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The Inflation Reduction Act included many important reforms to bring the federal oil and gas leasing system into the 21st century and give taxpayers a fair return in exchange for locking up public lands. After the bill became law, the Bureau of Land Management issued internal guidance laying out how it would lease public lands for oil and gas drilling under the new law. That guidance, which took the form of a series of Instruction Memoranda, was well intentioned and took a very responsible approach to oil and gas leasing.
Unfortunately, the BLM is not following its own guidance. It has proposed lease sales covering an entire order of magnitude more acreage than is required under the law. This year, the agency is proposing to offer leases on hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands that were nominated anonymously and in areas that it knows will likely never produce oil, even though the agency maintains broad discretion over the leasing program and is not required to offer up this land for lease.
Right now, the BLM is considering leasing more than 282,000 acres of public land in the second quarter of this year alone. A new analysis from the Center for Western Priorities finds that this is at least 261,000 acres more than the new law requires, and many of the acres being considered contravene the agency’s own guidance for lease sales. Fortunately, it is not too late for the Interior Department to change course and bring the upcoming lease sales in line with the letter and intent of the IRA.
Manchin holds up qualified Interior Department nominee
Senator Joe Manchin has indicated he may withhold his support for Laura Daniel-Davis, who is nominated to serve as assistant secretary of the Interior for land and minerals management. Manchin cited an internal memo pertaining to offshore rental rates as the cause of his concern. Manchin is in charge of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over Daniel-Davis's nomination.
“It appears that Senator Manchin is looking for any excuse to delay Laura Daniel-Davis’s long-overdue confirmation, and by extension, derail the accomplishments of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala. “Senator Manchin knows that Laura Daniel-Davis is exceptionally qualified to serve the American people, which is why more than 100 women who know and have worked with Laura told the Senate last year to give her a confirmation vote.”
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It’s an important place not only because a terrible massacre occurred, but also because it’s a place where people gather, it’s a place for ceremony, for hunting... It’s really hard to be a tribal member and see our homelands destroyed.”
