My hopes for a lapsed oil and gas lease plan may not come true after all. During an appearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resource on Thursday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland assured lawmakers that her department would release a proposed program for the next five years of oil and gas leasing by June 30 — the day the current program expires. According to a press release, “a proposed program is not a decision to issue specific leases or to authorize any drilling or development.” It’s anyone’s guess what the next five-year plan could include, though with the cancellation of 2022’s remaining three offshore lease auctions, the administration may be signaling it’s ready to wind down fossil fuel development and dependance.
”The previous administration stopped work on the new five-year plan in 2018, so there has been a lot to do to catch up,” Haaland said. “Varying, conflicting litigation has also been a factor. As we take this next step, we will follow the science and the law, as we always do. This requires a robust and transparent review process that includes input from states, the public and Tribes to inform our decision-making. We take this responsibility seriously without any pre-judgment of the outcome.” That litigation has resulted in a lengthy back-and-forth between an administration hoping to fulfill Biden’s campaign promise to eliminate oil and gas drilling and state attorneys general desperate to keep fossil fuels flowing.
Haaland said a public comment period would be held following the release of the proposed program but declined to offer a date for when the plan would reach final approval. Unsurprisingly, Republicans (and Joe Manchin) weren’t thrilled over the prospect of a not-so-seamless transition between five-year plans. Manchin said he was supportive of an initial pause to re-evaluate things but said “the time for a pause has come and gone,” and criticized the Biden administration’s reluctance to basically do his and other pollution-loving lawmakers’ bidding.
“Leasing is part of the cycle of development,” Manchin said. “Announcements that new leasing isn’t in line with the president’s policy while taking concrete steps to block or severely limit new leasing have a chilling effect. And yes, new lease sales would not immediately increase production but the administration’s short-sighted approach that only focuses on current production puts America’s energy security at risk.” He claimed continuing to tap fossil fuel sources isn’t all bad since we’re producing cleaner energy than, say, Russia or Iran. But emissions are still emissions and it’s not like carrying on with oil and gas is a stellar long-term plan in the face of an ever-worsening climate crisis.
Renewable energy advocates and organizations focused on combatting climate change praised Haaland, with League of Conservation Voters Program Director Alex Taurel applauding the Interior Department’s “deliberative and thoughtful approach to the forthcoming five year offshore drilling plan.” “Offshore drilling is a dirty and dangerous business that threatens coastal communities, economies and marine life, which is why implementing solutions now to allow for a future powered by clean energy must be the way forward,” Taurel said in a press release. “We look forward to the release of the next draft of DOI’s 5-year plan for offshore drilling and are counting on this administration to finalize a plan that schedules no new lease sales.”