On Thursday, January 21, the day after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, a Native American tribe issued a blistering letter to Biden’s Acting Secretary of the Interior, Scott de la Vega, blasting his Secretarial Order No. 3395. As Energy In Depth reports, the Order “temporarily suspends delegations of authority regarding leasing and permitting on federal lands, with a significantly reduced staff able to approve such items. This order does not halt leasing or existing development, and at its face is a temporary measure, but is certain to create bottlenecks that last well-beyond the 60-day limit on the order.”
De la Vega started serving on January 21, and will remain in an interim capacity until Biden’s nominee, Deb Haaland, is confirmed. The Department of the Interior defended Order No. 3395 by writing, “The Order does not impact existing ongoing operations under valid leases and does not preclude the issuance of leases, permits and other authorizations by those specified. In addition, any actions necessary in the event of an incident that might pose a threat to human health, welfare, or safety will continue.”
But as Energy in Depth notes, “White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday the administration still has a commitment to ending new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, without elaborating on the president’s plans. ‘We do, and the leases will be reviewed by our team,’ Psaki said,” as Bloomberg reported.
The Ute Indian Tribe website notes, “The Uintah and Ouray reservation is located in Northeastern Utah (Fort Duchesne) approximately 150 miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, on US Highway 40. There are around 3,200 tribal members, and the Reservation rests within a three-county area known as the ‘Uintah Basin.’” The reservation is “the second largest Indian reservation in the United States and covers almost 4.5 million acres,” the website adds.
In his letter to de la Vega, Luke Duncan, the chairman of the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee, wrote:
The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation respectfully requests that you immediately amend Order No. 3395 to provide an exception for energy permits and approvals on Indian lands. The Ute Indian Tribe and other energy producing tribes rely on energy development to fund our governments and provide services to our members.
Your order is a direct attack on our economy, sovereignty, and our right to self-determination. Indian lands are not federal public lands. Any action on our lands and interests can only be taken after effective tribal consultation.
Order No. 3395 violates the United States treaty and trust responsibilities to the Ute Indian Tribe and violates important principles of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Your order was also issued in violation (of) our government-to-government relationship. Executive Order No. 13175 on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, and Interior’s own Policy on Consultation with Tribal Governments.
The order must be withdrawn or amended to comply with Federal law and policies. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward from hearing from you.
