The Interior Department on Tuesday scrapped 18 federal rules tied to both geothermal energy and exploring for and digging up minerals on public lands including wilderness areas.
The agency touted the move as an advancement of President Donald Trump’s strategy to achieve “energy independence,” calling the Bureau of Land Management regulations “obsolete or redundant.” Scrapping the rules “embodies our dedication to removing bureaucratic red tape that hinders American innovation and energy production,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.
But conservation groups blasted the announcement, accusing the Trump administration of moving to dismantle important safeguards while ramping up calls for more domestic mining across public lands.
“This is another attempt by the Trump administration to break down the crucial regulations that protect our environment,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The normal process would be for rule rescission to go through a notice and public comment process. Instead this appears to be a unilateral move.”
