Burgum Signals Intention to Appeal, Defy Court Order Striking Down Trump Administration’s Political Blockade of Clean Energy Projects

Contact: Seth Nelson

Today, appearing before the House Committee on Natural Resources for a budget hearing, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Trump administration plans to appeal and continue flouting a federal ruling striking down his illegal requirement that every solar and wind project on public lands and waters receive his personal political sign-off. In response, Evergreen Action Federal Affairs Director Dani Hupper released the following statement:

“Secretary Burgum came before Congress today and once again undermined bipartisan permitting negotiations. He made it clear today that this administration has no intention of following the law when it stands in the way of their politically motivated war on wind, solar, and battery projects. A federal court found that Burgum’s scheme to personally bottleneck clean energy projects on public lands was likely illegal and causing irreparable harm, so it granted a preliminary injunction to solar and wind companies while the case proceeds. Burgum has chosen to flout that order and continue illegally blocking projects, despite warnings from Democratic permitting reform negotiators that his actions are directly impeding a deal. Make no mistake: Secretary Burgum is standing in the way of a permitting reform bill that will help lower energy bills for American families.

“Permitting reform is desperately needed to deploy cheap, clean energy at the scale needed to meet soaring demand and drive down those bills. Senate Democrats have already said it plainly: there is no permitting deal to be had while this administration puts its thumb on the scale against wind, solar, and battery projects and refuses to faithfully execute the laws Congress passed. The path forward is simple if this administration wants to reach a permitting deal: follow the law, comply with the court’s ruling, and restore a permitting system that works for all energy sources, not just the ones that this administration happens to prefer.”

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