Up until a few days ago – any oil and gas leased on Bureau of Land Management property would undergo an environmental impact statement.

This is not the case anymore according to the Department of the Interior.

Seven states – which have 3.5 million acres of bureau land – no longer must lay out those impacts on the environment.

The states affected are Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

They say this is an effort to “reduce regulatory barriers for oil and gas companies.”

The following was sent out by the Bureau of Land Management:

The Department of the Interior will no longer require the Bureau of Land Management to prepare an environmental impact statement for approximately 3,224 oil and gas leases in seven Western states.

This rescission of a Notice of Intent prepared by the Bureau of Land Management in January 2025 supports the policy direction of Executive Order 14154 and Secretary’s Order 3418, both with the title “Unleashing American Energy,” by reducing regulatory barriers for oil and gas companies and expediting domestic energy development.

With this action, the Bureau of Land Management will no longer move forward with preparing an environmental impact statement for oil and gas leasing decisions encompassing 3.5 million acres across Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, and the Bureau is evaluating options for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act for these oil and gas leasing decisions.

The Department and the Bureau of Land Management remain committed to responsibly developing energy on public lands.