Interior Dept to fast-track drilling and mining on public lands

What you probably already know: President Trump campaigned on a promise to “drill, baby, drill,” doubling down on plans to promote U.S.-sourced fossil fuels and cut through regulatory red tape. On his first day in office, Trump invoked the National Emergencies Act to declare a historic “national energy emergency” — essentially granting himself the power to bypass some environmental regulations or impose restrictions on crude oil exports. Roughly three months later, the Interior Department announced it would expedite permitting for projects that increase the production of various fossil fuels on public lands.

Why? The Trump administration said the move will hasten environmental reviews for projects involving crude oil, natural gas, critical minerals, uranium, lease condensates, coal, biofuels, geothermal energy, kinetic hydropower, and refined petroleum products. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum called these resources “essential to our economy, our military readiness, and our global competitiveness.” Projects that require an environmental assessment will have their review process cut from a year to just 14 days, while those requiring a full environmental impact statement — typically a 2-year process — will be completed in less than a month. Burgum said the reduction will support “energy independence.”

What it means: Environmental reviews are required by federal law to assess potential impacts on the land, its residents, and the local culture. This process gives the public time to raise questions and submit feedback before any actions are taken. “These arbitrary time limits make a complete review of the risks of potentially hazardous projects impossible,” said Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program. “A shoddy review means the true hazards of a project may only be known when the air or water thousands of people rely on is dangerously polluted.” Brett Hartl, the government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told The New York Times that the emergency status the Trump administration has invoked was intended to help communities rebuild after events like natural disasters. The Interior Department — which manages 20% of the nation’s land — is also considering shrinking at least six national monuments in the western U.S., and drilling or mining in those areas. Despite Trump’s claims that the country faces an energy emergency, the U.S. is producing more crude oil than any other country in history.

What happens now? Hartl said the Center for Biological Diversity will challenge the Interior Department’s decision in court. Also this week, Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to fast-track permits for deep-sea mining off the U.S. Continental Shelf — an area thought to contain vast caches of rare-earth minerals used for manufacturing computer chips, batteries, and clean-energy infrastructure. Deep-sea mining could reduce the country’s dependence on China for these minerals, but scientists and activists warn that mining the seabed could cause irreparable harm to marine ecosystems.