The Department of the Interior is rolling out emergency permitting procedures to fast-track environmental reviews, limiting the process to 28 days at most. The measures are intended to align with President Donald Trump’s declaration of a “national energy emergency,” and accelerate the development of domestic energy resources and critical minerals.
The procedures will expedite the review and approval of projects related to the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining or generation of energy within the country.
Energy sources covered under the new procedures include crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal energy, kinetic hydropower and critical minerals.
“The United States cannot afford to wait,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “We are cutting through unnecessary delays to fast-track the development of American energy and critical minerals—resources that are essential to our economy, our military readiness, and our global competitiveness.”
The department said the declaration of a national energy emergency recognizes that the current delays in energy project approvals pose risks to the U.S.’ economic stability, national security and foreign policy interests.
Procedures
The Interior plans to use emergency authorities under existing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
Under NEPA, Interior will be adopting an alternative NEPA compliance process that will allow for shorter documents and timelines. Projects analyzed in an environmental assessment will be reviewed within 14 days, compared to the usual one year. Projects requiring a full environmental impact statement will be reviewed in roughly 28 days, as opposed to the typical two-year process.
For the ESA, the Interior will implement an expedited Section 7 consultation process. Appropriate bureaus will notify the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of plans to use emergency consultation procedures, which will then be approved or denied.
Under the NHPA, bureaus will follow alternative procedures for compliance with Section 106, which requires federal agencies to consider the impact of projects on historic sites. This includes giving affected historic or cultural stakeholders seven days to comment on a proposed project.
The Western Energy Alliance, representing oil and natural gas companies in the West, applauded Trump’s actions to promote oil and natural gas development.
“We’ve seen a dramatic shift from an administration that imposed restrictive policies, limited permitting, and threatened energy projects, to one that is actively supporting development,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance, and former nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
Environmental groups shared their objections to the announcement.
“The Trump administration declared a fake energy emergency,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen. “Now, they are trying to invoke it to strip away essential legal safeguards. It’s a blatantly illegal move, and we will see them in court.”
The procedures fall in line with Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order on declaring a national energy emergency, which directed agencies to “identify and use all lawful emergency or other authorities available to them to facilitate the supply, refining, and transportation of energy in and through the West Coast of the United States, Northeast of the United States, and Alaska.” — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
