March, in brief
Key news from March:
- Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was officially sworn in as the first Native American Secretary of the Interior during a ceremony presided over by Vice President Kamala Harris. Haaland celebrated her heritage and ancestors by wearing traditional Indigenous dress to the ceremony. Her nomination was approved by the U.S. Senate with a bipartisan 51–40 vote.
- The Interior Department hosted a virtual forum as part of the Biden administration’s comprehensive review of the federal oil and gas leasing program, a century-old system which gives industry a sweetheart deal to lock up public lands and shortchanges taxpayers in the process. The forum featured several panels with a variety of stakeholders, including industry representatives, labor and environmental justice organizations, natural resource advocates, and other experts. At the forum, the American Petroleum Institute (API) endorsed putting a price on carbon emissions, a significant departure from previous anti-regulatory statements made by the oil and gas industry lobbying group.
- In other oil and gas news, New Mexico regulators finalized a rule to eliminate routine venting and flaring from drilling operations, a major step to reduce air pollution and climate emissions from the state’s booming oil and gas industry.
- As lawsuits on the Trump administration’s rollback of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments move forward, tribes are encouraging the Biden administration to restore and expand their boundaries.
- The Biden administration withdrew a Trump-era legal opinion that removed protections for migratory birds, saying it “allowed industry to kill birds with impunity.” The 2017 opinion issued by then-Interior Solicitor Daniel Jorjani removed penalties for unintentionally killing birds, eliminating any incentive for oil, gas, and other companies to mitigate their impact on migratory birds. Jorjani’s opinion contradicts decades of Migratory Bird Treaty Act precedent, and even according to their own environmental assessment would result in increased bird deaths and negative ecosystem impacts.
- 116 members of Congress sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to President Biden in support of the national goal to protect 30% of America by 2030 (the 30x30 goal) in order to slow the loss of habitat and prevent the collapse of natural systems. The lawmakers called for a “stakeholder-driven process” to meet the national 30x30 goal, focusing on the importance of collaboration with Tribes, states, local governments, and private landowners. The letter also discussed the re-envisioning of American conservation with an emphasis on inclusivity and equity, describing how the 30x30 initiative can create jobs in communities that need them, expand access to outdoor spaces for all Americans, and restore degraded lands to better serve local communities.
- The U.S. House of Representatives passed major conservation legislation that would protect nearly 3 million acres of public lands and waters in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Washington. The Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act combined a host of locally-supported conservation efforts and was supported by President Biden, who noted it would help achieve the administration’s goal of protecting 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030.
What to watch for in April:
- Secretary Deb Haaland is set to visit Utah as part of the Biden administration’s review of Trump’s national monument rollback.
- The Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs will release their recommendation on moving forward with oil and gas drilling near Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
- As the Biden administration reaches its 100 day mark, it plans to release a report on the national goal of protecting 30% of the country by 2030.
- April 22 is Earth Day! Remember to get outside and check out volunteer opportunities at your local parks and public lands.
Best Reads of the Month
Smoke from wildfires wiped out the U.S. pandemic-related clean air gains in 2020
Burmese immigrant’s speculative buying spree underscores need for federal oil and gas leasing reform
Saving the West’s most iconic cactus from climate change
Wyoming study that trashes Biden’s climate plans is the brainchild of the oil and gas industry
Extremists emboldened by Trump could spell trouble for Biden’s Interior Department
Inside the lithium mining war that could poison the Nevada desert’s water
Opinion: The West badly needs a restoration economy
Advocates for reforming the outdated oil and gas leasing system push back on industry’s claims ahead of forum
From the Center for Western Priorities:
Report: The oil and gas industry’s forfeited public lands stockpile
Data show surrendered drilling permits and leases on national public lands
A new report by the Center for Western Priorities found that, despite spending recent months fearmongering about the Biden administration’s temporary pause on federal oil and gas leases, the oil and gas industry forfeited thousands of drilling leases and permits over the last decade. Between 2011 and 2020, the oil and gas industry failed to use more than 20 million acres of approved onshore federal leases in the West. Similarly, between 2016 and 2020, more than 8,400 approved onshore drilling permits (APDs) — 54% of all APDs approved during those five years — either expired without being used or are currently sitting unused. In other words, the industry has had the chance to take advantage of thousands of drilling permits and millions of acres of federal drilling leases, but it hasn’t. It is clear that the Biden administration’s leasing pause will not adversely impact companies, as they already regularly and voluntarily surrender leases and permits.
The Mountain West’s top oil and gas-producing states had an average of 6 spills per day in 2020
Data shows decline in number of spills, but skyrocketing methane emissions in New Mexico
The Center for Western Priorities’ annual Western Oil and Gas Spills Tracker found that companies in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico reported 2,179 oil and gas-related spills in 2020 that released more than 109,000 barrels of produced water and 24,000 barrels of crude oil collectively. Overall, oil and gas-related spills were down in all states, likely related to the COVID-19 pandemic and stronger state-level environmental safeguards. However, methane emissions in New Mexico skyrocketed to the highest levels reported since tracking began in 2013 with over 1.7 billion cubic feet of methane released, more than double what was released in 2019.
Read the blog | Read the report
It’s time for President Biden to restore our national monuments
Protecting Bears Ears and Grand Staircase is enormously popular, even in Utah
The oil industry is doing fine with a pause on oil leasing — just ask their CEOs
Since President Biden enacted a temporary pause on oil and gas leasing the industry has gone full Chicken Little.
Jason Swann on social justice, environmental stewardship, and the power to heal
Jason Swann is a co-founder of Rising Routes, a new organization working at the intersection of social justice, environmental justice, and mental health. He’s also a land policy analyst with Western Resource Advocates and works with Outdoor Afro. In this episode of The Landscape, Jason talks about his journey into the outdoors, and why racial justice and environmental justice are forever entwined.
Why rock climber Tommy Caldwell started speaking out
Tommy Caldwell has been described as “the best all-around rock climber on the planet” — so why is he using his fame and platform to advocate for reforming the oil and gas leasing system on public lands? Find out in the latest episode of CWP’s The Landscape, which you can also watch on YouTube.
Happy Haynes on mountain parks, urban parks, and the future of play
Allegra “Happy” Haynes is the director of Denver Parks and Recreation, as well as the Deputy Mayor of Denver. In the latest episode of the Center for Western Priorities’ podcast, The Landscape, Happy talks about the importance of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Denver’s unique system of mountain parks, and innovations in playgrounds.
Quote of the month
“This Chicken-Little routine from API and the Western Energy Alliance shouldn’t fool anyone. The oil industry ‘studies’ that Barrasso and company keep citing are directly contradicted by oil executives themselves, who rightly point out to investors that they’re sitting on tens of thousands of approved drilling permits and tens of thousands more unused oil leases.”
— Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director
Picture this
@USFWSRefuges
As the weather gets warmer, please remember that national wildlife refuges are wonderful places to find serenity on the water — in a kayak or a canoe. http://ow.ly/d8mf50E3EWo Photo: Oregon’s Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, by Steve Hymon
