04 Apr Trump Executive Order on Energy Independence

Last week Donald Trump dealt a severe blow to environmental and health protections by signing his March 28, 2017 Executive Order Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth. Department of Interior Secretary Zinke followed with several Secretarial Orders including Secretarial Order 3349 to implement the Executive Order.

The March 28, 2017 Executive among other things, rescinds certain Presidential Actions, reports, and final guidance related to climate change,including:

• Executive Order 13653 of November 6, 2013 on Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change;
• Presidential Memorandum of June 25, 2013 on Power Sector Carbon Pollution Standards;
• Presidential Memorandum of September 21, 2016 on Climate Change and National Security; and
• Presidential Memorandum of November 3, 2015 on “Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment.” This Memorandum directed the Secretary of the Interior, among other Cabinet officials, to avoid and then minimize harmful effects to land, water, wildlife, and other ecological resources (natural resources) caused by land- or water-disturbing activities.

Zinke followed up with several Secretarial orders directing an agency-wide review of all existing regulations, documents and policies that might hinder energy development and creates a new committee to advise Zinke on royalties collected from mining and drilling on public lands and in U.S. waters.

In particular, Secretarial Order 3349 revokes Secretarial Order 3330 dated October 31, 2013 on “Improving Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior”. It gives the Department 30 days to reconsider, modify or rescind any Department Action taken pursuant to Secretarial Orders 3349 and 3330, and 90 days to recommend revised or substitute Department Action.

Relative to oil and gas specifically, Secretarial Order 3349 requires:

• BLM to move expeditiously with proposals to rescind the final rule entitled, “Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands”

• BLM to perform a consistency review with the Executive Order within 21 days, with respect to:

• the final rule entitled, “Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands”
• the final rule entitled, “Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation,”
• National Park Service to perform a consistency review with the Executive Order within 21 days, with respect to the final rule entitled, “General Provisions and Non-Federal Oil and Gas Rights,”
• Fish and Wildlife Service to perform a consistency review with the Executive Order within 21 days, with respect to the final rule entitled, “Management of Non-Federal Oil and Gas Rights,”; and

• Each bureau and office head to provide a report that identifies all existing Department Actions issued by their bureau or office that potentially burden the development or utilization of domestically produced energy resources, with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear resources.

The Wilderness Society has published a good analysis of the Executive Order, which you can read here, and identification of rollback of specific progress made under the Obama administration here.