WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has signed a bill overturning the Biden administration’s Bureau of Land Management Resource Management Plan for North Dakota.
The state’s congressional delegation says it would have closed off leasing to 45 percent of potential federal oil and gas acreage and nearly 99 percent of federal coal acreage in North Dakota.
Senator Kevin Cramer says the Biden Administration released its plan for federal lands in North Dakota without incorporating changes the state and its Congressional delegation requested.
“This Biden-era rule was an egregious overreach that would have severely locked down future energy development in North Dakota. I appreciate Senator Cramer and Representative Fedorchak for our shared efforts to advance and pass this CRA resolution, which preserves access to the vast federal coal, oil and gas acreage in our state,” North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said.
“This signing was historic, it reinforces the multiple use mandate the Biden Bureau of Land Management blatantly ignored,” Cramer said. “Our landowners, our energy producers, our ranchers, our farmers, really everyone who uses public lands can celebrate now knowing the plan has been thrown out.”
“The Biden administration failed to recognize North Dakota’s record of responsible energy development and environmental stewardship when developing its resource management plan for our state,” North Dakota Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak said. “If not reversed, this plan would have crushed coal production and eliminated 12,000 jobs in our state.”
