DOI Issues Orders Aimed at Promoting Fossil Fuel Development, Implementing Trump Policies

The Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke signed two secretarial orders aimed at removing barriers to fossil fuel development on public lands and waters.

The first, Order No. 3350, implements President Trump’s Executive Order Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy (Apr. 28, 2017). It directs the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to develop a new five-year plan for oil and gas exploration in offshore waters and reconsider a number of regulations governing those activities.

The second, Order No. 3351, establishes a new position (Counselor to the Secretary for Energy Policy) to help implement policies related to energy development, whose duties include:

• “Developing and coordinating strategies, policies, and practices that promote responsible development of all types of energy on public lands managed and administered by the Department. “
• “Identifying regulatory burdens that unnecessarily encumber energy exploration development, production, transportation; and developing strategies to eliminate or minimize these burdens.”
• “Promoting efficient and effective processing of energy-related authorizations, permits, regulations, and agreements.”