The First Day of Autumn and Still No Report from the Interior Dept.

​DENVER – Since President Biden banned leasing on public lands in January, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other officials have repeatedly promised an interim report of the federal oil and natural gas program in “early summer” and “very soon.” Yet today marks the first day of autumn and there is no plan in sight. Western Energy Alliance released the following comment in response to the Interior Department’s continual delay:
 
“All summer we heard that the report on the ‘comprehensive review’ of the federal oil and natural gas would be out any day,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance. “There’s been radio silence for several weeks now and the Interior Department still doesn’t have a plan. It was reported on June 17th the report was sent to the White House. (E&E News) More than a month later, Interior Secretary Haaland said her agency was still working on it. Yet another month later and the Interior Department still has made no progress and therefore, the leasing ban has been in vain.

“Meanwhile, Americans are watching prices at the pump reach record levels and are bracing for costly winter heating bills. Energy prices are high in large part due to the very policies of this administration, yet our president is lobbying Russia and OPEC to boost production while hindering American production. He’d rather import energy from countries with weak environmental regulations than enable American companies to increase production and help bring down prices.”
 
In the spring, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other officials stated the interim report would be completed in “early summer.” As summer wore on, department officials said the report would come “soon,” including yesterday in a Senate hearing. The following promises continue to ring hollow (emphasis added):
 

• March 9th: “The information gathered at the forum, which will be livestreamed, will help inform an interim report from the Department that will be completed in early summer.” (Department of the Interior press release)

​

• March 25th: “Information gathered at the forum will help inform an interim report from the Department that will be completed in early summer.” (Department of the Interior press release)

 

• March 26th: “The information gathered at the forum will help inform an interim report from the Department that will be completed in early summer.” (Department of the Interior press release)

 

• March 29th: “This effort will be comprehensive and will be critically important in informing an interim report this summer.” Laura Daniel-Davis, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management (Department of the Interior public forum)

 

• April 27th: “The work that the BLM is doing under EO 14008, including the report on the oil and gas program we plan to release early this summer, are part of this effort.” Nada Culver, Deputy Director, Policy & Programs, (Testimony before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources)

 

• June 16th: That report will be issued in early summer, Haaland said, and, according to an emailed Interior statement, will “outline next steps and recommendations for the department and Congress to improve stewardship of public lands and waters, create jobs and build a just and equitable energy future.” (Bloomberg)

 

• July 22nd: “We promised early summer,” Haaland said during a visit to Colorado. “It’s early summer. We’re still working on it.” (Bloomberg)

 

• July 27th: A highly anticipated review by the U.S. Interior Department of the federal oil and gas leasing program is undergoing final internal review and should be released "very soon," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland told a Senate hearing on Tuesday. (Reuters)

 

• September 21st: [Nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Land and Minerals Management Laura] Daniel-Davis did not identify a specific timeline for the release of the report but told [Senator Joe] Manchin, “I’m hopeful we’ll be able to get it out the door very soon.” (The Hill)

# # #