Home » PRESS RELEASE: Interior’s New Permitting Procedures Deny Americans the Right to Voice Concerns

PRESS RELEASE: Interior’s New Permitting Procedures Deny Americans the Right to Voice Concerns

Procedures severely curtail review processes for coal, gas, oil, and critical minerals on public lands 

Billings, Mont. — On April 23, 2025, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a plan to implement emergency permitting procedures to expedite the development of oil, gas, coal, and critical minerals projects on public lands and minerals. The department plans to expedite permitting timelines by utilizing emergency authorities that exist under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) to shorten timelines and follow alternative procedures to speed up project approvals. The changes to NEPA would reduce the timelines for environmental assessments  for fossil fuel projects from one year to 14 days without requiring a public comment period. The timeline for more complicated environmental impact statements (EIS)   would take 28 days, rather than two years, to be completed, and require only a 10-day public comment period.

In response to the DOI announcement, Western Organization of Resources Councils released the following statement from its Board Chair, Dr. Barbara Vasquez:

“The administration is trying to skirt a number of bedrock environmental laws by declaring a state of emergency that simply does not exist. The country is producing far more oil and gas than it can use while experiencing a clean energy boom. It is clear that the administration is pandering to fossil fuel corporations already flush with tremendous wealth while denying Americans – especially farmers, ranchers, and other rural Americans throughout the West most affected by fossil energy projects – the right to voice their concerns regarding the direct and potentially disastrous impact on their water, air, and livelihoods. Public lands belong to all of us and we should have a say in their use.”

Dakota Resource Council, part of the WORC network, also released the following statement from its board chair, Curt Stofferahn:

“Secretary Burgum’s recent move to shortcut the environmental review process for just fossil fuel projects is a dangerous precedent to set. Robust environmental review with sufficient comment periods is the best way to determine if energy projects should proceed. This action makes it clear that Secretary Burgum is against environmental review and public input when it gets in the way of his agenda, which is highly concerning.”

Kirk Panasuk, a Northern Plains Resource Council member who ranches in Bainville, Montana within the Bakken oil field said:

“The Department of Interior’s plan to remove any meaningful or responsible evaluation of energy infrastructure projects is a clear violation of bedrock American conservation policy. If implemented, these policies would harm folks across the country, including rural agricultural communities like mine. I’ve seen too many of my friends and neighbors in this part of the country have their water contaminated or their land destroyed by rushed and reckless industrial projects. I have personally experienced serious health scares after ingesting toxic fumes from oil and gas wells near my property.  Working people like me and my neighbors would pay the price for these radical, irresponsible policies while corporate executives and the politicians who do their bidding continue to get wealthier at our expense.”

Background:

  • The U.S. is currently the world’s biggest exporter of liquified natural gas and is producing more oil than any other country on Earth, more than it actually uses.
  • 93% of new US electricity comes from solar, wind, or batteries.
  • 99% of coal plants cost more to run than those running on renewable energy.
  • Public input is a critical component of NEPA and has been relied upon for decades by Westerners to ensure that they have a voice when a project on public lands and minerals is being scoped, proposed, and finalized.