Energy Dominance: The New Motto for Trump's Interior Department + Other Agencies.
The world's largest oil producer and natural gas exporter, the USA, has declared an "energy emergency" and is going all-in on fossil fuel development on federal public lands.
President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14154 on his first day in office, “Unleashing American Energy,” declaring an energy emergency and directing agencies to fast-track fossil fuel projects nationwide. The order leaves out wind and solar energy, the fastest growing and often cheapest energy sources in recent years. Trump’s energy order focuses instead on developing oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.
Trump is directing federal agencies—particularly the Departments of Interior, Energy, and Commerce along with the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers—to expedite permitting for its preferred energy projects using emergency authorities. The White House specifically names\ the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Endangered Species Act as “burdensome regulations” in need of work-arounds to accomplish the President’s fossil fuel agenda.
The Trump energy dominance plan runs primarily through public lands and waters managed by the Department of Interior. Recently confirmed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued Secretarial Order 3418 directing his agency to focus on “advancing innovation to improve energy and critical minerals identification, permitting, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, distribution, exporting, and generation capacity of the United States to provide a reliable, diversified, growing, and affordable supply of energy for our Nation.”
Burgum’s order calls for, among other objectives:
Limiting the “energy dominance” agenda to ensure that policies and rules don’t “bias government or private-sector decision making in favor of renewable energy projects” (NOTE—this directive applies even if renewables are the cheapest source of available energy).
Canceling Biden Administration Interior Department rules and regulations such as conservation permitting on public lands, updates to onshore oil and gas leasing rates, directives to develop wind and solar projects on federal lands, and protections from development in certain parts of Alaska.
Reviewing, and “as appropriate,” revising all withdrawn public lands. This includes designated National Monuments. Trump reduced the size of two monuments during his first term.
Revising certain resource management plans that were enacted during the Biden Administration.
Reviewing, and potentially reinstating, all permits that were revoked or denied during the Biden era.
Allowing mine wastes to be dumped on federal public lands.
Trump and Burgum’s rhetoric ignores the fact that the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration, “produces more crude oil than any country, ever.”
The Burgum orders, “willfully ignore the rural residents and communities whose personal and local incomes rely on these lands being protected from privatization,” Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation, said in a statement. “Outdoor recreation on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands contributes more than $11 billion to the economy and substantial income to individuals, small and large businesses, and rural communities through hunting, fishing, camping, climbing, riding off-highway vehicles, and many other activities.”
“With roughly 85% of BLM lands already available for energy production–and roughly half of existing oil and gas leases not being used–it's crystal clear that these recent orders targeting the 15% of public lands that are protected for the public’s use have nothing to do with the nation’s energy portfolio,” Hill said.
The Cocklebur covers rural policy and politics from a progressive point-of-view. Our work focuses on a tangled rural political reality of dishonest debate, economic and racial disparities, corporate power over our democracy, and disinformation peddled by conservative media outlets. We aim to use facts, data, and science to inform our point-of-view. We wear our complicated love/WTF relationship with rural America on our sleeve.
What a DOGE bag this administration is eh? The energy thing is a total BS distraction - the market doesn't want or need more fossil fuels and our public lands are the last place to generate it. It is so tragic to see so many good public servants and programs getting ground up at these public agencies. There's an intelligent way to reduce government waste and inefficiency - this is the political way.