep up with. We hear you. Here at the Wyoming Outdoor Council, we, too, have been struggling to deal with legislative committees’ lack of transparency, last-minute additions to meeting agendas, information gaps, and problematic interventions into other branches of government. We will be advocating for increased transparency and accountability in the coming months.

The chaos of this interim demands, more than usual, a high level of public attention and participation. That means that you’ll be hearing from us frequently in the coming weeks as we work to combat a few very bad ideas with major ramifications for Wyoming.

Here’s an overview of some of the upcoming bad draft bills we need to defeat:

Political interference in wildlife migration corridor management

Over the summer, the Outdoor Council tracked and provided feedback to the governor’s Wildlife Migration Advisory Group. All stakeholders were at the table, including the oil and gas industry. The group’s hard work, collaboration, and good-faith negotiation resulted in full stakeholder consensus on a proposed state-level solution that will protect Wyoming’s most critical wildlife habitat, create balance among uses, and support the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. On the recommendation of this group, the governor will be drafting an executive order concerning migration corridors, an important step for protecting the future of our big game herds.

This should have been the beginning of a new chapter for wildlife migrations, with big game corridor management now guided by a citizen-backed state process designed to meet all needs. 

Instead, seemingly out of the blue, the Select Federal Natural Resource Management committee suddenly decided to take on the topic of big game migration. They’ve now drafted a bill that undermines science, the authority of the Game and Fish, and the entire North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Most importantly, it poses a direct threat to the vital habitat that keeps our big game populations alive. 

Why did this happen? How was a process started by the governor suddenly undercut by the Legislature? The oil and gas industry presented its point of view to the governor’s advisory group multiple times — and received everything it asked for — but apparently, the industry wants more. Specifically, it’s clear that they don’t want to be required to mitigate their impacts to migration corridors. So rather than work in good faith with the rest of the stakeholders, industry voices have ignored recommendations that their representatives agreed to and asked the Legislature to intervene. 

Unfortunately, lawmakers are listening. The resulting bill would let oil and gas call the shots and would undo years of important collaborative work on migration corridor identification and protections. Rather than let science and thoughtful public input guide wildlife management, this disastrous bill would cede wildlife authority to inappropriate agencies (e.g. the Department of Revenue) and undermine the governor’s commitment to sensible, compromise solutions. It’s an egregious overreach, and it’s just plain wrong. 

Simply put, it’s the job of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department — not politicians — to interpret the science and manage our wildlife. We need to let this committee know that. 
If you have an interest in supporting migration corridors, please watch your inbox. The committee will meet on Wednesday, October 23 in Casper, and members of the public are encouraged to attend and comment.

Zombie nuclear waste proposals return to Wyoming

Nuclear waste was another topic not publicly vetted for the interim. But sometimes, bad ideas take on a life of their own (or rise from the dead). If you were surprised to see this issue resurface after being vetoed by Wyomingites repeatedly over the decades…well, we were, too.

As many of you have read, a special subcommittee of the Joint Minerals committee met last month to discuss whether Wyoming should consider storing spent fuel rods (high-level radioactive waste) in our state. This is an idea that has been proposed and shot down more than once; two different Wyoming governors have vetoed it. Storing nuclear waste poses many practical and logistical threats to Wyoming, and wouldn’t even generate the amount of money legislators hoped. We find it unacceptable that the Legislature chose to consider such a controversial topic without proper public vetting. 

For more details, check out our fact sheet on nuclear waste storage — and learn why it’s (still) a terrible idea for Wyoming. The Minerals committee will consider this topic at their upcoming meeting on November 5 in Casper, and we’ll send an alert to our members to remind you of this opportunity for public comment.

Killing off rooftop solar in Wyoming?

Last year, Wyoming’s House of Representatives passed a bill that the Outdoor Council (alongside partner organization Powder River Basin Resource Council) worked to advance, which would have supported expanded opportunities for rooftop solar arrays. Unfortunately, the bill hit a brick wall in the Senate, where it was considered a threat to coal-fired power plants. However, the Legislature decided to take on rooftop solar as an interim topic.

The Corporations committee’s work on this issue took a destructive turn when opponents of small solar used the discussion as an opportunity to make our current laws more hostile toward solar. The committee is now considering two draft bills that would effectively gut solar opportunities in Wyoming — damaging a growing industry, killing jobs, and reducing the ability of consumers to choose how they want to power their homes. 

We’ll be reaching out to you prior to the final Corporations meeting, which is scheduled for November 18–19 in Cheyenne, to let you know how you can speak up for renewable energy choices for Wyoming consumers. 

Final thoughts

These are only three of the many issues that citizens have struggled with during the legislative interim. Overall, many of us have been dismayed at the flood of last-minute decisions and lack of transparency we’ve seen, including left-field attacks on local conservation and community planning efforts, changes in meeting locations and topics, and sometimes late circulation of meeting materials. 

But we’ll continue working hard to bring you the information that you need to stay informed and engaged. The Outdoor Council is committed to advocating that our state legislature work in the public eye and for the public interest of Wyomingites. We believe that together we can achieve important policy victories that secure a strong, conservation-focused future for Wyoming — and defeat bad ideas that threaten our shared heritage and love of the outdoors. 

Thank you for being an important partner in this work, and stay tuned to learn more about opportunities to ensure we can move forward together, instead of doubling down on the bad ideas of the past. 

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Field Notes


Nuclear waste storage: STILL wrong for Wyoming

Posted on by Steff Kessler

The idea of storing high-level radioactive waste in Wyoming has been fully vetted and roundly rejected several times over the years. Yet the Wyoming Legislature resurrected this bad idea last month when it formed a subcommittee — behind closed doors — to study the issue. The Wyoming Outdoor Council, our members, and our partners have stood together with neighbors from all over the state and across the political spectrum to oppose such proposals. And we will do so again.

Simply put, the risks of allowing Wyoming to become a destination for high-level radioactive waste from the nation’s nuclear reactors far outweigh any short-term economic gain the state might realize. Storing nuclear waste here would risk our safety and tarnish Wyoming’s reputation as a pristine outdoor and tourism destination —  hurting business, agriculture, and economic development efforts that are so vital to the state’s future.

Perhaps most importantly, though, Wyoming and other states have learned that gambling with the federal government’s promises over nuclear waste storage is risky business. As Gov. Mike Sullivan put it in his statement vetoing the siting of a nuclear waste facility  back in 1992:

“I am absolutely unpersuaded that Wyoming can rely on the assurances we receive from the federal government. Even granting the personal integrity and sincerity of the individuals currently speaking for the federal government, there can be no guarantees or even assurances that the federal government’s attitudes or policies will be the same one, five, ten or 50 years from now. We have seen the roller coaster ride of federal involvement and attitudes. … Nor do I trust the federal government or the nuclear industry to assure our interests as a state are protected.”

There are numerous reasons why the “temporary” storage of the nation’s high-level radioactive waste in Wyoming has been repeatedly rejected by our residents — and why it remains a bad idea today.

  • There is no guarantee that storage will be temporary. Once a “temporary” facility is constructed, it is likely to become a de facto permanent repository. There are no legal, political, or financial mechanisms to ensure the waste would ever be removed. In fact, many suspect the approval of a “temporary” storage site would halt the politically difficult effort of finding a permanent disposal site.

  • There is no need to store this waste away from reactor sites. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made a regulatory determination that spent nuclear fuels can be safely stored at the reactor sites for the next 100+ years.
     
  • Transporting high-level radioactive waste across the country is complicated, risky, full of unknowns, and will occur at a magnitude of shipments and miles never before conducted in the U.S. New transport casks have not been developed or tested, infrastructure is not ready, emergency response capacity is lacking, and the routes and risks of transporting this high-level radioactive waste have not been adequately evaluated.

  • Storing high-level radioactive waste in Wyoming will hurt the state’s image as a premier outdoor destination and a producer of high-quality agricultural products. This, in turn, would likely impact current and future economic development and diversification efforts and would lower property values.
     
  • Such temporary facilities are illegal. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act allows for a “temporary” storage facility only once the permanent waste repository is operating. Work at Yucca Mountain, the nation’s only proposed permanent waste repository, has halted. Congress would have to act to make such a facility legal — yet there are no states willing to host a permanent storage facility.

For more background and details about nuclear waste storage, read this fact sheet.

We wholeheartedly support Wyoming lawmakers’ desire to explore new ways to meet the challenge of declining revenues. But turning Wyoming into the nation’s nuclear waste dump was a bad idea before, and it remains a bad idea today. Nothing has changed. Even more troubling? The closed-door manner in which the new legislative subcommittee was formed to study the issue this year: a vote taken by email, without public notice, lacking transparency and flouting the legislature’s own rules regarding interim studies.

There are no easy fixes for declining state revenue, and storing high-level radioactive waste would simply not provide not the kind of economic “diversification” that Wyoming needs. It’s an idea that looks backward, not forward. 

Instead, we must create a vision for our future that embraces the special resources and assets that truly make Wyoming a place people want to live and do business — including our strong public schools, workforce, wildlife, open space, agricultural heritage, and outdoor way of life.

We’ll need your help — again — to speak up and stop this misguided idea for Wyoming.

The “Spent Fuel Rods subcommittee” will meet on Thursday, September 5th, in Casper at 8:30 a.m. (location to be determined). We’ll be there, but it’s unclear whether the subcommittee will allow public comment. The subcommittee will report to the full Joint Minerals Committee on November 4 or 5 for a decision about moving forward with potential legislation. We’ll alert you about this public comment opportunity, but it will be helpful to start talking with your elected officials now about how nuclear waste is wrong for Wyoming. 

Read this detailed fact sheet for a list of committee members and emails and for more information about the risky business of high-level radioactive waste.