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Scott Angelle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Director of theBureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement | |
| In office May 24, 2017 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Brian Salerno |
| Succeeded by | Kevin M. Sligh |
| Member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from the 2nd district | |
| In office January 1, 2013 – May 22, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Jimmy Field |
| Succeeded by | Damon Baldone |
| 52ndLieutenant Governor of Louisiana | |
| In office May 12, 2010 – November 22, 2010 | |
| Governor | Bobby Jindal |
| Preceded by | Mitch Landrieu |
| Succeeded by | Jay Dardenne |
| Louisiana Secretary of Natural Resources | |
| In office January 30, 2004 – August 8, 2012 | |
| Governor | Kathleen Blanco Bobby Jindal |
| Preceded by | Jack Caldwell |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Chustz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Scott Anthony Angelle (1961-11-20)November 20, 1961 (age 64) Breaux Bridge,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic (before 2010) Republican (2010–present) |
| Spouse | Dianne Bourque |
| Education | University of Louisiana at Lafayette (BS) |
Scott Anthony Angelle (born November 20, 1961) is an Americanpolitician who served as the former director of theBureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement inWashington, D.C. From 2013 to 2017, he was the District 2 member of theLouisiana Public Service Commission, an elected five-person utility regulatory body.[1]
In 2010, Angelle served six months aslieutenant governor.[2] In 2015, he ran forgovernor as aRepublican in theOctober 24 election and finished in third place with 214,907 votes (19.3 percent).
In 2016, Angelle was an unsuccessful candidate forLouisiana's 3rd congressional district seat held byCharles Boustany, who instead ran unsuccessfully for theUnited States Senate seat vacated by retiring RepublicanDavid Vitter. Angelle's opponents included Lafayette businessman and retired Army Lt. Colonel Greg Ellison, former state RepresentativeBrett Geymann ofLake Charles, formerUnited States Ambassador to East TimorGrover J. Rees III, and, the eventual winner,Clay Higgins, a former spokesperson for theSt. Landry ParishSheriff's Office who gained attention for hisCrime Stoppersvideos that harshly attack the criminal element.
In May 2017, Angelle was appointed as the fourth director for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in theUnited States Department of the Interior under SecretaryRyan Zinke. The post does not require confirmation by theUnited States Senate.[1]
Angelle is an honor graduate of the St. Martin Parishpublic schools. He holds aBachelor of Science in Petroleum Land Management and is acum laude graduate of theUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette.[3]
Angelle was elected at the age of twenty-five to the St. Martin Parish Police Jury, the local governing body known as thecounty commission in most other states.[4] From 2000 to 2004, Angelle served as the first parish president of St. Martin Parish after the parish adopted a home rule charter.[5] Earlier, he worked as a petroleum land manager in Lafayette.[4]
From 2004 to 2012, with the exception of his six months as lieutenant governor, Angelle was the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources underGovernorsKathleen Blanco and thenBobby Jindal.[6] He replaced Jack Caldwell.[7] Angelle resigned on August 8, 2012, and he was replaced by Stephen Chustz.[8] As Angelle resigned from the Natural Resources position, Jindal nominated him to representLouisiana's 3rd congressional district on the Board of Supervisors ofLouisiana State University inBaton Rouge.[9]
As part of the interim appointment as lieutenant governor, Angelle agreed not to seek the position in thespecial election held in November 2010. The vacancy occurred whenMitch Landrieu resigned to become themayor of New Orleans. Angelle was a Democrat until he switched to the Republican affiliation on October 26, 2010.[10][11] Both parties had attempted to recruit Angelle to run forLouisiana's 3rd congressional district in the2010 elections to succeed DemocratCharlie Melancon, who ran instead for the U. S. Senate in2010 against RepublicanDavid Vitter, whom Angelle also opposed in the 2015 gubernatorial race. Earlier, Angelle had declined the overtures from both parties to run for Congress.[12]
Angelle officially began the duties of lieutenant governor on May 17, 2010. He temporarily relinquished the job of secretary of the Department of Natural Resources to Robert Harper but continued to serve as the governor's lobbyist to thelegislature.[13] Angelle returned to his position in Natural Resources after his time as lieutenant governor ended.[14]
On July 21, 2010, Angelle led a rally of over 12,000 citizens inLafayette'sCajundome demanding the federal government to "Lift the Moratorium Now!" PresidentBarack Obama had imposed the2010 United States deepwater drilling moratorium in theGulf of Mexico after theDeepwater Horizon oil spill.[15] There, Angelle notably said, "This moratorium is not hurting the stock holders of BP, or Exxon or Chevron; this moratorium is hurting the Cheramies, and the Calais, and the Dupuis, and the Robins and the Boudreauxs, and the Thibodeauxs," referring to the negative effect on the local economy that the moratorium may have.[16] The moratorium was lifted in October 2010, a move considered a pivotal point in Angelle's political career.[citation needed]
On August 3, 2012, it was discovered that theBayou Corne sinkhole inAssumption Parish, Louisiana was the result of a collapsedsalt dome operated by the Texas Brine Company.[17] This collapse allowed oil and gases to escape and surface.[18] Angelle has received criticism for leaving his Department of Natural Resources position five days after the disaster began, however, it was later discovered that the sinkhole was due to months ofseismic activity that The Texas Brine Company ignored.[19] As of October 2014, the sinkhole is still ongoing while local residents continue a legal battle with the Texas Brine Company.[20] On September 25, 2015, Assumption Parish President, Martin Triche, stated"To suggest that Scott Angelle abandoned Bayou Corne and Assumption Parish is nothing short of completely false.Senator Vitter was not there for our residents when Scott was."[21] Ryan Cross, Angelle's gubernatorial campaign manager said, "Scott had already made the decision he was going to run forPSC. He jumpstarted the response and coordinated it on the ground. He was one of the first people down at the sinkhole site."[22]
In the 2012 PSC race, Angelle, with 213,485 votes (57.2 percent), won all thirteen parishes in District 2 to claim the seat vacated by Jimmy Field, a Baton Rouge attorney. The Democrat Forest Wright finished second in the balloting with 76,336 votes (20.5 percent), and Republican state representative Erich Ponti of Baton Rouge, trailed in third place with 43,287 ballots (11.6 percent). Two other contenders, a Republican and a No Party contender, shared the remaining 11 percent of the vote.[23]
Angelle lost by a relatively narrow margin in theprimary to his fellow Republican,U.S. SenatorDavid Vitter, who took on DemocratJohn Bel Edwards ofTangipahoa Parish in the November 21 general election. Another of Angelle's opponents in the governor's race was his elected successor as lieutenant governor,Jay Dardenne ofBaton Rouge, who finished fourth in the primary.[24] Dardenne endorsed Edwards for the November 21runoff election against Vitter, but Angelle refused to endorse either candidate.[25] State TreasurerJohn Neely Kennedy, himself a former Democrat, called upon Angelle to join him in endorsing Vitter to prove Angelle's credibility as a Republican. Angelle responded via spokesman, criticizing Kennedy's political history and calling him "the eternal president of theRINO club."[26]
On March 3, 2016, Angelle announced his candidacy for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district, which is being vacated by Charles Boustany.[27] Angelle polled 44 percent in the runoff contest against formerSt. Landry Parish sheriff's deputyClay Higgins, having run best in the Lake Charles area.
On May 23, 2017, theUnited States Secretary of the Interior,Ryan Zinke, made Angelle theBureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's fourth Director.[28] That year, theGulf of Mexico produced $2.8 billion in lease androyalty payments to the federal government.[16] Angelle has frequently traveled to Texas and Louisiana to meet with industry executives and has encouraged them to directly call his cellphone to avoid disclosure in public records requests.[16][29][30] Angelle's rule changes are forecast to save the oil and gas industry over $1.3 billion inregulatory compliance costs over the next decade.[16]
In 2017, the Interior Department withdrew its sole liability bonding requirement on rig owners, which had requiredoffshore drillers to postguarantees that they would pay for the ultimate removal of their rigs.[31] The change was lobbied for byTrent Lott andJohn Breaux, and will save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars.[16] Drillers have posted $2.9 billion of the estimated $40 billion in removal costs.[16] In July 2017, the Interior Department reduced the royalty rates drillers must pay the government to drill on the Gulf'sOuter Continental Shelf from 18.75% to 12.5%.[32]
In June 2017, Angelle doubled the time drillers are given to remove unproductive or damaged platforms.[33] In October 2017, the Bureau responded to a 672,000 gallon oil leak from a pipeline fracture southeast ofVenice, Louisiana in the largest accident since theDeepwater Horizon oil spill.[34]
In December 2017, Angelle reduced maintenance requirements on offshore platforms.[35] That month, Angelle proposed to relax the well-control rule, which had been implemented in response to theDeepwater Horizon explosion.[16] Angelle's proposal would reduceblowout preventer inspection requirements, allow operations to continue whileliftboats approach, and would save the industry $986 million in the next decade.[16]
Angelle and his wife have three daughters and two sons.
Angelle served onSunoco Logistics'sboard of directors for four years, for which he was paid $1 million.[16]
| Year | Office / Election | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Governor of Louisiana (primary) | John Bel Edwards | Democratic | 444,061 | 39.9 | Advanced to runoff |
| 2015 | Governor of Louisiana (primary) | David Vitter | Republican | 256,105 | 23.0 | Advanced to runoff |
| 2015 | Governor of Louisiana (primary) | Scott Angelle | Republican | 214,907 | 19.3 | Eliminated |
| 2015 | Governor of Louisiana (primary) | Jay Dardenne | Republican | 166,553 | 15.0 | Eliminated[36] |
| Total votes: 1,113,476 | ||||||
| 2015 | Governor of Louisiana (runoff) | John Bel Edwards | Democratic | 646,860 | 56.1 | Elected |
| 2015 | Governor of Louisiana (runoff) | David Vitter | Republican | 505,929 | 43.9 | Defeated[36] |
| Total votes: 1,152,789 | ||||||
| 2016 | U.S. House (LA-03 primary) | Scott Angelle | Republican | 91,532 | 28.6 | Advanced to runoff |
| 2016 | U.S. House (LA-03 primary) | Clay Higgins | Republican | 84,912 | 26.5 | Advanced to runoff |
| 2016 | U.S. House (LA-03 primary) | Other candidates | — | — | remainder | Eliminated[37] |
| Total votes: 320,454 | ||||||
| 2016 | U.S. House (LA-03 general) | Clay Higgins | Republican | 77,671 | 56.1 | Elected |
| 2016 | U.S. House (LA-03 general) | Scott Angelle | Republican | 60,762 | 43.9 | Defeated[37] |
| Total votes: 138,433 | ||||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theLouisiana Public Service Commission for the 2nd district 2013–2017 | Succeeded by |
