IPANM & The Hill (Mar. 25, 2021) – The deck was stacked against the Oil & Gas industry as the Department of the Interior hosted a National Forum to consider input from entities to a new federal regulatory policy on oil & gas development in the United States. IPANM reported on the forum as part of our March 24, 2021 Federal Update. As noted by IPANM, the list of participants included only two representatives from the oil & gas industry. IPANM requested to be included on the panel. Our request went unanswered.
Republicans on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee also raised objections to the Interior Department’s list of participants for a forum on federal oil and gas leases.
In a letter sent Monday, Republicans on the panel accused the department of deliberately excluding Republican governors of energy-producing states. The forum, set for March 25, will review the Biden administration’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands.
“We believe that you have intentionally limited the right for the public to participate, including state-wide elected officials, namely the governors of our states,” says the letter.
