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Interior

 

Senate Panel Calls Up Interior Nominee For 2nd Hearing. According to Politico, “Senate Republicans on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week will get another chance to grill Laura Daniel-Davis, President Biden’s nominee for assistant Interior secretary for land and minerals management. Her scheduled appearance before the panel on Thursday alongside two first-time Department of Energy nominees will be her second visit to Capitol Hill in just under four months. It’s an unusual set of circumstances that underscores the Republicans’ desire to publicly air, at every opportunity, their deep-seated political grievances with Biden’s environmental agenda. The decision by Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to bring Daniel-Davis back for a second confirmation hearing came at the request of the panel’s ranking member, Sen. John Barrasso, the Wyoming Republican’s office confirmed. ‘Ranking member Barrasso asked Chairman Manchin for another confirmation hearing,’ Barrasso spokesperson Sarah Durdaller told E&E News last week. ‘Another hearing will allow senators to ask questions of Ms. Daniel-Davis on her views and ongoing activities at the Department of the Interior.’ Durdaller added that Daniel-Davis, who is currently serving as principal deputy assistant secretary of land and minerals management, ‘appears to have continued the assault on Wyoming’s economy and our nation’s energy independence’ since her first hearing in mid-September.” [Politico, 1/31/22 (=)]

 

BLM

 

Federal Judge Poised To Suspend Wild Mustang Roundup In Nevada After Advocates Sue. According to The Spectrum, “A federal judge is considering temporarily suspending the capture of wild horses in Nevada where their advocates say the federal government is ‘needlessly and recklessly’ killing free-roaming mustangs in violation of U.S. laws. U.S. District Judge Miranda Du says she expects to rule by Monday, maybe sooner, on the advocates’ request for an emergency court order pending another hearing next week to learn more about the potential danger of roundup near the Utah state line. In Nevada, home to about half the 86,000 horses roaming federal lands, three groups have filed a lawsuit challenging what they say is the illegal, inhumane roundup of more than 2,000 horses that’s already underway near the Utah line. The Bureau of Land Management insists it must gather the mustangs before the end of February — one of several scheduled on an expedited basis across the West due to severe drought.” [The Spectrum, 1/28/22 (=)]

 

BOEM

 

The Nuanced Yet Far-Reaching Oil Leasing Ruling. According to Axios, “Zoom in: Contreras took issue with what he saw as a lack of consistency in the Interior’s methods for its environmental review. For instance, the judge noted that it failed to consider the emissions implications of the lease sale on global oil consumption. Jay Austin, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law Institute, a nonpartisan environmental law research group, said the ruling allows Interior to move ahead with a similar lease in the near future. ‘The court is just invalidating the paperwork and sending it back to the agency. But of course, without the paperwork, you know, no drilling can proceed,’ Austin told Axios. ‘And this does give a chance for a rethink,’ he said, referring to oil and gas drilling policies overall. What’s next: ‘They have to fix this before they can have any Gulf leases at all,’ said Brettny Hardy, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, an environmental group that was one of the plaintiffs in the case. Christy Goldfuss, who headed the Council on Environmental Quality in the Obama administration and is now at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said the ruling will give the Interior Department ‘the space to review the leasing program,’ but that it doesn’t signify an end to oil and gas drilling on public lands. ‘This isn’t going to stop all oil and gas drilling but this will give us more clarity on what the impacts are,’ she said. The Interior Department pointed to a statement from Jan. 27 that it is reviewing the decision.” [Axios, 1/31/22 (=)]

 

Charting The Gulf's Oil Role. According to Axios, “The Gulf of Mexico is a key source of U.S. oil production, but has become a much smaller slice of the pie since the onshore shale boom began over a decade ago, Ben writes. The big picture: The Gulf now accounts for roughly 15% of U.S. crude production, and support for that development is a key industry on the Gulf Coast.” [Axios, 1/31/22 (=)]

 

That’s All Folks? According to Politico, “All eyes are on the Interior Department to see whether it will appeal last week’s ruling that knocked November’s offshore lease sale into a cocked hat. The oil industry views Judge Rudolph Contreras’ ruling invalidating the $191 million lease sale as ‘a substantial threat,’ one industry lobbyist told Pro’s Ben Lefebvre. Because the judge’s order essentially scuttled any hopes that the lease sale will be redone anytime soon, companies will have to look to Interior to release a new five-year plan for future lease sales — something that the Trump administration had publicly sworn it had stopped working on and that the Biden administration has barely mentioned. ‘The only viable path forward for a new lease sale would be a change in administration, and even with a more supportive administration it would take years to go through the process of establishing a new five-year leasing plan and holding additional leases,’ this person said. Environmental groups cheered the decision that invalidated the lease sale based on the Trump administration’s shoddy environmental review. The ruling, if it stands, would help President Joe Biden keep his pledge to cut U.S. methane emissions, said Diane Hoskins, campaign director at environmental group Oceana.” [Politico, 1/31/22 (=)]

 

Analysis: Biden Gets Climate Win With Court Loss On Gulf Of Mexico Oil Leases. According to Reuters, “A U.S. judge’s surprise decision this week to annul the Biden administration’s first Gulf of Mexico oil lease auction because of its climate change impact has raised questions about the future of the nation’s federal drilling program – and played directly into the president’s hand. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, made a campaign pledge to end federal oil and gas drilling to fight climate change, and he quickly announced a suspension of all new lease sales pending a broad review of drilling’s impact on global warming after taking office. Some 25% of U.S. oil and gas production comes from federal lands and waters. But this administration was later forced into the sale after several drilling states successfully sued in federal court in Louisiana. They argued that U.S. law requires the federal government to hold auctions on a regular basis to enhance energy independence and generate revenue. The November auction generated more than $190 million, the highest since 2019, on 1.7 million acres sold, and drew bids from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N).” [Reuters, 1/29/22 (=)]

 

Judges Increasingly Demand Climate Analysis In Drilling Decisions. According to The New York Times, “A judge’s decision this week to invalidate the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in the nation’s history, on grounds that the government had failed to take climate change into consideration, shows that regulatory decisions that disregard global warming are increasingly vulnerable to legal challenges, analysts said Friday. Judge Rudolph Contreras of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Thursday that the Biden administration had acted ‘arbitrarily and capriciously’ when it conducted an auction of more than 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. The Interior Department failed to fully analyze the climate effects of the burning of the oil and gas that would be developed from the leases, the judge said. The ruling is one of a handful over the past year in which a court has required the government to conduct a more robust study of climate change effects before approving fossil fuel development. Analysts said that, cumulatively, the decisions would ensure that future administrations are no longer able to disregard or downplay global warming.” [The New York Times, 1/28/22 (=)]

 

Oil Ruling Gives Climate Leeway Back To Biden. According to Axios, “ICYMI, a federal judge tossed out the Interior Department’s late 2021 auction of new Gulf of Mexico oil leases, citing flaws in the agency’s greenhouse gas emissions analysis, Ben and Axios’ Rebecca Falconer report. Catch up fast: U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in D.C ruled that Trump-era officials ‘acted arbitrarily and capriciously in excluding foreign consumption from their greenhouse gas emissions calculation.’ The intrigue: The Biden administration held the sale reluctantly after a Louisiana federal judge thwarted its pause on new sales. Now Interior, if the ruling holds, gets the reins back. Interior, in a statement, said it had been ‘compelled’ to hold the sale based on the prior regime’s analysis. ‘Especially in the face of the climate crisis, we need to take the time to make significant and long overdue programmatic reforms,’ Interior said. What’s next: The American Petroleum Institute, a major industry group that intervened in the case, called Contreras’ ruling ‘disappointing’ and said they’re reviewing options. ‘Offshore energy development plays a critical role in strengthening our nation’s economy and energy security,’ API spokesman Scott Lauermann said.” [Axios, 1/28/22 (=)]

 

NPS

 

Heavy Wolf Kill Triggers New Limits Near Yellowstone. According to Montana Free Press, “The state Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to close wolf trapping and hunting in southwestern Montana if or when six more wolves are killed by hunters or trappers in the region. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that 20 wolves that roamed out of Yellowstone National Park have been killed this season, the most in any single hunting season since wolf reintroduction in 1995. Park employees have since deemed one pack, the Phantom Lake Pack, ‘eliminated,’ according to the story, which re-ignited wildlife advocates’ frustration about the state’s approach to wolf management and inspired a coalition of western environmental organizations to petition Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to issue emergency federal protections for wolves. Haaland has thus far declined to implement such a measure. When it was setting dates for the 2021-2022 rifle-hunting and trapping seasons last year, the commission set a harvest threshold for each of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ seven regions that would trigger a regulation review with potential for ‘rapid in-season adjustments.’ In Region Three, which covers southwestern Montana, the commission set that threshold at 82 wolves. As of Friday afternoon, hunters and trappers have killed 76 wolves in Region Three, with more than six weeks left before the trapping season’s scheduled close on March 15.” [Montana Free Press, 1/28/22 (=)]

 

Congress

 

House Panel To Debate Roster Of Public Lands Bills. According to Politico, “Rep. Joe Neguse will preside over a hearing this week on his own bill to promote and expand opportunities for long-distance biking on federal lands. The Colorado Democrat and chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will bring up the legislation, H.R. 6337, a little over one week after it was formally unveiled. The ‘Biking on Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act’ would direct the Interior and Agriculture departments to identify not fewer than 10 long-distance bike trails and not fewer than 10 areas in which there is an opportunity to develop or complete such new trails, on federal or National Forest System land. The bill would define a long-distance bike trail as a ‘continuous route consisting of 1 or more trails’ that is not less than 80 miles in length, and calls for Interior and USDA to ‘make use of existing trails and roads … to the maximum extent practicable.’ Once the trails are created, the two agencies would be given the latitude to publish and distribute maps, put up signage, and share promotional materials relating to the trails. For accountability and transparency purposes, each agency would be expected to consult with ‘stakeholders’ about the feasibility of completing a new trail on government property. Each would also be required to submit a report no more than two years after the date of enactment of the bill regarding their progress.” [Politico, 1/31/22 (=)]

 

 

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