Tag: Interior Department

Interior held back FOIA’d documents after political screenings

Watchdog: ‘Are there bad actors at these agencies that are willfully ignoring the law?’

Documents sought under the Freedom of Information Act were withheld by the Interior Department under a practice that allowed political appointees to review the requests, internal emails and memos show.

The policy allowed high-ranking officials to screen documents sought by news organizations, advocacy groups and whistleblowers, including files set to be released under court deadlines. In some cases, the documents’ release was merely delayed. In other cases, documents were withheld after the reviews.

CQ Roll Call first reported on the “awareness review” policy in May, but a new trove of emails show documents were plucked from release following the screenings.

View the complete June 18 article by Jacob Holzman and Benjamin J. Hulac on The Roll Call website here.

Trump administration plan would roll back environmental reviews covering use of public lands

The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Michael Laris was posted on the Washington Post website February 8, 2018:

Credit: Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management has finalized a set of recommendations that would overhaul the way it permits energy exploration and other activities on public land by streamlining environmental reviews, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post.

The Sept. 27 report — which was issued in response to a March 27 memo from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, but never publicly released — amounts to a blueprint for how the Trump administration plans to expedite extractive activities on 245 million acres of public land and 700 million acres of the mineral estate below the surface. Continue reading “Trump administration plan would roll back environmental reviews covering use of public lands”

Trump Administration Drops Florida From Offshore Drilling Plan

The following article by Hiroko Tabuchi was posted on the New York Times website January 9, 2019:

Gov. Rick Scott of Florida on Tuesday. “My top priority is to ensure that Florida’s natural resources are protected,” he said last week. Credit Hali Tauxe/Tallahassee Democrat, via Associated Press

The Trump administration said Tuesday it had ruled out drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Florida after strong opposition from the state’s Republican governor, Rick Scott.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke moved last week to allow new offshore oil and gas drilling in nearly all United States coastal waters, opening more than a billion acres in the Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico to potential leases. The decision prompted an outcry from Republican and Democratic governors alike on both coasts.

“I support the governor’s position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver,” Mr. Zinke said in a statement after meeting Governor Scott in Florida. “I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.” Continue reading “Trump Administration Drops Florida From Offshore Drilling Plan”

Trump’s offshore oil drilling plans ignore the lessons of BP Deepwater Horizon

The following article by Donald Boesch, Professor of Marine Science, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, was posted on the Conversation website January 5, 2018:

The Trump Administration is proposing to ease regulations that were adopted to make offshore oil and gas drilling operations safer after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. This event was the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Eleven workers died in the explosion and sinking of the oil rig, and more than 4 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists have estimated that the spill caused more than US$17 billion in damages to natural resources.

I served on the bipartisan National Commission that investigated the causes of this epic blowout. We spent six months assessing what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon and the effectiveness of the spill response, conducting our own investigations and hearing testimony from dozens of expert witnesses. Continue reading “Trump’s offshore oil drilling plans ignore the lessons of BP Deepwater Horizon”

Trump Administration Abruptly Halts Offshore Drilling Safety Study

The following article by Mary Papenfuss was posted on the Huffington Post website December 22, 2017:

Findings were supposed to help prevent another Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The Trump administration has abruptly cut off funding for studying the safety of offshore drilling, halting a 21-month project to determine the best ways to avoid a repeat of 2010′s devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The study began last year and was supposed to review and update government regulators’ outdated offshore inspection programs to improve safety. Continue reading “Trump Administration Abruptly Halts Offshore Drilling Safety Study”

Interior reimbursed for Zinke Virgin Island fundraiser, but contributions unaccounted for

The following article by Ben LeFebvre was posted on the Politico website December 19, 2017:

The Virgin Islands Republican Party repaid on Oct. 5 the Interior Department $275 for expenses related to Secretary Ryan Zinke’s appearance, according to recent federal campaign finance filings. | Getty Images

Taxpayers have been reimbursed for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s participation in a political fundraiser last spring in the Virgin Islands — but questions remain about the donations he helped solicit, according to campaign finance records and interviews. Continue reading “Interior reimbursed for Zinke Virgin Island fundraiser, but contributions unaccounted for”

Disloyalty slur latest in series showing Trump administration’s mistrust of feds

The following article by Joe Davidson was posted on the Washington Post website October 2, 2017:

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks March 29 at the Interior Department in Washington. (Molly Riley/AP)

While Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s accusation about the loyalty of his workforce is the Trump administration’s most outrageous statement about federal employees, it fits a deplorable pattern of verbal aggression against them.

Zinke’s declaration that “I got 30 percent of the crew that’s not loyal to the flag” is an escalation that demands denunciation.

“This is the latest in a long line of attacks by this administration on federal workers, starting with his claim that the country needs another ‘good shutdown,’ ” said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “The idea that President Trump, Secretary Zinke or anyone else in the administration would threaten the jobs of hard-working civil servants unless they pledge loyalty to the president is grossly abusive and, if carried out, against the law.” Continue reading “Disloyalty slur latest in series showing Trump administration’s mistrust of feds”

Trump’s pick for a top Interior post has sued the agency on behalf of powerful California water interests

The following article by Bettina Boxall was posted on the Los Angeles Times website May 17, 2017:

Handout photo of Trump’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. (Department of the Interior)

When President Trump nominated David Bernhardt for the No. 2 spot at the Interior Department, the administration cited his extensive expertise.

What the announcement failed to mention was that much of that experience was lobbying and doing legal work to elude or undermine Interior Department policies and protections.

As a partner in one of the nation’s top-grossing lobbying law firms, Bernhardt has represented major players in oil, mining and western water — all areas that fall under the purview of Interior agencies that Bernhardt would oversee if confirmed as the department’s deputy secretary. Continue reading “Trump’s pick for a top Interior post has sued the agency on behalf of powerful California water interests”

Interior Department reactivates Twitter accounts after shutdown following inauguration

The following article by Lisa Rein was posted on the Washington Post website January 21, 2017:

Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, right, appeared to draw a smaller crowd than Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, left. (Reuters)

The Interior Department reactivated its official Twitter accounts early Saturday after an abrupt shutdown following shares of two tweets during the inauguration the agency considered unsympathetic to President Trump. Continue reading “Interior Department reactivates Twitter accounts after shutdown following inauguration”