Release Date: April 16, 2021
Media Contact: Emily Thompson, Em************@pr********.org, 202-758-3936
Coalition Applauds Secretary’s Orders to Repeal Energy Dominance Policies
Today, Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, issued two Secretarial Orders (SO) to prioritize action on climate change throughout the Interior Department and to restore transparency and integrity in the Department’s decision-making processes.
Secretary Haaland’s orders rescind SOs issued by the Trump administration that undermined how public lands were managed and established energy development as the “dominant” use of those lands. In addition, today’s orders restore National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) protection and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks Chair Phil Francis issued the following statement after Haaland’s announcement:
“We applaud Secretary Haaland for revoking a dozen environmentally harmful Secretarial Orders issued by the previous administration, including those that undermined bedrock laws and acts, such as NEPA and NHPA, that are critical to the protection of our irreplaceable natural and cultural resources.
In particular, the Interior Department’s fossil fuels leasing programs have been the subject of considerable environmental concern under the Trump administration’s “industry-first” mineral leasing policies. We appreciate that Secretary Haaland fully understands the federal mineral estate belongs to the American people, not to the fossil fuels industry. It is time to “bring balance to the force” and reinstate a more cautious, “conservation-first” approach that is more reflective of the Department’s role as the county’s chief steward of our publicly owned mineral reserves.
We are pleased that the Department is listening to a broader range of Americans, not just big industry leaders. And we are hopeful that the new leadership of Interior will finally implement comprehensive fossil fuels program reform that clearly puts conservation, protecting the environment, national parks, and public lands, and the interests of the American people above that of the oil and gas and mining industries.”
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