June 3 (UPI) — The Interior Department has eliminated 18 outdated or redundant Bureau of Land Management regulations that the Trump administration says stymied energy production on public lands.
The rescinded regulations include those regarding prospecting for mineral resources, mining claims, oil shale placer claims, and geothermal leases and drilling, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Tuesday in a news release.
Other rescinded regulations include those for public lands hearings, annual fees for oil placer mining claims, surface management plans for mining, and hardrock mineral processing and milling.
“This effort embodies our dedication to removing bureaucratic red tape that hinders American innovation and energy production,” Burgum said.
“By rescinding these outdated regulations, we are not only reducing costs and streamlining processes but also reinforcing our commitment to energy independence and national prosperity.”
Burgum said that commitment won’t stop the Interior Department from “maintaining the highest standards of environmental stewardship.”
At least one environmental group disagrees.
Removing the regulations also removes federal oversight of geothermal energy projects and mineral mining on public lands and in federally managed wilderness areas, officials with the Sierra Club said on Tuesday in a news release.
The changes were made without any public input, the Sierra Club said.
“Cutting the public out of a major policy change is a sign the policy isn’t good for the public,” said Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program.
“Rather than give the American people a chance to check their work, the Trump administration is forcing through changes that make it easier for corporate polluters to profit off the public lands that are held in trust for the American people,” Manuel said.
“It’s just one more indication that [President] Donald Trump and his cabinet will stop at nothing to sell out our public lands to their billionaire buddies.”
The Sierra Club said the regulatory changes also fast-track “corporate extraction, like drilling, mining and logging, on public lands.”
It did not indicate whether or not a federal court challenge would be filed in the matter.
