The U.S. Department of the Interior proposed revisions to two Biden-era regulations that govern oil and gas drilling on national public lands. The proposed changes would reduce fees that firms must pay for future cleanup costs before drilling and could allow companies to release more methane.

Under the proposal, the Bureau of Land Management would no longer be required to assess whether land proposed for oil and gas leasing has high potential for conflict with other resources such as wildlife habitat. If the revisions are finalized, two public comment periods for lease sales would be eliminated. Currently, the bureau gives the public 30 days to comment on which land tracts are made available for lease sales. Officials are also currently required to draft National Environmental Policy Act documents for each lease sale, which provides an additional comment period of no less than 30 days. Additionally, protest periods for lease sales would be shortened from 30 days to 10 days.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior stated that the proposed revisions streamline outdated procedures that have slowed the development of reliable, domestic energy in accordance with the Bureau of Land Management's multiple use and sustained yield mission. "These targeted updates cut through the red tape that has historically deterred investment, ensuring our public lands remain a reliable engine for economic growth and innovation," U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said.

Alexa Dietrich, research director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, commented on the proposed changes to public input. "By ignoring public comment [requirements] while propping up companies, they're really attacking democracy in a very clear way," Dietrich said. Wendy Park, a senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, also addressed the reduced protest period. "A 10-day protest period is also insufficient for the public to weigh in when there can be dozens of lease parcels in a single lease sale, each with unique resource concerns," Park said.

Why It Matters

These proposed revisions concern the process for oil and gas drilling on public lands managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The changes center on public input opportunities, environmental assessments, and financial obligations for cleanup costs, along with methane emissions. The Bureau of Land Management's current requirements include 30-day public comment periods before lease sales and for environmental documents, as well as a 30-day protest period after lease sale notices. The proposed changes would remove the two 30-day public comment periods and reduce the protest period to 10 days.