Section 3.7: Department of the Interior
“President Bill Clinton resumed Carter’s “War on the West,” epitomized by his DOI’s deploying of wolves into the states bordering Yellowstone National Park; the decreed death of a world-class mine in Montana; and the designation of a vast national monument in Utah over the objections of Utah leaders—but with the support of the Hollywood elite.”
For context, the monument he’s referring to is the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, designated in 1996. This was a controversial move at the time, because Clinton did it under the Antiquities Act, which allows presidents to unilaterally protect significant public lands by declaring them National Monuments.
Many local Utah leaders and residents opposed the designation because they felt it restricted economic activities like mining and ranching. The area was rich in coal reserves, and local politicians saw the monument designation as a federal overreach. On the other hand, environmental groups and many in the national spotlight, including celebrities and political elites, supported the move, praising it as a necessary step to preserve the natural beauty and ecological significance of the area.
The monument was later reduced in size by 900,000 acres (about half) by President Donald Trump in 2017 along with the Bears’ Ears monument, citing similar concerns about local economic impacts and federal overreach. However, in 2021, President Joe Biden restored the monument to its original size, once again sparking debate about the balance between conservation and local economic interests.
“During his speech Monday, Trump said the national monument designations also “prevent Native Americans from having their rightful voice over the sacred land where they practice their most important ancestral and religious traditions.”
Many tribal leaders and activists are likely to deeply object to this assessment. For months, they have passionately campaigned to preserve the national monument designations — and now, upon hearing Trump’s proclamations, they are promising to sue.
It’s no surprise that Trump lied about how the people felt about this decision.
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Joe Biden’s DOI, as is well documented, abandoned all pretense of complying with federal law regarding federally owned oil and gas resources. Not since the Administration of President Harry S. Truman – prior to creation of the OCS oil and gas program—have fewer federal leases been issued.”
Is it true that Biden has allowed the fewest new federal drilling leases since Truman? Sort of. It’s misleading for Pendley to say that. Sales, yes. Permits, no. Federal data show the Biden administration approved 6,430 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first two years, outpacing the Trump administration’s 6,172 drilling-permit approvals in its first two years. [Source]
Evidence shows that Biden has simply been honoring commitments Trump made prior to Biden’s taking office:
“Recent claims suggesting that the Biden administration has granted 50 percent more oil and gas drilling permits on federal land compared to the Trump administration have been circulating in the media – and while that data is accurate, it’s a lot more complex. A closer look at the 2023 data reveals that many of the permits approved by the Biden administration were granted on land that was leased during the Trump administration. The Biden administration, on the other hand, has held the absolute minimum lease sales possible.” [Source]
That, and Congress tied his hands:
“Administration officials said they couldn’t go further because of provisions Congress approved last year that require offshore oil leasing in order for Interior to do offshore wind leasing. A maximum of three sales — one each planned for 2025, 2027 and 2029 — are the fewest the Interior Department said it could do under the law and keep expanding its offshore wind program as it intended through 2030.” [Source]
Worth noting also is that U.S. Energy Independence set a new record under Biden.
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Biden is “aligning the management of…public lands and waters…to support robust climate action,” as envisioned in Executive Orders 14008 and 13990. One of his first actions was to ban federal coal, oil, and natural gas leasing on federal lands and waters to fulfill his campaign promise of “no federal oil,” followed by actions from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to rescind the Trump Administration’s Energy Dominance Agenda.”
(Ellipses are his, not mine.) Again, energy independence is at record levels under Biden.
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“DOI is abusing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)14 processes, the Antiquities Act, and bureaucratic procedures to advance a radical climate agenda, ostensibly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for which DOI has no statutory responsibility or authority.”
Aaaand, there it is. Pendley and The Heritage Foundation believe that the government has “no responsibility” to the environment or to help ensure the future of the planet. If not, who does? They LITERALLY MAKE THE LAWS. (And again, climate change is not speculative.)
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Biden’s DOI is hoarding supplies of energy and keeping them from Americans whose lives could be improved with cheaper and more abundant energy while making the economy stronger and providing job opportunities for Americans.”
Yes, Joe Biden is “hoarding” energy. Cackling as he sits atop a giant pile of coal. This statement is ridiculous. While Biden’s actions have protected federal lands and restricted new federal oil and gas leases, this does not equate to “hoarding” existing energy supplies. Energy companies still have access to previously issued leases, and U.S. oil and gas production remains at record highs, partially due to existing leases and non-federal sources.
The claim that lives would be improved with “cheaper and more abundant energy” oversimplifies the complex causes of high energy prices. While increased domestic production could modestly affect prices, U.S. energy prices are still heavily influenced by global oil markets.
I touch on all of this more in Section 3.3, including the fact that clean energy is creating a ton of jobs.
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Conduct offshore oil and natural gas lease sales to the maximum extent permitted under the 2023–2028 lease program, with the possibility to move forward under a previously studied but unselected plan alternative.”
Offshore drilling has devastating impacts on oceans and coastal communities. It’s also expensive. It carries the risk of oil spills, which destroy marine ecosystems. It pollutes the air and water and exacerbates climate change. The seismic blasting11 harms dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals. It’s horrible for the environment.
Plus, chronic irresponsibility is a HUGE problem:
“Once an operator shuts down a well—usually because it is no longer profitable—the company is required to remove its equipment and help restore the area that was damaged by its operations. But in reality, this doesn’t always happen. Many abandoned wells (idle wells with a known owner) and orphaned wells (wells with no responsible owner to be found) remain uncapped and leak oil, methane, and other pollutants into our oceans and atmosphere every day. Researchers estimate that properly plugging the 28,232 permanently abandoned wells in our federal waters, along with the ones currently in use, would cost around $47 billion. That doesn’t even take into account orphaned and abandoned wells in state waters.”
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Review all resource management plans finalized in the previous four years and, when necessary, select studied alternatives to restore the multi-use concept enshrined in FLPMA and to eliminate management decisions that advance the 30 by 30 agenda.”
This is a mandate to destroy every positive step the Biden Administration has taken to protect the environment and encourage clean energy production. The 30×30 initiative is a Biden Administration goal to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans, lands, and fresh waters by the year 2030. To date, more than 190 countries have committed to achieving the global goal.
“The world’s wild places are being lost, and along with them we are losing the natural systems that protect us from the consequences of climate change. Scientists agree that we must protect at least 30% of lands, fresh waters and oceans by 2030 to have any chance of stemming the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change facing our planet.
Currently, only about 17% of land and 8% of marine areas are currently under some form of protection. Even then, in many cases, the effectiveness of that protection is in doubt.”
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Abandon withdrawals of lands from leasing in the Thompson Divide of the White River National Forest, Colorado; the 10-mile buffer around Chaco Cultural Historic National Park in New Mexico (restoring the compromise forged in the Arizona Wilderness Act39); and the Boundary Waters area in northern Minnesota if those withdrawals have not been completed.”
This is a mandate for reversing the withdrawal of certain public lands from being available for oil, gas, and mineral leasing. The lands he mentions were withdrawn to protect them from environmental degradation and cultural preservation.
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Rescind the Biden rules and reinstate the Trump rules regarding: 1. BLM waste prevention; 2. The Endangered Species Act rules defining Critical Habitat and Critical Habitat Exclusions; 3. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act; and 4. CEQ reforms to NEPA. Reinstate President Trump’s plan for opening most of the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska to leasing and development.”
In short, the hell with the environment, endangered species, birds, and wildlife. For a complete breakdown of what this means, see the analysis below.
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.
“Approve the 2020 Willow EIS, the largest pending oil and gas projection in the United States in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and expand approval from three to five drilling pads.”
More drilling in Alaska. More mining, as well.
Full contextual analysis of Section 3.7: Department of the Interior here.