|
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms that during the Trump administration, oil and gas companies have ramped up holding unused drilling permits, preventing those public land areas from being managed for conservation, wildlife habitat, or outdoor recreation. The oil and gas industry currently holds 10,000 unused drilling permits, which is a 25 percent increase over the past 3 years. In addition, BLM employees say that since processing permit requests is prioritized over other responsibilities, it cuts into their ability to perform safety inspections. This is having a clear effect, with inspections down 14 percent, the number of issued violations down 43 percent, and the fines levied against the industry down 92 percent.
The coronavirus pandemic is demonstrating how important open spaces and access to them are for public health. The Trump administration, however, continues to prioritize oil, gas, and mining over conservation and recreation, allowing those industries to lock up land from the public for bargain rates.
|
These are the highest emissions ever measured from a major U.S. oil and gas basin. There's so much methane escaping from Permian oil and gas operations that it nearly triples the 20-year climate impact of burning the gas they're producing.”
