Trump Administration Moves to Let Oil Companies Walk Away from the Mess They Create
Repealing the safeguards shifts cleanup risks to taxpayers, increases climate emissions and eliminates opportunities for public input, making it easier and more profitable for oil and gas companies to operate on public lands
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration has moved to weaken two 2024 federal rules that increased accountability on the oil and gas industry, raised the bonds that companies must post to clean up their wells on public lands, and reduced methane emissions. The public comment period will run from June 24 until August 23.
Following is a statement from Amy Mall, director of fossil fuels at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“The Trump administration wants to make it easier and more profitable to expand drilling on public lands, all while weakening the rules that protect clean air, clean water, and wildlife, and cutting the public out of decisions about land we all own. Big Oil already gets sweetheart deals to drill on public land, and this gives the industry even more while handing the cleanup bill to taxpayers.
“This rollback lets companies put up far less money than cleanup actually costs, so when the wells stop producing and the operators move on, taxpayers and nearby communities can be left with polluted water, leaking methane, and the tab.
“It's outrageous that the administration thinks the public should pay to clean up after a profitable industry, all while cutting the public out of the decision. We'll fight this at every step, and we're counting on people across the country to weigh in once the comment period opens.”
Background
The 2024 rule known as the Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule was the first major update to federal oil and gas leasing in decades, implementing a modest suite of reforms directed by Congress after decades of governmental audits concluded that the oil and gas industry had been operating in an accountability vacuum. Among other changes, it raised the minimum bond for a new lease from $10,000 to $150,000 and the minimum statewide bond from $25,000 to $500,000, and it ended the practice of letting companies cover all of their operations with a single low nationwide bond. This proposal would return bonding to the older, lower levels.
Bonds are the financial guarantees companies post so that wells get properly plugged and the land restored once drilling ends. When bonds fall short of real cleanup costs, wells are more likely to be abandoned and left for the public to clean up, which can mean contaminated soil and water, methane and other air pollution, and safety hazards near homes, wildlife habitat, and recreation areas.
Check out NRDC’s interactive White House Watch for more history on these public lands rollbacks (and others) by the Trump administration.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).