On April 17, 2025, the Department of the Interior announced the establishment of emergency permitting procedures to facilitate the rapid development of fossil fuel resources. Interior takes this action to fulfill a White House directive in Executive Order 14156 to rely on any and all emergency authorities to spur domestic energy production in response to a so-called “national energy emergency.”
The press release states that the agency’s new emergency permitting procedures “are designed to expedite the review and approval, if appropriate, of projects related to the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, or generation of energy within the United States.” It lists a number of energy sources to which the expedited procedures will apply, including crude oil, natural gas, coal, uranium, geothermal heating, and more. The list does not include wind, solar, and battery storage.
Interior cites three sources of emergency authority to support its new procedures, including existing regulations issued under (1) the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), (2) the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and (3) the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). It claims that its new procedures will compress the reviews of potential projects required under these three statutes into a mere 28 days.