Hastings continues looking for answers on National Blueways program and Chu memo

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said on Friday that he sent letters requesting information on the National Blueways program and a memo sent by former Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

The letters were sent to the Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.

“After multiple committee hearings, numerous letters of concern, it is clear there are still more questions than answers regarding these Obama Administration programs and directives,” Hastings said.

The National Blueways Secretarial Order gives authority to the Secretary of the Interior to designate entire watersheds as “National Blueways.” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed the order in 2012.

The House Committee on Natural Resources Natural Resources has been conducting hearings about the program since February. In June, Hastings sent a letter requesting information about the designation process, the makeup of the National Blueways committee, the potential for land acquisition and regulations, and the involvement of the Department of the Interior’s senior advisor, according to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Hastings said the department has not provided any information in regard to the request.

Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu sent a memo to the federal Power Marketing Administrations, which market and deliver power to 34 states, that included directives that could change their primary missions of providing clean, affordable electricity and raise costs, according to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Hastings sent a letter in February requesting information about the memo and the decision-making process, but it has remained unanswered, the committee said.

“The growing concerns and opposition from the public make the administration’s lack of transparency on these issues all the more troubling,” Hastings said. “The policies could have significant job and economic impacts and the administration must start being forthright about how they intend to implement them going forward.”