Several groups have sued over a new Bureau of Land Management leasing rule they argue will harm indigenous communities and put small businesses out of business.
Western Energy Alliance, the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, North Dakota Petroleum Council, Petroleum Association of Wyoming, and Utah Petroleum Association sued Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the BLM in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.
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The Biden administration Friday rolled out three decisions aimed at greatly restricting oil and gas drilling, as well as mining activities needed for renewable energy, on public land.
The decisions include shutting down the Ambler Access Road project, which would have opened up part of Alaska to mining needed for renewable energy, and blocking oil and gas drilling on up to 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) has been slammed with comments from supporters and critics of its proposed climate disclosure rule.
The release of the final rule has been continually delayed, but its publication is anticipated in the next few months. Congressional Democrats are urging for it to be done sooner rather than later.
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Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about a Biden administration official’s questionable family ties to far-left groups lobbying lawmakers.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chair of the Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland this week demanding records, communications, documents and more related to allegations that Haaland’s family members may be unethically connected to anti-fossil fuel groups.
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The Biden administration missed another deadline to hold quarterly onshore oil drilling lease sales after a federal court ruled it was legally required to do so.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) defied the June 2021 court ruling which ordered the administration to halt its ban on new oil and gas leases, the Western Energy Alliance — a fossil fuel industry group that challenged the ban — said Wednesday. In August 2021, the DOI vowed to publish notices of competitive sales in December and hold a lease sale 45 days later, two promises it failed to keep, in court filings.
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Oil prices hit a 7-year high this week as American oil and gas companies continue to fight the Biden administration over policies restricting production.
As the economy began to reopen this year and the demand for fuel increased, President Joe Biden, through executive order, halted and restricted oil and gas leases on federal lands, stopped construction of the Keystone Pipeline, and redirected U.S. policy to import more oil from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia (OPEC+) instead of bolstering American oil and gas exploration and production.
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The Trump administration on Monday announced reforms to the Endangered Species Act that it says will “increase transparency and effectiveness” in the law’s implementation.
One of the reforms removes a blanket rule which treats protections for threatened species the same as endangered species. It will also require the same standards be used when officials consider delisting or reclassifying species.
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