Here's - Huffington Post
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg
+
Eisenberg
LLP
1726 M Street NW, Suite 600 Washington DC 20036-4523
202.328.3500 I office 202.328.6918 I fax HarmonCurran.com
September 27, 2011 Heather H. Hunt U.S Department of Justice National Security Division FARA Registration Unit 600 E Street NW Bicentennial Building Room 1301 Washington, DC 20004 Dear Ms. Hunt, On behalf of Friends of the Earth, I am submitting the following information to demonstrate that, Paul Elliott, a government relations employee of TransCanada, has acted as agent of a foreign principal and therefore violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. We respectfully request that you immediately open an investigation of this matter. TransCanada, a Canadian oil and gas company based in Calgary seeks to build a new oil pipeline that would extend 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada to Texas. The pipeline, known as the Keystone XL (KXL), has generated intense public controversy because it will carry one of the world’s dirtiest fuels: tar sands oil. The risks of spills are significant because they could devastate ecosystems, pollute water sources, and jeopardize the public health of many communities. To build the pipeline through the United States, TransCanada must obtain a permit from the State Department; before issuing it State must both conduct a review under the National Environmental Policy Act1 and make a determination that the Pipeline is in the “national interest”.2 Assessing whether or not the Pipeline could significantly affect the environment and whether the Pipeline is in the national interest require the formulation of domestic and foreign policy on several complex issues implicated by the dynamic changes in the world around us. Such policy decisions are classic examples of governmental decisions covered by FARA. The task is not a matter of simply applying existing policy for two reasons: current policy goals are in conflict and in light of changes in the world those current policies are being reconsidered. People allege that there is a conflict between federal policy in favor of protection of the natural environment and the country’s search for energy security and economic revitalization. But significantly, the US policy on energy security is not static. Considerations of energy security include not only a review of present technical and geopolitical problems of fossil fuels production but also the future of renewable energy. An analysis of economic security must consider the unfolding A brief history of the State Department environmental review follows. The State Department received Transcanada’s original pipeline application on September 19, 2008. State conducted scoping activities in 2009 and issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on April 16, 2010. Due to perceived inadequacies of that DEIS, the EPA rated the DEIS as’~ Inadequate-3” because potentially significant impacts were not evaluated and additional information and analyses were necessary to ensure that the ElS fully informed decision makers and the public about potential consequences of the Keystone XL Project. State issued a supplemental DEIS (SDEIS), which in turn received a negative appraisal from the EPA which rated the SDEIS “Environmental Objections-Insufficient Information (EO-2)” given concerns regarding the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Project, as well as the level of analysis and information provided concerning those impacts. State issued a Final ElS on August 26, 2011 and is currently receiving public comments and awaiting further comments from EPA and other agencies. 2 Executive Order 13337.
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg
+
Eisenberg
LLP
global financial crisis which may affect both the price of energy and also demand for it. In analyzing activities such as the production of tar sands oil which produce greenhouse gases, the security and economic consequences of climate change cannot be ignored. Thus the decision by the State Department to grant or withhold a permit for the KXL pipeline requires sensitive policy decisions. Documents obtained by Friends of the Earth from the State Department under the Freedom of Information Act demonstrate that as early as September 2009, Paul Elliott, an employee in the government Relations Department of TransCanada, and a former senior campai~n aide to then Senator Hillary Clinton, was seeking to lobby officials of the State Department. For example, in May of 2010, he organized and attended a lobby meeting between TransCanada President and CEO, Hal Kvisle, and David Goldwyn, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Office of the Coordinator of International Energy Affairs Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, and Michael Sullivan, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, of the State Department (Exhibit 1). The meeting, which may have also included Matthew McManus, Energy Producer-Country Affairs Division Chief, Office of International Energy and Commodity Policy at the State Department, addressed proposed comments and stakeholder lobbying on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Elliott followed up this meeting by transmitting a letter from Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana, to Goldwyn, McManus and other contacts at the State Department, in order to convey further information about support for the pipeline proposal (Exhibit 2). The letters to State continued with one addressed to President Obama and copied to Secretaries Clinton and Chu and Director Browner (Exhibit 3). Meetings at the State Department were only part of TransCanada’s efforts to influence decisions regarding the KXL pipeline. Mr. Elliott reports that he and the President and CEO of TransCanada met with Senators Inhofe, Thune, Tester, Nelson and Murkowski and Representatives Herseth Sandlin and Peter Welsh in May of 2010 (Exhibit 1). Paul Elliott registered under the Lobby Disclosure Act on December 16, 2010 (Exhibit 4)•4 The current and anticipated lobbying issues identified omit the KXL Pipeline and curiously include the Waxman-Markey bill (passed by the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009 which then died in the Senate July of 2010) and the Kerry Boxer bill (introduced in October of 2009 and no longer active). Accordingly, during 2009 and 2010, Elliott states he engaged in federal lobbying on behalf of TransCanada which required FARA registration. In light of Mr. Elliott’s significant lobbying activities for a foreign principal, we respectfhlly request an immediate investigation of this violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Sin,9erely,
~J It is important to note that thus far the documents concerning Paul Elliott obtained by Friends of the Earth are only from a single office of the State Department. The State Department is conducting searches of documents from other offices and bureaus and other releases are expected (Exhibit 5). In addition, we believe that inquiries to other agencies would be likely to produce other relevant documents particularly from the Energy Department and the office of Director Browner in the white House. Although the effective date of registration is listed as November 5,2011, it was tiled electronically more than a month later.
•&t-
t4≠••4
SI ~n I
:~: )
a
~-
~
~eS~:L(~~
~C-
-
0
~
r
CD
00
~‘
L%~z
-
-
P1
0
0
a~.
~
:
0
no
~.“
o C’”
—.
-
r.
-
-
•
2
00
~
-ç-,r’>~P~-
;f;~-;~~(
t~
0
9
‘.
N
~
~,-r~1~>-
__y-~1w
~
~I
9
IL 0
-
CD
~ :~-~
~
~‘-~
o
~
p -
-
00
~j~C’i~0
~ ~‘e :~ ~‘
~
~
‘
p~
e~,Z’..
-
Go to line 14
Yes --> Complete the rest of this section for each entity matching the criteria above, then proceed to line 14.
Internet Address: Name
Address
Principal Place of Business
Street City
SlatelProvince
Zip Code
Countey City
State
Country
City
State
Country
City State
Country
FOREIGN ENTITIES 14. Is there any foreign entity a) holds at least 20% equitable ownership in the client or any organization identified on line 13: or b) directly or indirectly, in whole or in major part, plans, supervises, controls, directs, finances or subsidizes activities of the client or any organization identified on line 13; or c) is an affiliate of the client or any organization identified on line 13 and has a direct interest in the outcome of the lobbying activity?
~j
No
-->
Sign and date the registration.
~
Yes --> Complete the rest of this section for each entity matching the criteria above, then sign the registration.
Address Name
Principal place of business (city and state or country)
Street
City
Slate/Province Counity
Amount of contribution for lobbying activities
Ownership
City State
%
Country
City State
Signature
Filed Electronically
Printed Name and Title
v6.O.Od
%
Country
Date
12/1 6/2010
Charles R. Nuckolls, Washington counsel Page 2
of
2
United States Department of’ State Washington, D.C. 20520
AUG 252011 Case No. 201101495 Segments: 5001 and 5002 Mr. Alex Moore Friends of the Earth 1100 15th Street, NW 1 1th Floor Washington, DC 20005 Dear Mr. Moore: In response to your request dated December 13, 2010 under the Freedom of Information Act (Title 5 USC Section 552), we have initiated searches of the -following Department of State record systems: the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental Scientific Affairs, the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affafrs, the Office of the Legal Adviser, the Office of the Secretary, the Office of the Deputy Secretary, the Office of the Counselor, the Office of the Executive Secretariat, the Office of the Under Secretary for Energy and Agricultural Affairs, the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, and the U.S. Consulate in Alberta. The search of the files of the Office of the Secretary has been completed and has resulted in the retrieval of 34 documents that are responsive to your request. After reviewing these documents, we have determined that all 34 may be released in fUll. Please find them enclosed. The searches of the remaining office files are underway, and we will keep you informed as youir case progresses.
-2
If you have any questions, you may contact the Trial Attorney Patrick Nemeroff at 202- 305-8727. Sincerely,
C/ Enclosures: As stated.
Alex GalovichActing Co-Director, Office of Information Programs and Services
+
Eisenberg
LLP
1726 M Street NW, Suite 600 Washington DC 20036-4523
202.328.3500 I office 202.328.6918 I fax HarmonCurran.com
September 27, 2011 Heather H. Hunt U.S Department of Justice National Security Division FARA Registration Unit 600 E Street NW Bicentennial Building Room 1301 Washington, DC 20004 Dear Ms. Hunt, On behalf of Friends of the Earth, I am submitting the following information to demonstrate that, Paul Elliott, a government relations employee of TransCanada, has acted as agent of a foreign principal and therefore violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. We respectfully request that you immediately open an investigation of this matter. TransCanada, a Canadian oil and gas company based in Calgary seeks to build a new oil pipeline that would extend 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada to Texas. The pipeline, known as the Keystone XL (KXL), has generated intense public controversy because it will carry one of the world’s dirtiest fuels: tar sands oil. The risks of spills are significant because they could devastate ecosystems, pollute water sources, and jeopardize the public health of many communities. To build the pipeline through the United States, TransCanada must obtain a permit from the State Department; before issuing it State must both conduct a review under the National Environmental Policy Act1 and make a determination that the Pipeline is in the “national interest”.2 Assessing whether or not the Pipeline could significantly affect the environment and whether the Pipeline is in the national interest require the formulation of domestic and foreign policy on several complex issues implicated by the dynamic changes in the world around us. Such policy decisions are classic examples of governmental decisions covered by FARA. The task is not a matter of simply applying existing policy for two reasons: current policy goals are in conflict and in light of changes in the world those current policies are being reconsidered. People allege that there is a conflict between federal policy in favor of protection of the natural environment and the country’s search for energy security and economic revitalization. But significantly, the US policy on energy security is not static. Considerations of energy security include not only a review of present technical and geopolitical problems of fossil fuels production but also the future of renewable energy. An analysis of economic security must consider the unfolding A brief history of the State Department environmental review follows. The State Department received Transcanada’s original pipeline application on September 19, 2008. State conducted scoping activities in 2009 and issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on April 16, 2010. Due to perceived inadequacies of that DEIS, the EPA rated the DEIS as’~ Inadequate-3” because potentially significant impacts were not evaluated and additional information and analyses were necessary to ensure that the ElS fully informed decision makers and the public about potential consequences of the Keystone XL Project. State issued a supplemental DEIS (SDEIS), which in turn received a negative appraisal from the EPA which rated the SDEIS “Environmental Objections-Insufficient Information (EO-2)” given concerns regarding the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Project, as well as the level of analysis and information provided concerning those impacts. State issued a Final ElS on August 26, 2011 and is currently receiving public comments and awaiting further comments from EPA and other agencies. 2 Executive Order 13337.
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg
+
Eisenberg
LLP
global financial crisis which may affect both the price of energy and also demand for it. In analyzing activities such as the production of tar sands oil which produce greenhouse gases, the security and economic consequences of climate change cannot be ignored. Thus the decision by the State Department to grant or withhold a permit for the KXL pipeline requires sensitive policy decisions. Documents obtained by Friends of the Earth from the State Department under the Freedom of Information Act demonstrate that as early as September 2009, Paul Elliott, an employee in the government Relations Department of TransCanada, and a former senior campai~n aide to then Senator Hillary Clinton, was seeking to lobby officials of the State Department. For example, in May of 2010, he organized and attended a lobby meeting between TransCanada President and CEO, Hal Kvisle, and David Goldwyn, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Office of the Coordinator of International Energy Affairs Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, and Michael Sullivan, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, of the State Department (Exhibit 1). The meeting, which may have also included Matthew McManus, Energy Producer-Country Affairs Division Chief, Office of International Energy and Commodity Policy at the State Department, addressed proposed comments and stakeholder lobbying on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Elliott followed up this meeting by transmitting a letter from Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana, to Goldwyn, McManus and other contacts at the State Department, in order to convey further information about support for the pipeline proposal (Exhibit 2). The letters to State continued with one addressed to President Obama and copied to Secretaries Clinton and Chu and Director Browner (Exhibit 3). Meetings at the State Department were only part of TransCanada’s efforts to influence decisions regarding the KXL pipeline. Mr. Elliott reports that he and the President and CEO of TransCanada met with Senators Inhofe, Thune, Tester, Nelson and Murkowski and Representatives Herseth Sandlin and Peter Welsh in May of 2010 (Exhibit 1). Paul Elliott registered under the Lobby Disclosure Act on December 16, 2010 (Exhibit 4)•4 The current and anticipated lobbying issues identified omit the KXL Pipeline and curiously include the Waxman-Markey bill (passed by the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009 which then died in the Senate July of 2010) and the Kerry Boxer bill (introduced in October of 2009 and no longer active). Accordingly, during 2009 and 2010, Elliott states he engaged in federal lobbying on behalf of TransCanada which required FARA registration. In light of Mr. Elliott’s significant lobbying activities for a foreign principal, we respectfhlly request an immediate investigation of this violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Sin,9erely,
~J It is important to note that thus far the documents concerning Paul Elliott obtained by Friends of the Earth are only from a single office of the State Department. The State Department is conducting searches of documents from other offices and bureaus and other releases are expected (Exhibit 5). In addition, we believe that inquiries to other agencies would be likely to produce other relevant documents particularly from the Energy Department and the office of Director Browner in the white House. Although the effective date of registration is listed as November 5,2011, it was tiled electronically more than a month later.
•&t-
t4≠••4
SI ~n I
:~: )
a
~-
~
~eS~:L(~~
~C-
-
0
~
r
CD
00
~‘
L%~z
-
-
P1
0
0
a~.
~
:
0
no
~.“
o C’”
—.
-
r.
-
-
•
2
00
~
-ç-,r’>~P~-
;f;~-;~~(
t~
0
9
‘.
N
~
~,-r~1~>-
__y-~1w
~
~I
9
IL 0
-
CD
~ :~-~
~
~‘-~
o
~
p -
-
00
~j~C’i~0
~ ~‘e :~ ~‘
~
~
‘
p~
e~,Z’..
-
Go to line 14
Yes --> Complete the rest of this section for each entity matching the criteria above, then proceed to line 14.
Internet Address: Name
Address
Principal Place of Business
Street City
SlatelProvince
Zip Code
Countey City
State
Country
City
State
Country
City State
Country
FOREIGN ENTITIES 14. Is there any foreign entity a) holds at least 20% equitable ownership in the client or any organization identified on line 13: or b) directly or indirectly, in whole or in major part, plans, supervises, controls, directs, finances or subsidizes activities of the client or any organization identified on line 13; or c) is an affiliate of the client or any organization identified on line 13 and has a direct interest in the outcome of the lobbying activity?
~j
No
-->
Sign and date the registration.
~
Yes --> Complete the rest of this section for each entity matching the criteria above, then sign the registration.
Address Name
Principal place of business (city and state or country)
Street
City
Slate/Province Counity
Amount of contribution for lobbying activities
Ownership
City State
%
Country
City State
Signature
Filed Electronically
Printed Name and Title
v6.O.Od
%
Country
Date
12/1 6/2010
Charles R. Nuckolls, Washington counsel Page 2
of
2
United States Department of’ State Washington, D.C. 20520
AUG 252011 Case No. 201101495 Segments: 5001 and 5002 Mr. Alex Moore Friends of the Earth 1100 15th Street, NW 1 1th Floor Washington, DC 20005 Dear Mr. Moore: In response to your request dated December 13, 2010 under the Freedom of Information Act (Title 5 USC Section 552), we have initiated searches of the -following Department of State record systems: the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental Scientific Affairs, the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affafrs, the Office of the Legal Adviser, the Office of the Secretary, the Office of the Deputy Secretary, the Office of the Counselor, the Office of the Executive Secretariat, the Office of the Under Secretary for Energy and Agricultural Affairs, the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, and the U.S. Consulate in Alberta. The search of the files of the Office of the Secretary has been completed and has resulted in the retrieval of 34 documents that are responsive to your request. After reviewing these documents, we have determined that all 34 may be released in fUll. Please find them enclosed. The searches of the remaining office files are underway, and we will keep you informed as youir case progresses.
-2
If you have any questions, you may contact the Trial Attorney Patrick Nemeroff at 202- 305-8727. Sincerely,
C/ Enclosures: As stated.
Alex GalovichActing Co-Director, Office of Information Programs and Services
