Legal Insurrection by Leslie Eastman 4/16/2022
In Bid to Stop Hemorrhaging Support, Biden Restarts Federal Oil Lease Sales … With A Catch
The plan isn’t without a few, pesky strings attached. Higher fees, for example.The rising cost of energy, which is feeding historic inflation and hurting the American middle class, is a significant, contributing factor to the tanking approval. As a result, Biden is ditching another of campaign promise by resuming oil and gas leases on federal lands.
The Biden administration quietly announced Friday that it was restarting the sale of oil and gas leases on federal land next week — almost exactly 15 months after President Biden imposed a moratorium on such sales upon taking office.
However, the plan isn’t without a few, pesky strings attached. Higher fees, for example.
In opening up the new public lands for oil and gas permitting, the Interior Department will raise the royalty rates that companies must pay to the federal government to 18.75 percent of their revenues from 12.5 percent, an increase that could bring in billions of dollars for the federal government. Even at current levels, the royalties are a major source of revenue. Last year, the federal government collected $5.5 billion from drilling on public lands.
The amount of land that is potentially can be leased has been significantly curbed.
The bureau will offer around 173 parcels on roughly 144,000 acres of federal land, which Interior said is an 80% reduction from the acreage originally being considered for leasing. Interior said it reduced the amount of land being offered after “robust environmental review” and engagement with Native tribes and local communities.
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/04/in-bid-to-stop-hemorrhaging-support-biden-restarts-federal-oil-lease-sales-with-a-catch/
