The Trump administration announced that it will expedite permit approvals for mining, drilling, fossil fuel production, and transportation on public land, shortening a review process that would otherwise take years.
The Department of the Interior, which oversees the management of federal lands and natural resources, announced the emergency procedures Wednesday, stating that the permitting process will now take “28 days at most” — a significant departure from the current one- to two-year timeline.
The government agency stated that the move is in response to President Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency on January 20. On the first day of his second term, the White House issued an executive order pledging to “eliminate harmful, coercive ‘climate’ policies that increase the costs of food and fuel.”
The expedited permitting policy allows the United States to expand oil and gas projects, allowing Mr. Trump to keep his campaign promise to “Drill, baby, drill” — a common refrain. The new guidelines will apply to a variety of energy projects, including crude oil, natural gas, and coal.
The United States leads the world in oil and gas production, producing 20 million barrels of oil per day and accounting for roughly a quarter of global gas production, according to the International Energy Agency.
The DOI stated that it would use emergency powers under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act to expedite the permitting process.
“The United States cannot afford to wait,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement Wednesday. “President Trump has made it clear that our energy security is national security, and these emergency procedures reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting both.”
Lawsuits to come, experts say
Environmentalists slammed the announcement, claiming that, in addition to having negative environmental consequences for public land and water sources, the expedited procedures will deprive community members of the ability to weigh in on projects in their own backyards. According to experts, the move will likely result in legal challenges.
“What they’re proposing is basically to forego environmental review, public participation, and anything meaningful,” said Michael Burger, executive director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “The implications of that are extreme.”
He explained that the environmental review process has evolved over time, spanning decades. One of the three statutes targeted by the DOI is the Endangered Species Act, which President Richard Nixon signed into law in 1973. Section 7 of the Act requires agencies to consult “to ensure their activities are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence” of federally protected species, according to the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
A win for oil and gas industries
The announcement on Wednesday was a victory for the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s largest lobbying organization, which has supported President Trump’s energy agenda.
“Our nation’s permitting system is broken, and reform is essential to ensuring access to affordable, reliable energy,” Holly Hopkins, VP of upstream policy at the American Petroleum Institute, told CBS MoneyWatch in an email.
Former officials from several federal agencies who served during Trump’s previous term and the Biden administration have told CBS News that looming workforce reductions may jeopardize the department’s plans to expedite the permitting process. They also cautioned that breaking with long-standing practices could result in major mistakes, such as oil spills.
The Department of the Interior has approximately 70,000 employees, according to its website. But cuts could be on the way. According to an internal White House document obtained by The Washington Post, as many as one in every four department employees could be laid off as part of a larger series of staff reductions across government agencies.
“How can you accomplish so much with fewer and fewer people?” questioned Burger of Columbia’s Sabin Center. “The only result is less and less oversight.”
Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, agreed, saying that dismantling the federal agency could jeopardize the Trump administration’s goals.
“They just don’t seem to understand that these employees run the gamut from wildlife biologists to firefighters, to people who permit oil and gas drilling or permit mines on federal lands,” he told me. “If it’s going to wholesale cut staff, some of the things they care about are going to get caught up in that.”
The Department of the Interior did not respond to a request for comment on how layoffs may affect its ability to issue permits on a tighter timeline.
According to the agency’s new procedural guidelines issued this week, companies seeking a permit must confirm in writing that they want their project covered by the expedited process, which means that not everyone will necessarily opt in. Those who do risk suffering significant losses, according to Manuel.
“Companies are very cautious before they sink millions of dollars into a well or to a mining project,” he told me. “So I think they benefit from going slowly because they don’t want to be stuck with a stranded asset or literally drill a dry hole here.”