Biden administration raises costs to drill on public lands

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Friday, April 12, 2024

The Interior Department on Friday finalized a rule making it more expensive for oil and gas producers to drill on federally owned lands.  Several of the provisions in the rule — like raising the rent the government charges to oil companies for using its land and increasing the government’s share of the profits from that oil — were set out in law by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.  The Biden administration will additionally make it more expensive for drillers to abandon their oil wells after use instead of cleaning them up. The administration argues that current bonding rates do not do enough to ensure that companies clean up after themselves.  The administration described the changes as the first “comprehensive update” to the rules around drilling on federal lands since 1988.  “These are the most significant reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing program in decades, and they will cut wasteful speculation, increase returns for the public, and protect taxpayers from being saddled with the costs of environmental cleanups,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a written statement.  The rule comes one day after the administration moved to cut costs for producing renewable energy on public land. Specifically, the rule raises the royalty rate – the government’s share of the profits of oil and gas produced on public lands -- from 12.5 percent to 16.67 percent.  It also increases rent rates from $1.50 per acre for each of the first five years of a lease and $2 per acre for the next five to $3 per acre for the first two years and $5 per acre for the next six, going up to $15 per acre thereafter.  Further, the rule increases the minimum amount that companies can bid for to lease lands for drilling to $10 per acre, up from $2 per acre, and adjusts the price for inflation.  The move was celebrated by environmental activists.  “These new regulations are the kind of common-sense reforms the federal oil and gas leasing program has needed for decades. The days of oil and gas companies locking up public lands for decades for pennies on the dollar and leaving polluted lands, water, and air in their wake are over,” Athan Manuel, the Sierra Club’s lands protection program director, said in a written statement.  

The Interior Department on Friday finalized a rule making it more expensive for oil and gas producers to drill on federally owned lands. Several of the provisions in the rule — like raising the rent the government charges to oil companies for using its land and increasing the government’s share of the profits from that...

The Interior Department on Friday finalized a rule making it more expensive for oil and gas producers to drill on federally owned lands. 

Several of the provisions in the rule — like raising the rent the government charges to oil companies for using its land and increasing the government’s share of the profits from that oil — were set out in law by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. 

The Biden administration will additionally make it more expensive for drillers to abandon their oil wells after use instead of cleaning them up. The administration argues that current bonding rates do not do enough to ensure that companies clean up after themselves. 

The administration described the changes as the first “comprehensive update” to the rules around drilling on federal lands since 1988. 

“These are the most significant reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing program in decades, and they will cut wasteful speculation, increase returns for the public, and protect taxpayers from being saddled with the costs of environmental cleanups,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a written statement. 

The rule comes one day after the administration moved to cut costs for producing renewable energy on public land.

Specifically, the rule raises the royalty rate – the government’s share of the profits of oil and gas produced on public lands -- from 12.5 percent to 16.67 percent. 

It also increases rent rates from $1.50 per acre for each of the first five years of a lease and $2 per acre for the next five to $3 per acre for the first two years and $5 per acre for the next six, going up to $15 per acre thereafter. 

Further, the rule increases the minimum amount that companies can bid for to lease lands for drilling to $10 per acre, up from $2 per acre, and adjusts the price for inflation. 

The move was celebrated by environmental activists. 

“These new regulations are the kind of common-sense reforms the federal oil and gas leasing program has needed for decades. The days of oil and gas companies locking up public lands for decades for pennies on the dollar and leaving polluted lands, water, and air in their wake are over,” Athan Manuel, the Sierra Club’s lands protection program director, said in a written statement.  

Read the full story here.
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Why does Leonardo DiCaprio care so much about Australian wildlife?

The actor was an unlikely ally in this week’s fiery debate over an endangered fish – and is, an insider confirms, ‘very engaged’See all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen a fiery parliament debate erupted this week about Tasmania’s salmon industry, support for the endangered fish at the centre of the fight – the Maugean skate – came from an unlikely corner.Hours before the Albanese government’s controversial legislation to protect fish farming in the state’s Macquarie Harbour passed on Wednesday, global star Leonardo DiCaprio weighed in.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

When a fiery parliament debate erupted this week about Tasmania’s salmon industry, support for the endangered fish at the centre of the fight – the Maugean skate – came from an unlikely corner.Hours before the Albanese government’s controversial legislation to protect fish farming in the state’s Macquarie Harbour passed on Wednesday, global star Leonardo DiCaprio weighed in.“URGENT: This week the Australian government will decide the fate of Macquarie Harbour and has an opportunity to shut down destructive industrial non-native salmon farms, protecting the Maugean Skate,” he wrote in a post to his 60.4m Instagram followers.The shallow estuary off Tasmania’s coast was one of the most important places in the world, DiCaprio said, and “essential for the planet’s overall health and the persistence of biodiversity”.The actor regularly uses his platform to post about conservation concerns in many places around the world – and it’s not the first time he has highlighted the plight of Australia’s threatened species.Earlier this month, he warned clearing in Western Australia’s jarrah forests for bauxite mining, approved by the federal government, would affect species including the endangered woylie and the red-tailed black cockatoo.He has repeatedly raised awareness of threats to koalas, and last year, called on the Australian government to end native forest logging to protect the breeding habitat of the critically endangered swift parrot in Tasmania.He also drew attention to Guardian Australia reporting on land clearing in Queensland, writing in a post: “Australia has the highest rate of mammalian extinctions in the world … The only way to protect the hundreds of threatened Australian forest species is to end native forest logging.”But how involved is the actor and conservationist in the decision to post on these topics to his personal profile?More than people might expect, according to scientist Janice Chanson, the Australasian manager of Re:wild, the conservation organisation co-founded by DiCaprio.“He does 100% have the say on whether the post goes up,” Chanson said. “He is very engaged and he is very informed.”Re:wild, which works on conservation projects around the world, was founded in 2021 when Global Wildlife Conservation, a scientist-led environment organisation based in the United States, merged with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.DiCaprio sits on Re:wild’s board, whose membership includes Razan Al Mubarak, the current president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to Chanson, DiCaprio “speaks to our CEO on a daily basis” and has attended many field trips.Re:wild has staff based in Australia, where it partners with other conservation organisations to support the creation of protected areas, land restoration and species recovery.The organisation regularly creates social media posts on local issues, which a US-based communications team passes on to DiCaprio “to choose if he wants to engage on that particular topic”, Chanson said.She said Re:wild’s Australian work focuses on two goals: ending native forest logging and helping Australia meet its commitment to zero new extinctions.“The Maugean skate is very much at the forefront of the zero extinction target,” she said.“Australia has made that commitment. We’re here to help Australia meet that commitment. Unfortunately what’s happening to the Maugean skate is flying in the face of that.”skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionBaby skates on verge of extinction in Tasmania hatched by scientists – videoFor months, Re:wild had been working to have the skate’s Macquarie Harbour habitat declared a key biodiversity area, a global program that supports identification and conservation of the world’s most important places for species habitats.It had posts prepared for a potential announcement. Then on 20 March, news broke that the Labor government planned to rush through legislation to protect salmon farming in the harbour, which threatens the skate’s survival, in the final week of parliament.Chanson said Re:wild decided to bring its posts forward, publishing an urgent message on its own Instagram account, and the communications team asked DiCaprio if he would share it on his own page.“The urgency came when we stressed it’s in parliament right now,” she said. She only realised he had acted on the request “15 minutes after he had posted”.The federal government has faced criticism during this term for delays to promised environmental law reforms that a statutory review five years ago found were necessary in response to the failure by successive governments to protect Australia’s unique wildlife and habitats.During debate over the Tasmanian legislation, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young waved a dead salmon in the Senate, accusing the government of selling out its environmental credentials for “rotten, stinking extinction salmon” on the cusp of an election.Wrapped in plastic: Sarah Hanson-Young waves a dead salmon in Senate – videoThe passing of the bill drew condemnation from environment groups and prompted dismay from the Labor Environment Action Network.As the federal election was formally called on Friday, former Greens leader Bob Brown said the environment had become “the sleeper election issue, awakened by this week’s uproar in parliament”.“By ramming through protection for the polluting Atlantic salmon companies in Tasmania, both [Anthony] Albanese and [Peter] Dutton have catapulted the environment back into the headlines,” he said.

Labor’s grassroots environmental group dismayed by rushed bill protecting salmon industry

The Labor Environment Action Network says it won’t ‘sugar coat’ its reaction after working ‘so hard’ on obtaining commitment for EPAGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor’s grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as “frustrating and disappointing”.In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not “sugar coat” its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, in 2012 was properly approved.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Labor’s grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as “frustrating and disappointing”.In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not “sugar coat” its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, in 2012 was properly approved.Albanese had promised the amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to protect salmon industry laws in the remote town of Strahan after internal warnings the issue was damaging Labor’s electoral chances in the Tasmanian seat of Braddon, a seat the Liberal party holds on an 8% margin.An environment department opinion released under freedom of information laws had suggested the reconsideration could lead to salmon farming having to stop in the harbour, while an environmental impact statement was prepared.Lean’s national campaign organiser, Louise Crawford, told the group’s members the passage of the bill with bipartisan support on Wednesday night was “not an outcome we support”.“It is one of those incredibly frustrating and disappointing moments as a Lean member,” she said in an email seen by Guardian Australia. “We have all worked so hard on getting the commitment for an EPA [Environment Protection Agency] and environment law reform for such a long time when no other party was talking about it nor interested in it.”The reconsideration of the Macquarie Harbour decision had been triggered in 2023 by a legal request from three environmentally focused organisations to the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek. The request highlighted concern about the impact of salmon farming on the endangered Maugean skate, an ancient ray-like fish species found only in Macquarie Harbour.A Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour. The species is listed as endangered. Photograph: Jane RuckertThe new legislation prevents ministerial reconsideration requests in cases in which a federal environment assessment had not been required and the development had been operating for more than five years. It was welcomed by the Tasmanian Liberal government, the Australian Workers’ Union and the West Coast Council that covers Strahan and surrounding areas.The government has dismissed conservationists’ and environment lawyers’ concerns that this meant it could be broadly applied beyond salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, arguing it was “a very specific amendment” to address a flaw in the EPBC Act and that “existing laws apply to everything else, including all new proposals for coal, gas, and land clearing”.Crawford said Lean believed it was a “tight set of criteria” that did not apply to most major projects, including coal and gas operations, or to most developments that involved significant land-clearing. But she said the advocacy group would have preferred a solution that allowed the salmon farming to continue while an assessment was carried out.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotion“We do not think activities should be immune from reconsideration if evidence shows they need to be given a federal environmental assessment,” she said. “This underlines the importance of completing the full environmental reform process, and to having an independent regulator.”Crawford urged members to “dig deep” and resolve to help Labor craft improved laws and an EPA in the next term of parliament “despite what happened this week”. She asked them to campaign for a group of pro-nature Labor MPs who Lean has named “climate and environment champs” – including Ged Kearney, Kate Thwaites, Josh Burns, Jerome Laxale, Sally Sitou, Alicia Payne and Josh Wilson – so that the environment “has strong voices in caucus and the parliament”.She noted Albanese had committed to reforming environment laws and creating a federal EPA in the next term after shelving both commitments in this term. “This is Labor policy so should be delivered no question. We will continue to work to deliver this. It’s time. It’s more than past time,” she said.The Maugean skate has been listed as endangered since 2004. Concern about its plight escalated last year when a government scientific committee said numbers in the wild were “extremely low” and fish farming in the harbour was the main cause of a substantial reduction in dissolved oxygen levels – the main threat to the skate’s survival.The committee said salmon farms in the harbour should be scaled back and recommended the species be considered critically endangered.A separate report by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies last month said surveys suggested the skate population was likely to have recovered to 2014 levels after crashing last decade. It stressed the need for continued monitoring.The government announced $3m in the budget to expand a Maugean skate captive breeding program.

Panama Reopens Talks About the Future of a Controversial Copper Mine, but Opposition Remains

More than a year after Panama’s Supreme Court halted operations at a huge copper mine because its government concession was deemed unconstitutional, there’s a fresh push with the new Panamanian president to restart the mine

DONOSO, Panama (AP) — More than a year after Panama’s Supreme Court halted operations at a huge copper mine because its government concession was deemed unconstitutional, the country's new administration is signaling a potential restart.Business groups are lobbying President José Raúl Mulino, who says he’ll start discussing the mine’s future with his team next week. The mine’s owner is conducting media tours and has said it will suspend arbitration, while the coalition of environmental and civic groups that snarled traffic for weeks in 2023 calling for the mine’s closure is preparing to hit the streets again.Mulino has already ordered that the mine’s power plant be restarted and that some $250 million worth of copper concentrate sitting at the mine be sold. And on Thursday, he appeared to signal where he was leaning.Noting the mine’s economic impact — it accounted for nearly 5% of Panama gross domestic product the last year it operated — Mulino said: “On what basis can I say, as president of the republic, ’good-bye, to the mine, there won’t be a mine because five people who don’t pay a payroll don’t want a mine?'”In March 2023, Panama’s Congress reached an agreement with Canadian mining company First Quantum, allowing its local subsidiary Panama Copper to continue operating the mine for at least 20 more years. The open-pit mine was temporarily closed in 2022 when talks between the government and First Quantum broke down over payments the government wanted.The contract, given final approval Oct. 20, 2023, allowed the subsidiary to continue operating the mine in a biodiverse jungle on the Atlantic coast west of the capital for the next 20 years, with the possibility of extending for a further 20 years if the site remained productive.The deal faced opposition from those who believed Panama wasn’t getting as much as it should and from environmentalists and Indigenous groups who raised concerns about the mine’s impact.The dispute led to some of Panama’s most widespread protests in recent years, including a blockade of the mine’s power plant. Protesters also blocked parts of the Pan American highway, including a stretch near the border with Costa Rica.On Nov. 28, 2023, Panama’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the 20-year concession was unconstitutional and then-President Laurentino Cortizo announced the start of a process to close the mine.Days before the court’s ruling, the Congress had also passed a moratorium on metal mining in Panama.The road to Cobre Panamá now is peppered with signs calling for its reopening. At its peak, it had employed more than 7,000 people, of which only about 1,000 remain as the company tries to keep the surrounding jungle at bay and the equipment from rusting away.Edgardo Díaz, who sold food to mine workers, said many vendors had to shutter their businesses when the mine stopped operating. He said he was one of five vendors who met with Mulino several weeks ago. “We asked that the mine be reopened.”But not everyone agrees. Abelisario Rodríguez, a resident of Río Caimito near the mine, said that despite the mine’s presence and the money it generated, his community still lacked basic services like electricity, drinking water, a health center and school.He said there had been a lot of promises made about the development the mine would bring, but he didn’t see it reflected in his community and he didn’t want to see it reopened.“We don’t want mines in Panama because we’ve seen the experiences of countries like Chile, Peru, mining countries, communities that have been razed, that have been contaminated with sick populations,” Rodríguez said. “We don’t want that for our future generations.”Manuel Aizpurua, head of Cobre Panamá, said they’ve started bringing people to the mine to show the condition of the equipment and the need to make a decision on the mine’s future.“Nature is attacking these installations and this equipment, taking them to a degree of deterioration where it won’t be possible to restart the mine if we don’t do something urgently,” Aizpurua said.“We understand that an operation like this must generate significant benefits for the country and the surrounding communities, not only for our shareholders and investors,” he said. “We’re prepared to sit down with the national government as soon as possible without preconditions to find a solution to achieve that objective.”Shortly after Mulino made his comments about the mine Thursday, the 40-organization coalition Panama is Worth More without Mining gathered in the capital.Lilian Gonzáles Guevara, executive director of the nongovernmental Environmental Incident Center, pushed back against the economic argument for reopening the mine. She said that while many countries had struggled economically recently, Panama had grown even without the mine operating last year.“We haven’t depended on mining, it’s a fallacy,” she said. The only dialogue the group was open to having was about permanently closing the mine.The coalition has called for a public vigil Sunday to remind authorities of the public’s opposition to the mine.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Use of pesticides on UK farms to be cut by 10% by 2030 to protect bees

Campaigners welcome long-delayed proposals to reduce pesticide-related harms to pollinatorsThe use of pesticides on UK farms will be reduced by 10% by 2030 under government plans to protect bees and other pollinators.Campaigners welcomed the news, but said they were disappointed that the target applied only to arable farms and not to urban areas and parks. The plan has been a long time coming – it has been delayed since 2018. Continue reading...

The use of pesticides on UK farms will be reduced by 10% by 2030 under government plans to protect bees and other pollinators.Campaigners welcomed the news, but said they were disappointed that the target applied only to arable farms and not to urban areas and parks. The plan has been a long time coming – it has been delayed since 2018.The EU’s target for pesticide reduction is more ambitious; its member states aim to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides, as well as the use of more hazardous pesticides, by 50% by 2030.The UK government will be unveiling a new pesticide load indicator to monitor progress towards this target, and encouraging integrated pest management, which is a way to reduce pests on farmland without using pesticides.This can include sowing plants that are more attractive to certain pests next to crops, to divert their attention away, or using carnivorous beetles or other predators to keep down pest numbers. The plan also includes penalties for those who fail to use pesticides responsibly, and the target makes note of how toxic a pesticide is as well as how much of it is used, which campaigners also welcomed.A spokesperson from the Pesticide Collaboration, a grouping of health and environmental organisations, academics, unions and consumer groups, said: “We are thrilled that the UK government has today announced the UK’s first ever pesticide reduction target of 10%. While we had hoped for a higher percentage, the adoption of a target which takes into account both how much of a pesticide is used and how toxic it is a clear signal that reducing pesticide-related harms to the environment is now being taken seriously.“We are also pleased that there are commitments to increasing the uptake of non-chemical alternatives by farmers and urge the government to provide them with the support they need. While there are no commitments to phasing out urban pesticide use, we have been assured by the government that this area of work will be progressed separately.”Paul de Zylva, a nature campaigner at Friends of Earth, said: “The new plan’s failure to address the use of pesticides in urban areas is a major flaw. The government must commit to the phasing out of pesticide and herbicide use in urban parks and streets, which is unnecessary and risks the health of people, pets, wildlife, rivers and soils.”Farmers have welcomed the plan, and asked for government support in creating habitats for the predatory insects that feed on pests.Martin Lines, the CEO of the Nature-Friendly Farming Network said: “I welcome the publication of this long-overdue action plan, especially the inclusion of specific targets for pesticide reduction. However, it remains to be seen whether it can truly can deliver the radical changes we urgently need.“Dramatically reducing the use of chemicals and transitioning to nature-based solutions – such as creating habitats for predatory insects – is absolutely key to building a food and farming system that is resilient for the future while also reversing the decline of nature and biodiversity.”This is the latest step towards reducing pesticide use in the UK, after the government committed recently to ending the use of neonicotinoid pesticide, which is toxic to bees.The environment minister, Emma Hardy, said: “The government is restoring our natural world as part of our commitment to protect the environment while supporting productivity and economic growth.“That is why we have banned bee-killing pesticides in England and today we’re going further to support farmers and growers to adopt sustainable practices.”

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