"All prior five-year drilling plans — dating back to 1980 — reference National Environmental Policy Act analyses."

"The Interior Department will skip the standard environmental analysis for its five-year offshore drilling plan, a break from the agency’s decadeslong practice.

The decision to forgo the review under the National Environmental Policy Act comes as the Trump administration pushes to increase fossil fuel production and roll back environmental regulations. Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management laid out a proposal last week to hold 34 oil and gas lease sales in federal waters between 2026 and 2031 — including in new areas off California, in the High Arctic and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

All prior five-year offshore drilling plans — dating back to 1980 — reference NEPA analyses. But in its proposal, BOEM called that NEPA analysis “discretionary,” citing two past rulings from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that dismissed challenges to NEPA analyses of five-year plans."

Ian M. Stevenson reports for E&E News November 25, 2025. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Trump’s Plans to Expand Offshore Drilling Meet Bipartisan Opposition" (Inside Climate News) [3]