Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following statement on yesterday’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) onshore lease sale and the legal challenge from radical environmentalist interest groups:
“Yesterday’s better late than never onshore lease sale demonstrates not only the attractiveness of the Bakken, but the dire need for domestic oil and gas production amidst soaring inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, and a hostile Administration. Energy producers paid up to $2.3 million each for 15 parcels in North Dakota. This provides critical dollars for the state and local communities in addition to good-paying jobs while increasing the supply of energy which is in high demand. The Administration should hold more lease sales and offer more parcels industry is looking to develop.
“Radical environmentalist groups, however, are challenging this long-overdue lease sale – the very first of the Biden Administration – hoping to stop responsible energy development in the U.S. altogether. The Department of the Interior recently revived secretive sue and settle tactics. Considering this Administration’s open disdain for lawful leasing, Americans should pay close attention to the likely payouts to their obstructionist friends.
“The call for a cumulative environmental impact analysis for all of the June quarterly lease sales is driven solely by wishes to stop fossil fuel production in a time when the world is in such desperate need for it. A very dangerous precedent could be set here. It has broader implications including weakening national security, obstructing any chance at energy independence, cutting off important revenue for North Dakota and the country, and hampering global climate goals by shifting production to countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran.
“This is not in North Dakota’s interest nor the country’s interest.”