Yesterday House Republicans put forward a bill they maintain will reduce hindrances that impede the granting of permits for oil and gas on federal land, which they believe would result in cheaper fuel costs for citizens.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., has proposed the American Energy Act, with 12 Republicans as cosponsors, to promote greater trust in the permitting process for oil and gas drilling that would lead to greater production and lower energy costs. According to Boebert, her legislation intends to counteract the Biden administration's attempts to impede production through extra regulations.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Boebert asserted, "The Biden administration is colluding with Green New Deal extremists to slow down energy leasing, clog up the bureaucratic pipeline, and threaten American energy producers with frivolous lawsuits."
"My American Energy Act cuts red tape to unleash American energy by extending the term of APDs from two years to four years to reduce unnecessary paperwork, ensuring agencies process permits under a valid existing lease regardless of any unrelated civil action, and by prohibiting activist judges from unilaterally vacating valid energy leases."
The bill centers around making sure the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a subagency of the Interior Department responsible for overseeing federal lands, processes applications to drill (APD) in an expeditious way. Once a petroleum or gas reserve is located on a lease, an APD must be submitted by the respective company.
Claims have been made that the Biden administration has been purposefully holding up APDs with the intention of discouraging the extraction of fossil fuels. Data from BLM shows that as of the end of January, there were 4,896 APDs waiting to be approved on federal lands, as well as an additional 179 on Indian property.
Boebert's office reports that the time it takes for drilling permits to be approved has grown from 94 days in June 2019 to 182 days under the Biden administration in 2020. In the 2022 fiscal year, the BLM granted an average of 233 permits each month, while in 2020, they approved 400 permits each month.
Boebert stated, "In short, H.R. 1067 will help reduce gas prices by providing certainty for responsible energy production and preventing baseless litigation," Boebert continued. "With the price at the pump skyrocketing and the international energy market destabilizing, the world needs American energy now more than ever."
Gasoline prices, although they declined from the peak of over five dollars per gallon in June, are still around 45 percent more than when President Biden was inaugurated in January 2021.
November's oil production on federal lands had reached a low of 12.28 million barrels per day, which is a decrease from the 13 million barrels a day that had been recorded during the Trump presidency.
Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis said, "For over two years, the Biden administration has slow-walked oil and gas permits, ultimately driving up energy costs for the American people," said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands. "It doesnt have to be this way, and I thank Congresswoman Boebert for leading legislation to speed up the permitting process from frivolous lawsuits."
The American Energy Act extends the amount of time companies can drill under an APD from two to four years. Additionally, it makes it mandatory for courts to send back environmental reviews to agencies to be fixed when they have issues, prohibiting judges from erasing whole lease sales.
Environmental groups oftentimes challenge the issuance of drilling permits in the courts. The Western Energy Alliance, a trade association that stands up for the interests of two hundred oil and gas producers operating in over one hundred states, is currently protecting thousands of leases in a federal court.
In a statement, Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma expressed her organization's backing of Rep. Boebert's bill to create assurance in the federal oil and natural gas permitting process. She remarked that the West Slope of Colorado has been hindered economically due to the lack of assurance on federal lands, which account for the majority of production in the congresswoman's region.
"The Biden Administration has been increasing that uncertainty by threatening to cancel permits after only two years. "In addition, environmental groups litigate any leases sold in an attempt to convince judges to cancel them on the basis of incomplete NEPA."
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