Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wasted no time releasing the details of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) plan to comply with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on energy (Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth).
Only 1 day after the EO was issued, Zinke stepped forward with two of his own Secretarial Orders describing how the DOI will implement the EO. Both orders throw out multiple orders and other memos and policies issued by ex-President Barack Obama’s DOI, which delayed coal development on public land and required other environmental actions related to climate change.
“Today I took action to sign a series of directives that put America on track to achieve the President’s vision for energy independence and bringing jobs back to communities across the country” said Zinke. “American energy powers our national and local economies. But for too many local communities, energy on public lands has been more of a missed opportunity and has failed to include local consultation and partnership. Today’s orders allow for Americans to benefit from safe and environmentally responsible development on federal lands and put America on track for energy independence.”
Coal Development
Zinke’s Secretarial Order 3348 (Concerning the Federal Coal Moratorium) revokes Secretarial Order 3338, a January 2016 action that placed a moratorium on coal development on public land pending completion of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) no sooner than 2019.
“I find that the public interest is not served by halting the Federal coal program for an extended time, nor is a PEIS required to consider potential improvements to the program,” stated Zinke.”
Effective with the revocation, DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is directed to process coal lease applications and modifications expeditiously in accordance with regulations and guidance existing before the issuance of Secretarial Order 3338. All activities associated with the preparation of the Federal Coal Program PEIS must cease.
The Order notes that the federal coal leasing program supplies approximately 40 percent of the coal produced in the United States and is “critically important to the U.S. economy.”
Mitigation and Climate Change Policies
Secretarial Order 3349 (American Energy Independence) charts DOI’s actions for complying with other parts of the president’s EO. Zinke’s order requires reviews of a November 2015 Presidential Memorandum (Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment) and Secretarial Order 3330 (Improving Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior, October 2013). Among other things, 3330 directed a departmentwide focus on mitigation efforts that improve the resilience of the nation’s resources in the face of climate change.
Zinke also gives DOI’s bureau heads 14 days to report on actions they have taken to rescind presidential actions, reports, and guidance issued by the previous administration in line with climate policies. These documents include Obama’s Climate Action Plan, Climate Change and National Security, and Climate Action Plan Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions, and the Council on Environmental Quality’s Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews.
Royalty Policy
In addition, Zinke signed a charter establishing a Royalty Policy Committee to provide regular advice to the secretary on the fair market value of and collection of revenues from federal and Indian mineral and energy leases, including renewable energy sources. The Committee may also advise on the potential impacts of proposed policies and regulations related to revenue collection from such development, including whether a need exists for regulatory reform. The group will consist of up to 28 local, tribal, state, and other stakeholders and will serve in an advisory capacity.