May 6, 2025 — The Interior Department said late Wednesday that it would fast-track approvals for projects involving coal, gas, oil and minerals on public lands, arguing that President Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency allowed it to radically reduce lengthy reviews required by the nation’s bedrock environmental laws.
Environmental reviews that typically take a year to complete would be finished in 14 days, administration officials said. More complicated environmental impact statements that usually take two years would be completed in 28 days, they said.
“The United States cannot afford to wait,” Doug Burgum, the Interior secretary, said in a statement.
The shortcuts would apply to projects that increase the production of crude oil, natural gas, critical minerals, uranium, lease condensates, coal, biofuels, geothermal energy, kinetic hydropower and refined petroleum products, according to the department.