Department of the Interior (DOI)

 

Secretary Haaland Stresses Importance Of Indigenous Knowledge In ‘Era Of Climate Crisis’ — “U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Hawaii leaders gathered in Heeia on Tuesday to underscore the importance of indigenous knowledge preservation in conservation efforts. ‘I see healing all over this area where people are bringing back native plants and native ways of doing things and I think that indigenous knowledge is one of the absolute most important things that we can practice in this era of the climate crisis,’ Haaland said. On the grounds of Paepae o Heeia — a nonprofit organization that maintains the ancient Hawaiian Heeia fish pond — Haaland, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, Board of Land and Natural Resources chair Dawn Chang, ecologists, and special guests gathered in a historic moment for conservation efforts. In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate bill in U.S. history, which included $369 billion for clean energy and climate provisions. With funding from this act and additional funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department of Interior is investing $2 billion in department-led integrative restoration initiatives.” [Hawaii News Now, 6/29/23 (=)]

 

U.S. Secretary Of The Interior Attends Blessing At Site Of New Hawaiian Volcano Observatory — “If Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes, can shape the land and break down barriers, ‘so can we,’ No’el Ka’iako Tagab-Cruz said Wednesday in Hilo as she welcomed a large crowd that included U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. ‘Let’s be innovative. Let’s be transformative just like her,’ added Tagab-Cruz, associate professor of Hawaiian studies at the I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawai’i Life Styles at Hawai’i Community College. While the crowd watched in silence during the kīpaepae, or traditional Hawaiian welcoming ceremony, the ‘āina (land) embraced them. A bright blue sky, lush greenery, singing birds and an occasional dragonfly zooming by provided the stage for chants, music and hula led by Tagab-Cruz. Haaland was visibly moved by the ceremony, wiping tears from her cheeks as she spoke with participants that included students and staff of the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Hawai’i. The ceremony was part of a ground blessing event meant to prepare the land for a new U.S. Geological research facility on the Big Island that will house the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center.” [Hawaii News Now, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

 

AP | US Rule Would Limit Methane Leaks From Public Lands Drilling — “The Interior Department on Monday proposed rules to limit methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on public lands, the latest action by the Biden administration to crack down on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. The proposal by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management would tighten limits on gas flaring on federal land and require energy companies to better detect methane leaks that add to planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution. The actions follow a more comprehensive methane-reduction plan announced by President Joe Biden earlier this month. The Nov. 11 proposal, announced as Biden attended a global climate conference in Egypt, targets the oil and gas industry for its role in global warming even as the president has pressed energy producers for more oil drilling to lower prices at the gasoline pump.” [KFOX-TV, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Public Lands Rule Rhetoric Gets Wacky — “A few months ago, the Bureau of Land Management quietly proposed a new rule designed to ‘guide the balanced management of public lands,’ putting conservation on a par with other uses, such as grazing, oil and gas drilling and mining. Among other things, it would allow individuals or entities to lease public parcels for conservation purposes, including habitat restoration or invasive species eradication. To many observers, myself included, the proposal seemed unremarkable, basically a clarification of the multiple-use framework mandated by the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Nothing about it was particularly earth-shattering or new. Environmental groups mostly supported it, albeit tepidly, though some thought that the conservation lease idea might do more harm than good. Initially, the response from the extractive industries and their enablers in Washington, D.C., was similarly subdued — with one or two exceptions.” [High Country News, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

 

Administration Continues Overhaul Of Endangered Species Act Regulations — “On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (‘FWS’) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (‘NMFS’) (collectively, the ‘Services’) published three proposed rules that would significantly revise their regulations implementing several sections of the Endangered Species Act (‘ESA’). Primarily, the Services’ proposals focus on amending or reversing several components of the ESA regulations promulgated in 2019 by the prior Administration, including the implementation of Section 4 (listing of species as threatened or endangered and the designation of critical habitat), Section 7 (consultation procedures); and Section 4(d) (application of the ‘take’ prohibitions to threatened species). In addition, and beyond the scope of the 2019 final rules, the Services are proposing revisions to the Section 7 regulations regarding the scope and application of reasonable and prudent measures (‘RPM’) and to the Section 4(d) regulations to include certain exceptions for federally recognized Tribes. Comments on the three proposed rules are due by August 21, 2023.” [The National Law Review, 6/27/23 (=)]

 

 

Courts & Legal

 

Alito Oil Lease Poses No Conflict In EPA Cases — “The wife of Samuel Alito — the Supreme Court justice who has voted in favor of fossil fuel interests by scrapping wetlands protections and limiting power plant regulation — has a deal to secure oil and gas revenue from a plot of land passed down to her by her late father. Local records show that Martha Ann Bomgardner Alito in July 2022 entered an agreement with Citizen Energy III LLC to receive a portion of the money it makes from drilling oil and gas on her family’s land in Oklahoma, the nation’s sixth largest producer of crude oil. In 2016, Alito’s wife made a similar deal on the same property with American Mineral Partners LLC, according to Grady County, Okla., records. She would receive a royalty of three-sixteenths of oil and gas proceeds collected from the 160-acre tract, the documents show. Recent reporting by The Intercept cast doubt on whether Alito, one of the most conservative members of the Supreme Court, should stay involved in environmental cases, given his family’s ties to the oil and gas industry. Legal scholars said the lease agreement doesn’t appear to require Alito to bow out of such matters. ‘I don’t think any reasonable person would say he disqualifies himself there,’ said Russell Wheeler, senior fellow in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program.” [E&E News, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

 

States & Local

 

California

 

Joshua Trees Win Long Term Protection In Environmental Victory — “California lawmakers have voted to permanently protect the iconic western joshua tree, delivering a hard-won victory for environmentalists who have warned that the climate crisis has imperilled these fixtures of the high desert. The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act was passed Tuesday, as part of the state’s budget agreement. It prohibits the unpermitted killing or removal of the trees, requires the development of a conservation plan and creates a fund to protect the species. It appears to be the first California legislation focused on protecting a climate-threatened species. ‘It’s been a long journey to get here,’ said Brendan Cummings, the conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity, who has led efforts to list joshua trees as an endangered species for years. ‘We can finally move on from the debate over whether joshua trees should get protection, to focusing on actually implementing measures to help ensure that they get through the very difficult decades ahead.’” [The Guardian, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Nevada

 

BLM Solar Auction In Nevada Nets Record $105M In Bids — “A solar auction held this week in Nevada resulted in record-high bids to potentially build commercial-scale solar projects on 23,675 acres of federal lands, the Interior Department announced Wednesday. The lease sale, offered by the Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday, involved four industry-nominated parcels — including two inside a designated solar energy zone — covering a total of 23,675 acres of federal lands in the Amargosa Valley region of southern Nevada. Interior announced that NV Energy Inc. placed the winning bids on the two parcels inside the Amargosa Valley Solar Energy Zone — the first covering 3,775 acres with a high bid of $35.25 million and the second covering 3,451 acres with a high bid of $46.6 million. In addition, BLM received two bids totaling $23.2 million for two parcels located outside the solar energy zone. Boulevard Associates LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, bid $21 million for the rights to submit a solar energy development proposal on a 10,129-acre parcel of BLM land. Silver Star Solar I LLC, a subsidiary of Leeward Renewable Energy, placed the winning bid of $2.3 million to submit a solar energy development proposal on a 6,320-acre parcel, Interior announced. The total $105 million in winning bids represent what Interior called the highest-yielding onshore renewable energy auction in its history.” [E&E News, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Record-Breaking Auction Held For Utility-Scale Solar Development On Public Lands In Nevada — “The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management held an auction for utility-scale solar energy development in Nevada this week, resulting in $105.15 million in high bids. The auction of four parcels across 23,675 acres in the Amargosa Desert could support nearly 3 gigawatts of renewable energy to the electrical grid. This is the highest-yielding onshore renewable energy auction in the agency’s history. ‘This record-breaking auction for solar energy development is further evidence that the demand for clean energy has never been greater. The technological advances, increased interest, cost effectiveness, and tremendous economic potential make these projects a reliable path for diversifying our nation’s energy portfolio,’ said Secretary Deb Haaland. ‘Under President Biden’s leadership, this Administration is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach toward ambitious clean energy goals that will support families, boost local economies, and address the climate crisis.’” [CleanTechnica, 6/28/23 (+)]

 

BLM Reaps $105m In Large-Scale Nev. Solar Lease Sale — “The federal government has sold utility-scale solar development rights in the Nevada desert worth more than $105 million, the biggest onshore renewable energy auction in the history of the Bureau of Land Management, the agency said Wednesday. Four parcels over nearly 24,000 acres of the Amargosa Desert in western Nevada may support almost 3 gigawatts of solar energy production, the BLM said in a press release. NV Energy Inc., an electric utility with almost 1.4 million customers that provides power to Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, was the provisional winner of two leases in a solar energy zone designated by the agency, according to the BLM. The utility bid nearly $82 million for more than 7,200 acres of planned solar development across the parcels, the agency said. The Nevada utility is working to replace its sole remaining coal-fired power plant with wind, solar, geothermal and hydro resources, and meet the state’s goal of a 50% renewable energy portfolio, according to its website. ‘This record-breaking auction for solar energy development is further evidence that the demand for clean energy has never been greater,’ Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in the press release.” [Law360, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Western Tribes' Last Ditch Effort To Stall A Large Lithium Mine In Nevada — “The fate of what would be the largest lithium mine in the U.S. on federal land in Nevada is now in the hands of a federal appeals court. It’s the latest development in a more than two year legal battle over a plan by the Canadian firm, Lithium Nevada, to build an open pit mine near Thacker Pass, along a remote stretch of sagebrush-studded land close to the Nevada-Oregon border. Initial construction has already begun on the mine after a district court ruling earlier this year upheld a federal plan permitting it. It would become one of the first major domestic sources of lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries. But the roughly nine square mile mine would also be on land considered sacred by some Native people. Activists from western tribes packed a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals courtroom Tuesday, some wearing traditional regalia, while others stood outside praying and singing.” [NPR, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

BLM Holds Record-Breaking Auction For Solar Energy Development — “The Bureau of Land Management held its highest-yielding onshore renewable energy auction in history this week, earning $105 million in total bids to develop utility-scale solar energy on Nevada federal lands, the Interior Department announced Wednesday. The auction, held Tuesday, for four parcels of land in the Amargosa Desert could provide almost 3 gigawatts of renewable energy to the U.S. grid, the department said. It comes as the Biden administration focuses on expanding clean power across the West. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement the results are ‘further evidence that the demand for clean energy has never been greater.’ Details: The auction resulted in provisional winners for leases on two parcels and for preferred applicants on another two parcels outside the Amargosa Valley solar energy zone.  NV Energy placed the high bids for both leases auctioned in the solar energy zone — one that includes 3,775 acres that earned a high bid of $35.25 million and another comprising 3,451 acres with a high bid of $46.6 million.” [Politico, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Billionaire Warren Buffett Bids Big For Slice Of Biden's Record-Busting Solar Auction — “The US obtained $105.15m in high bids in an auction for utility-scale solar development across four parcels of federal lands in the state of Nevada’s Amargosa Desert, which could support almost 3GW of renewable energy to the electric grid, according to government officials. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the US Department of Interior, held the auction on Tuesday. BLM administers 247.3 million acres (1 million km2), about one-eighth of the country’s landmass. ‘This record-breaking auction … is further evidence that the demand for clean energy has never been greater,’ said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. ‘The technological advances, increased interest, cost effectiveness, and tremendous economic potential make these projects a reliable path for diversifying our nation’s energy portfolio,’ she added. The auction resulted in the identification of provisional winners for leases on two parcels and for preferred applicants on two parcels. ” [Recharge News, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Reuters | Biden Administration Raises Record $105 Million In Nevada Solar Energy Auction — “The Biden administration said on Wednesday it raised $105 million from solar power developers at a lease auction covering 23,675 acres of Nevada desert this week, making it the highest-yielding federal onshore renewable energy auction to date. NV Energy Inc led the Tuesday auction with more than $80 million in high bids for two parcels in the Amargosa Valley Solar Energy Zone, according to the Bureau of Land Management. NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary Boulevard Associates, and Leeward Renewable Energy subsidiary Silver Star Solar picked up the remaining two parcels, with winning bids of $21 million and $2.3 million, respectively, BLM said. ‘This record-breaking auction for solar energy development is further evidence that the demand for clean energy has never been greater,’ Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a press release about the auction.” [WSAU-TV, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Court Leans Toward BLM In Lithium Mine Fight — “A federal appeals court appeared likely to uphold the Interior Department’s authorization for the massive Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada. During oral arguments Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed skeptical of claims that a lower bench should have tossed out the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the mine, which could become a key source of the critical mineral needed for a rapid increase in electric battery production. The Biden administration has backed the project — first fast-tracked under former President Donald Trump — as part of its broader climate agenda. But tribal and environmental groups staunchly opposed the open-pit mine over concerns it would lead to destruction of ancestral lands and key habitat for species like the greater sage grouse and pronghorn. The case comes before the 9th Circuit about a year after the same court upheld a ruling blocking the proposed Rosemont copper mine in Arizona. But this time, the court appeared more skeptical, with judges questioning whether they should be hearing the challenge or if concerns about the Thacker Pass mine instead still belonged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.” [E&E News, 6/28/23 (=)]

 

Vermont

 

Op-Ed: New Law Gives Vermonters A Chance To Build A Conservation Vision — According to Drew McConville, “Vermonters who value outdoor access, healthy forests and clean water recently celebrated the enactment of a new law establishing ambitious, long-term goals for protecting land in the state. But as laudable as this step is, the important and hard work starts now. H.126, the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act, sets targets of conserving 30 percent of land in the state by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050. It also sets the stage for Vermont to chart an intentional and inclusive pathway for protecting treasured natural areas, while meeting housing needs, enabling smart growth, supporting sustainable farms and forests, and preserving the character of our state. As someone who has worked for 20 years on national conservation policy and was drawn to Vermont for the healthy, outdoor experiences it offers our family, I’m excited to see the state stepping up. This measure positions the state to lead in a national and global effort to combat the loss of nature and biodiversity, which has accelerated in tandem with the climate crisis.” [VTDigger, 6/27/23 (+)]

 

Wyoming

 

Op-Ed: Say Yes To Conservation Leasing On Federal Land — According to Earl DeGroot, “In 1882, the Northern Pacific Railroad shipped 200,000 bison hides in 700 boxcars from the Northern Great Plains to processing facilities in the East. In 1883, the shipment was down to 40,000 hides, and in 1884 the total harvest fit in one boxcar. In just three years, bison were all but eradicated from Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. Bison herds in the Southern Great Plains had been decimated a decade earlier. This sad chapter in America’s conservation history resulted largely from new railroads opening the West to easy travel. There were few regulations to limit the slaughter. Market hunters wandered the plains. ‘Sporting’ expeditions encouraged passengers to shoot bison from railroad cars. It was pure carnage. While many would like to believe that similar wanton destruction couldn’t happen again, the truth is it has happened repeatedly in the last 150 years. Species such as the Black-footed Ferret and the Lesser Prairie Chicken are now on the brink of extinction. Many others are on the threatened or endangered species list. Grassland bird species have declined by more than 40 percent since 1966 and numerous others are at a tipping point. Much of this is happening because many species struggle to compete with commercial activities.” [Post and Courier, 6/28/23 (+)]

 

 

 

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