This Week at Interior May 13, 2022

Transcript:

This Week at Interior 

Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland this week released Volume 1 of the investigative report called for in the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. That's a comprehensive effort to address the troubled legacy of federal Indian boarding school policies. The report lays the groundwork for Interior's effort to address the intergenerational trauma created by those policies.  

Recognizing the impact of the federal Indian boarding school system cannot just be a historical reckoning, we must also chart a path forward to deal with these legacy issues. To address the inter-generational impact of federal Indian boarding schools and to promote spiritual and emotional healing in our communities, we must shed light on the unspoken traumas of the past.

This week marks National Police Week, a time to honor those who serve in the nation’s law enforcement agencies, and those who've given their lives in that service. In a ceremony this week Secretary Haaland called the more than 36-hundred officers who work at Interior critical to protecting public safety, and ensuring that we fulfill our promise to protect America’s natural resources, honor our commitments to Tribal Nations, and preserve treasured places for generations to come.  

Those who answer the call to service and the families who serve alongside them represent the best of our country. I am grateful to be a part of your team a member of the Interior family.

Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz visited Minnesota this week. They announced $61.1 million in grant funding for 26 cities across the United States to upgrade or create new parks and trails through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program. That program makes it possible for urban communities to create new outdoor recreation spaces, reinvigorate existing parks, and form connections between people and the outdoors in economically underserved communities. 

Assistant Secretary Estenoz also visited Illinois this week, where she toured several sites that honor individuals and events that advanced the Civil Rights Movement. Those sites included places associated with Emmett Till, the Pullman National Monument, and the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum. 

Interior leaders this week highlighted the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to reform hardrock mining laws, regulations and permitting policies. Secretary Haaland and Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau joined representatives to discuss reforms with states, Tribes, the mining industry, environmental groups, and other stakeholders at the White House on the 150th anniversary of theMining Law of 1872. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Steve Feldgus also testified before the House Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on Interior’s role in reforming that law. 

The Bureau of Reclamation this week announced that more than $240 million will be allocated to repair aging water delivery systems in 11 states. The funding comes from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which  makes one of the largest investments in drought resilience in American history, including $8.3 billion for water infrastructure programs. 

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s wind energy auction in the Carolina Long Bay area this week drew competitive winning bids from two companies totaling $315 million. It's the second major offshore wind lease sale this year, and a significant milestone towards achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. 

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement this week proposed new regulations to improve operational safety, human health, and environmental protections offshore. The new rules also provide better clarity to industry regarding BSEE’s review of projects using new or unusual technology, including equipment used in high pressure and/or high temperature environments. 

National Park Service Director Chuck Sams and Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands André Haspels, celebrated the 77th anniversary of Liberation Day and the end of a four-year restoration of the Netherlands Carillon. The Carillon was a gift to the United States following World War II, symbolizing Dutch gratitude to the American people for helping liberate the Netherlands and providing aid to rebuild the Dutch economy through the Marshall Plan. 

And our social media Picture of the Week is the scenic vistas of Utah's Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Red Cliffs features nearly 45 thousand acres of red rock mountains, and it's a great place to find solitude. 

Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and You Tube.  

That's This Week, at Interior. 

This Week: Interior releases Volume 1 of an investigative report into the tragic legacy of federal Indian boarding schools; Secretary Haaland honors the sacrifice of law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty; in Minnesota Secretary Haaland announces more than $60 million in grants for cities under the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program; Assistant Secretary Shannon Estenoz tours Illinois sites honoring individuals and events that advanced the Civil Rights movement; Interior leaders highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to reform hardrock mining laws, regulations and permitting policies; the Bureau of Reclamation announces more than $240 million will be allocated to repair aging water delivery systems in 11 states; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s wind energy auction in the Carolina Long Bay area draws competitive winning bids totaling $315 million; new rules are proposed to improve operational safety, human health and environmental protections offshore; it's the end of a four-year restoration of the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia; and we've got the perfect place to find some peace and quiet in our social media Picture of the Week!

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    04/11/2025

    This Week at Interior April 11, 2025

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    This Week at Interior

    President Trump this week signed Executive Orders aimed at achieving the Administration's goal of American Energy Dominance with a renewed focus on coal. One of the orders directs Interior to identify untapped coal resources on federal lands, while removing barriers to mining and leasing.

    The value of untapped coal in our country is one hundred times greater than the value of all the gold at Fort Knox, and we're going to unleash it and make America rich and powerful again.

    To advance the President Trump's order, Interior will implement a series of policy moves and regulatory reforms to position coal as a cornerstone of the nation’s energy strategy by ensuring federally managed lands remain open and accessible for responsible energy development. Secretary Burgum likened the actions to creating a new Golden Age of "Mine, Baby, Mine," saying that  

    Interior is unlocking America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation.  

    Among the actions are ending the moratorium on federal coal leasing, reopening federal lands in Montana and Wyoming to coal leasing, removing regulatory burdens for coal mines, and providing royalty rate relief.  

    Interior this week announced the disbursement of more than $13 million in grants to support the reclamation of abandoned mine lands, furthering the Trump administration’s commitment to American Energy Dominance, environmental stewardship and economic renewal in coal communities. The funding is administered through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and it will support job creation and economic revitalization efforts in North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.  

    Interior this week announced the release of updated oil and gas reserve estimates for the Gulf of America's Outer Continental Shelf. The new data and analysis over the last couple of years reveal an additional 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2021, bringing the total reserve estimate to 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent. That figure includes 5.77 billion barrels of oil and 7.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced plans to significantly increase oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf, and just last week Secretary Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold the first Gulf of America oil and gas lease sale since its renaming in February.

    Secretary Burgum held his first All Hands meeting this week at Interior's historic Yates Auditorium. The Secretary saluted the notable accomplishments the Department has achieved in making the transition from the previous administration, and expanded on his vision that innovation, rather than regulation, is the cornerstone of American prosperity.

    The thing that has led our country for 250 years is innovation, doesn't matter whether it's the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution our ability to innovate in a way that allowed us to win World War One and World War II and lead the world and become the world leader, all of it was innovation based, and we have to get back to those roots. That's how we win. That's how America wins in this world, that's how we win again for our children and our children's children, is we win with innovation.

    U.S. Geological Survey crews were deployed late last week and this week to monitor flood impacts after storms dumped heavy rain across portions of the southeast and Midwest. Crews are still hard at work gathering flood measurements in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio, as well as West Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, where as much as ten inches of rain fell causing massive flooding. The gages provide information for the National Weather Service to predict when dangerous flooding might occur and allow for warnings to vulnerable residents, as flood crests will continue into early May.

    And our social media Picture of the Week, California's Battery Point Lighthouse. Perched on California's rugged northern coast, this historic beacon stands among the rocky outcrops of the California Coastal National Monument and has guided mariners since its first lighting in 1856.

    Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X! That's This Week at Interior!


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    News and headlines from Interior April 11, 2025

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