Spectra Energy Lobbying $ Puts It in Top 10%
of Oil & Gas Industry Spenders at Federal Level
Spectra Energy spent more than two million dollars lobbying the federal government over the last 2 1/2 years. This is according to lobbying disclosure reports available online from The Center for Responsive Politics. (Links are found at the bottom of this post.)
Separate from that, Spectra Energy spent nearly one-quarter million dollars lobbying in Pennsylvania in less than 1 1/2 years, according online data available from the Pennsylvania Department of State. (Links below.)
PA Politics & Energy Industry
Pennsylvania politics is a big money play for the oil and natural gas industry, which contributed nearly one million dollars to Pennsylvania politicians in 2008-2009, according to a news report in The Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA) by Robert Swift, its Harrisburg Bureau Chief (Oct. 18, 2009).
Link: http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/special_interests_spared_from_state_budget_cuts
Or pdf file: special-interests-spared-from-state-budget-cuts-news-the-times-tribune
In addition, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported (October 7), the deputy chief of staff for Governor Rendell stepped down to join Range Resources Corporation as VP of government relations and regulatory affairs for the Texas-based company that has “a major drilling stake in Pennsylvania,” according to the Inquirer.
There has long been a revolving door between government and the energy industry. Public servants who become lobbyists move from representing the public interest to representing the self interest of the energy industry. Companies like Spectra Energy are focused on protecting its self interest on issues such as: tax, the environment, and “clean air and water” (which doesn’t necessarily mean that citizens will get clean air and water).
Money Talks
The Times-Tribune headline says it all: “Special interests spared from state budget cuts.” Bureau Chief Robert Swift reports that:
“While taking their knives to programs covering everything from the environment to economic development and the arts, Pennsylvania legislators protected some special interests in the new $27.8 billion budget.
“They declined to tax natural gas drillers, while opening more state forest land to them.”
The two million lobbying dollars that Spectra Energy spent at the federal level break down as follows:
Year Spectra Energy’s Total Lobbying Expenditures
2009 (Partial Year) $448,997
2008 $865,981
2007 $776,450
TOTAL $2.09 million
Roughly half of the $2 million spent on federal lobbying went to two professional lobbying firms in Washington: Daryl Owen Associates and Van Scoyoc Associates, according to data provided online by The Center for Responsive Politics.
Spectra Energy: Top 10% of Spenders
This puts Spectra Energy in the top 10% of oil and gas industry spenders in 2008, if my arithmetic is correct. The Center for Responsive Politics lists 195 companies and organizations in its profile of the oil and gas industry (e.g., Exxon Mobil, Chesapeake Energy, American Petroleum Institute).
At number 17 on the spending hit parade, Spectra Energy outspent 178 other companies and organizations in the industry last year.
Meanwhile, back in Pennsylvania, Spectra Energy was busy spending money via its Spectra Energy Transmission, LLC. As noted, the company spent nearly one-quarter million dollars lobbying in Pennsylvania in less than 1 1/2 years, according online data available from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Here is the breakdown for its Pennsylvania state lobbying dollars:
Year Spectra Energy’s PA Lobbying Expenditures
2009 (Partial Year) $105,000
2008 (3 quarters of the year) $140,357
TOTAL $245,357
Its Pennsylvania lobbying firm is Tri State Strategies PA, L.L.C. Considering that Spectra Energy opened an office in Pittsburgh, that amount will likely increase.
In the company press release (June 29), Bob Riga, general manager of Northeast marketing for Spectra Energy Transmission and the one in charge of the new Pittsburgh office is quoted as saying (emphasis added): “And, given our years of experience and existing footprint, we’re able to expand responsibly, managing costs and minimizing impacts to landowners, communities and the environment.”
Spectra Energy’s Worrisome Track Record
Property owners who have dealt with Spectra Energy know that the company’s “existing footprint” is worrisome given its poor track record to date. And the notion of “minimizing impacts to landowners, communities and the environment” is a platitude, not an operating principle.
For specific details on its poor track record where public safety and the environment is concerned, read about the “Emergency Shutdown” at its huge compressor station in Bedford County, PA. Spectra Energy’s lackadaisical response earned it a Notice of Violation from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Click on the link: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=372
Fortunately, lots of citizens and grass/netroots activists are telling legislators in Harrisburg, Washington and elsewhere that companies like Spectra Energy must be closely monitored and held to the highest standards of safety and environmental performance.
But the governing class needs to hear your voice too. For three easy references, check out the following links:
Legislative Alert: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=399
Legislator on Property Rights: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=311
Government Directory: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?page_id=8
Link to Federal Lobbying Info:
Here is the link for The Center for Responsive Politics that takes you to Spectra Energy’s 2008 federal lobbying expenditures. From here, you can navigate to examine 2007 and 2009 (partial year) expenditures, plus you can click on the Oil & Gas Industry profile for that year:
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?lname=Spectra+Energy&year=2008
Link to PA State Lobbying Info:
For ease of use, here is a pdf file of the Pennsylvania lobbying expenses for Spectra Energy: pa-lobbying-exp-for-spectra
But if you like to noodle around on the internet, first go to the Pennsylvania Department of State home page: http://www.dos.state.pa.us/dos/site/default.asp
Look at the links down the left hand side of the page and click on “Lobbying Disclosure” this will take you here: http://www.dos.state.pa.us/campaignfinance/cwp/view.asp?a=1337&Q=447471&campaignfinanceNav=|&dosNav=|
Then click on “Registration/Report Search” near the top left of the page and that will take you here -
https://www.palobbyingservices.state.pa.us/Act134/Default.aspx
Then click on “Search” near the top left of the page and that will take you to “Registration Quick Search” -
https://www.palobbyingservices.state.pa.us/Act134/Public/EnhancedSearch.aspx
Under that first paragraph at the top of the page, there are five categories to choose from. Choose “Expenses” and use the form. Spectra Energy’s lobbying registration number is P09041. On the form that opens, you can fill in the name of the company, or the registration number, or both.
Link to Spectra Energy Press Release regarding Pittsburgh Office:
http://investors.spectraenergy.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=204494&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1303134&highlight=