(Ryan Keith Zinke is an
American politician and businessman who is currently the 52nd United States
Secretary of the Interior, serving under the Trump administration.)
By Theo Spencer and Amy Mall
In another gift to big
polluters, Interior Sec. Ryan
Zinke signed an order Thursday directing the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) to hold quarterly oil and gas lease sales and to issue new oil and gas
drilling permits within only 30 days from application.
The move is part of the Trump
administration's efforts to allow dirty oil and
gas polluters to dominate public
lands that belong to the American people.
The oil and gas industry
doesn't need any more special favors or giveaways. The fossil fuel industry has
received taxpayer handouts for decades.
The BLM already makes the vast
majority of federal lands available for oil and gas development. For example,
BLM has classified more than 90 percent of lands it manages in 11 western
states as available for oil and gas leasing. In contrast, conservation
proposals have historically had to overcome greater institutional hurdles, and renewable energy projects
on federal lands face much more stringent environmental standards than oil and
gas development.
Zinke's quest for faster
permitting ignores the fact that delays are often the fault of industry and
operators, not the BLM. From FY 2005 to FY 2015, it took operators an average
of 133 days to resolve deficiencies in permit applications
they filed with BLM, according to the Center
for American Progress.
Oil and gas drilling and fracking on public lands comes with a long list of threats to clean air, clean water, human
health, wildlife and local communities. Federal oil and gas development with
intensive industrial land disturbance and toxic chemicals has harmed human health,
wildlife, sacred lands, drinking water sources and local economies focused on
agriculture, tourism and outdoor recreation.
It is the source of toxic air
pollution that harms nearby communities where people live, work, and go to school. It
destroys vital wildlife habitat. It generates massive amounts of toxic waste.
And these impacts last for generations.
We don't have time for 19th
Century energy policies.
We face serious threats from climate change, and must now make smarter energy choices for the future. That means investing
more in renewable sources, like wind
and solar power not boom-and
bust industries like drilling, fracking
and mining that scar the land, taint our our water, overheat the planet and
pollute local communities. We should not turn our public lands over to
polluters for their profit at the expense of all Americans.
Clean energy
provides, sustainable jobs and a healthier environment. Dirty energy—like
oil, gas and coal—are not how we will power the future.
BLM, which oversees fossil
fuel leasing, doesn't have enough staff to property enforce its current rules,
or inspect dirty oil and gas sites. Forcing staff to expedite permitting with
further strain the agency's ability to stop spills, leaks, pipeline failures
and other problems.
For example, an internal
review by the BLM found that inadequate funding for the inspection and
enforcement program meant that some wells had gone uninspected for "10 to 12 years."
A report by the GAO found that between 2009 and 2012, the BLM failed to inspect
more than 55
percent of wells it deemed a high priority for inspection, based on several
criteria such as known safety problems of the operator, geologic concerns, and
concerns about nearby usable water. As the number of wells have grown, the number
of safety and environmental inspections by BLM staff has not kept pace.
These lands belong to all Americans. Not oil, gas and coal
companies. Generations of Americans have visited public lands for hunting,
fishing, camping, hiking and many other treasured activities. Americans from
all walks of life and political inclinations visit and live near these public
lands because they offer recreation, beauty, wildlife viewing and more. And we
should be preserving them for future generations.
And the oil and gas industry
also gets special financial favors. The BLM charges below-market
rates for buying and holding leases, and for royalties on production.
And many agency decisions
about oil and gas leasing and drilling on public lands are often made without
the full environmental review required by law, denying the public the legally
required opportunities to provide input and failing to consider and disclose
the full environmental and health impacts of proposals. Yet Sec. Zinke has now
truncated the time available for agency staff to thoroughly review applications
for permits to drill.
It's clear that the oil and
gas industry already has dominance of our public lands. Dirty, polluting, dangerous oil and gas drilling and
fracking do not need any more special favors or shortcuts to environmental
review.
Thursday's move benefits oil
and gas company executives. The rest of us Americans stand to lose.
Theo Spencer
is a senior advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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