DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECALLED 800 EMPLOYEES TO ISSUE DRILLING PERMITS DURING SHUTDOWN
After the Government closed on Dec. 22nd, 224 oil well applications were accepted, 22 drilling permits were approved, and 15 oil and gas leases have been approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) across western states while information and normal methods of public comment were shut off to the public. While the majority of Federal Government agencies were reduced to skeleton crews of “excepted” employees responsible for cases of emergency, the Department of the Interior (DOI) recalled and directed more than 800 agency staff to continue the processing of oil and gas lease applications and sales across the West without pay. While the agencies had no staff that could be reached by the public and their safety and environmental review programs were staffed at the bare-bones level, BLM approved Applications for Permit to Drill (APDs). BLM continued protest periods for lease sales without staff to compile or analyze the comments. Read More…