Trump administration moves to curb energy regulation; BLM nominee stands down
The Trump administration issued two policy directives Apr. 10 to curb energy regulations, the same day the president’s choice to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pulled her nomination.
Kathleen Sgamma, former head of Western Energy Alliance (WEA), an oil and gas trade association, withdrew her nomination after a memo was leaked on X that included critical remarks following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
In the memo to WEA executives, Sgamma said she was "disgusted" by Trump "spreading misinformation" on Jan. 6 and "dishonoring the vote of the people." The Senate was to conduct a confirmation hearing Apr. 10.
Prior to her withdrawal, industry had praised the choice of Sgamma to head the agency that determines the rules for oil and gas operations on federal lands.
Deregulation
On the deregulation front, the Interior Department said it would no longer require BLM to prepare environmental impact statements (EIS) for about 3,244 oil and gas leases in seven western states.
The move comes in response to two executive orders by President Donald Trump in January to increase US oil and gas production “by reducing regulatory barriers for oil and gas companies” and expediting development permits, Interior noted (OGJ Online, Jan. 21, 2025).
Under the policy, BLM would no longer have to prepare an EIS for oil and gas leasing decisions on about 3.5 million acres across Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
BLM currently manages over 23 million acres of federal land leased for oil and gas development.
The agency said it will look for ways to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a 1970 law that requires federal agencies to assess the potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions.
In recent years, courts have increasingly delayed lease sales and projects, even after federal regulatory approval, citing deficiencies in agency environmental reviews required under NEPA (OGJ Online, July 18, 2024).
Interior and BLM “remain committed to responsibly developing energy on public lands,” Interior said.
Meanwhile, Trump issued a new executive order Apr. 9 requiring 10 agencies and subagencies to insert a 1-year expiration date into certain existing energy regulations. “If not extended before the expiration date, [existing] energy regulations will expire no later than September 30, 2026,” Trump wrote.
The order applies to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It also covers several Interior Department agencies, including the BLM, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Army’s US Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), the White House said.
The same agencies must include a 5-year expiration date in future energy regulations, meaning that new energy regulations would last only for 5 years unless they are extended. Agencies will only extend regulations that “affirmatively serve American interests,” including his commitment to “unleash American energy innovation,” Trump said.
"This order will ensure American energy regulations are continually reviewed and updated to keep up with modern technology and needs,” the White House added.
The White House said the order applies to regulations related to the Natural Gas Act, the Energy Policy Act, energy conservation statutes, the Outer Continental Shelf Act, among others, and 8 animal protection laws, including the Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
While the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were not specifically listed as targets, the order requires EPA and ACE to provide a list of statutes within 30 days that “shall be subject to this order.”
Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous, in a statement, predicted a court fight. He said Trump was “illegally trying to erase more than 50 years of basic safeguards that protect our drinking water, the air we breathe, and secure our communities from the threats of nuclear waste and oil spills.”
Cathy Landry | Washington Correspondent
Cathy Landry has worked over 20 years as a journalist, including 17 years as an energy reporter with Platts News Service (now S&P Global) in Washington and London.
She has served as a wire-service reporter, general news and sports reporter for local newspapers and a feature writer for association and company publications.
Cathy has deep public policy experience, having worked 15 years in Washington energy circles.
She earned a master’s degree in government from The Johns Hopkins University and studied newspaper journalism and psychology at Syracuse University.
