This Week at Interior November 4, 2022

Transcript:

This Week at Interior

This week marks the beginning of Native American Heritage
Month, a time to celebrate the history and heritage of Indigenous
communities. This year’s theme, “Revitalizing Indigenous
Connections,” embodies the essential work Interior does year round
 -- prioritizing Indigenous Knowledge, working to revitalize
Native languages, empowering communities through co-stewardship
 policies, and strengthening our nation-to-nation
relationships.

Interior this week announced a $45 million investment in Tribal
communities to address the disproportionate impacts of climate
change. Tribal Climate Resilience projects will support 76 Tribes
and 8 Tribal organizations in adaptation planning, climate
implementation actions, ocean and coastal management
planning, capacity building, relocation, managed retreat, and
protect-in-place planning for climate risks. The announcement
was supported by $20 million in funding from President Biden’s
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This week marked the 30th anniversary of the Central Utah
Project Completion Act. That's the state of Utah's largest and
most comprehensive federal water resource development project.
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo joined
local, state and federal partners to celebrate progress and outline
the work ahead as the West battles ongoing drought conditions.
The event also highlighted $50 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law funding to accelerate the completion of the Utah Lake
System pipeline construction.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is
making more than $122 million in grants available to eligible
states and Tribes. The Abandoned Mine Land Economic
Revitalization, or AMLER grants, will support local investment
opportunities that create good-paying union jobs and provide for
the sustainable long-term rehabilitation of abandoned mine lands.

The Bureau of Land Management this week proposed updates to
its regulations for the construction and operation of broadband
infrastructure on public lands. The changes aim to ensure access
to reliable high-speed internet service for every American and
enhance the reliability, security and resiliency of the electric
power grid.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week announced it
has finalized two Wind Energy Areas in the Gulf of Mexico, with
the potential to produce enough clean wind energy to power
nearly 3 million homes. It's all part of the Biden-Harris
administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind
energy capacity by 2030.

And with our social media Picture of the Week, we're wishing you
a happy National Bison Day. On November 5th we celebrate this
majestic American symbol of strength and resilience, and the
official emblem of the Department of the Interior. Find out more
about the American bison on our blog.

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

This Week: Interior marks the beginning of Native American Heritage Month; the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law helps support a $45 million investment in Tribal communities to address the impacts of climate change; the state of Utah's largest and most comprehensive federal water resource development project celebrates 30 years; more than $122 million is now available to eligible states and Tribes to address legacy pollution on abandoned mine lands; the Bureau of Land Management does its part to get all Americans access to fast internet service; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management finalizes two Wind Energy Areas in the Gulf of Mexico; and we're celebrating National Bison Day with our social media Picture of the Week!

  • Video
    04/11/2025

    This Week at Interior April 11, 2025

    Video

    Transcript:

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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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