Trump's Pick to Run Interior Looms Large Behind Ocean Sell-Off
By Margaret Cooney and Mary Ellen Kustin Posted on March 21, 2019, 12:01 am
On March 20, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) opened all planning areas in the Gulf of Mexico for the fourth-straight offshore oil and gas lease sale since President Donald Trump took office. Throughout the past 35 years, the DOI has typically auctioned leases in 1 of 3 Gulf sections at a time. But ever since David Bernhardt, the current acting secretary, was sworn in as deputy interior secretary in August of 2017, the whole Gulf has essentially been up for grabs. These Gulfwide auctions are likely watering down the competition, allowing the oil and gas industry to buy up America’s taxpayer-owned mineral resources at fire sale prices—and Bernhardt’s former industry clients are among those that benefit.
Bernhardt, who has the dubious distinction of being President Trump’s most conflicted cabinet nominee, is awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the DOI. He has so many conflicts of interest that he carries around a list of former clients in order to keep track of them all. Since Bernhardt came to the DOI in August 2017, it is clear that some of his past clients have received favorable decisions. Bernhardt has promised to recuse himself from decisions involving his former clients, but since his publicly available calendar skimps on details, it is impossible for the public to be sure.
One of Bernhardt’s former clients is the oil and gas giant Eni Petroleum. Just three months after Bernhardt was sworn in, Eni Petroleum became the first company approved to drill in federal Arctic waters since 2015. Bernhardt had recused himself, but that didn’t stop Interior Press Secretary Heather Swift from emailing a reporter that employees from the DOI’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) were “working through Christmas to get Eni permitted” for Arctic drilling, noting that it would be a “nice Christmas present.”
Another former Bernhardt client, Noble Energy, made comments in December of 2017 on a DOI proposed rule. Noble pushed to amend offshore regulations and extend the time-period to submit documents related to offshore oil and gas safety systems from 60 days to 90 days. The final rule issued, in 2018, included that extension, which means that Nobel and other offshore oil and gas companies can now delay their safety compliance reporting by a month.
More:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2019/03/21/467545/trumps-pick-run-interior-looms-large-behind-ocean-sell-off/
Interior Press Secretary Heather Swift