Daily on Energy: Public land sell off blasted across the spectrum

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! For those of you in the D.C. area, there was a frightening incident this morning involving an active shooter at a gym near Logan Circle. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by the incident.Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.As we touched on in yesterday’s Daily on Energy, the Department of Interior has laid out its plans to sell off federal lands. The proposal sparked widespread outrage amongst Republicans and Democrats, with some lawmakers promising to not let a single acre of land in their state get sold. This included Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, set to be the chair of the Energy and Natural Resources committee in the Senate next year.“Two summers ago, I led the successful fight to stop an unprecedented proposal to sell off millions of acres of public lands, and I will do it again,” Heinrich said. “These lands belong to the American people, not private interests looking to cash in. Public lands belong in public hands.”Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana echoed that sentiment in a post shared to X today saying, “We are seeking information from the Administration on this proposal. Our office was not consulted on this,” he said. “Last year, I stopped the sale of lands in the One Big Beautiful Bill. I will not allow ONE ACRE of Montana land to be sold.”Other members including Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), and Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) – who served as Interior Secretary under the first Trump administration – have also confirmed their opposition to public land sales.Environmental and conservationist groups across the political spectrum such as the Sierra Club, Center for Western Priorities, Nature is NonPartisan, the Sagebrush Institute, Save our Parks, and more are also united in opposing the land sell off.“Selling off our public lands is nearly universally unpopular,” Maya Cohn, vice president of policy and external affairs with Nature is Nonpartisan, told Callie.She pointed to the sweeping backlash against land sale provisions proposed to fund the One Big Beautiful Bill last summer, that were ultimately struck from the tax and spending package.“The vast majority of Americans want to keep public lands in public hands,” Cohn said. “Republicans in particular value hunting, fishing, camping with their families, and hiking the trails and backcountry that public lands offer. Conserving our public lands is deeply rooted in our American history and values as a nation.”Can Interior sell off land? Under current law, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is permitted to sell public lands in specific circumstances. This includes if the land is no longer needed for federal purposes, it has become difficult or uneconomic to manage, or if it would serve a vital public interest.The Federal Land Policy and Management Act does require that sale of more than 2,500 acres must be sent to Congress, which has the authority to approve or veto a sale. BLM rarely uses this authority, and often a land disposal has been offset by a public land addition, such as through a land transfer or exchange.Between 2014 and 2023, BLM sold or transferred approximately 1.08 million acres of land, and acquired 291,400 acres of land, according to data compiled by Resources For the Future.Some individuals and groups have advocated for transferring or selling some public lands to the states, in some cases to allow for infrastructure or housing development.“However, this maneuver could be seen as a Trojan horse to privatize all public land in the U.S.,” Gabriella Hoffman, director of the Center for Energy and Conservation with Independent Women, told Callie.“Only 28% of all U.S. land is publicly managed. The rest is privately owned,” she added. “Without public lands, many Americans have difficulty accessing land for fishing, hunting, and other recreational opportunities.” All the rest: CHANGES HOUSE REPUBLICANS WANT FOR PERMITTING: If BAAJA successfully advances out of the Senate next week, the bipartisan permitting bill will then go to the House for consideration. And some Republicans in the lower chamber are already detailing how they want to tweak the bill.Republicans with the House Energy and Commerce committee, led by chair Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, held a meeting this morning with Energy Secretary Chris Wright regarding BAAJA, according to Daily on Energy alum Josh Siegel.During the meeting, several members reportedly raised concerns about transmission provisions in the legislation, specifically those giving the federal government more power to approve interstate transmission lines.Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has brought up similar concerns, and introduced four amendments yesterday regarding the transmission provisions.The amendments, if adopted, would increase compensation rates for landowners whose land is taken away through eminent domain, extend the timeline for states to consider transmission applications before federal regulators get involved, provide federal regulators with more flexibility regarding its backstop authority, and limit the amount of projects that federal regulators could exercise eminent domain over.JONES ACT WAIVER COULD BE EXTENDED SOON: The White House could announce as early as today an extension of the Jones Act waiver, which is set to expire on Nov. 15, Reuters reported, according to four industry sources.The waiver allows foreign ships to transport goods between U.S. ports, which is typically restricted to only U.S. vessels. The waiver is part of the administration’s efforts to lower fuel prices.A White House official, however, told Maydeen that Reuters reporting is “premature,” adding that “No decision has been made at this time. If there are any further announcements, they will be made directly by the President or the Administration.”FEMA SHRINKING ITS ROLE FOR DISASTER RESPONSE: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is reportedly planning to provide less assistance to states for disasters in the coming months, according to The Hill.Michael Coen, who served as the chief of staff of FEMA during the Biden administration, told the outlet that the plan was previewed during a recent emergency management conference.Coen recounted that FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton talked about “the need for states to take more responsibility and to start planning for less federal support.”During a Q&A session with attendees, Hamilton reportedly said the timeframe was within six months.It was not immediately clear how FEMA would scale back its disaster response, or how much less money it would give to states. What is clear, though, is that states are saying they need more time to prepare.“Some states actually spoke up at some of the breakout sessions and said that they need more time,” Coen told the outlet. “They need more definitive information so that they can inform their governor’s office and they can work with their state legislature to plan.”PROJECT 2029: Democrats have a new policy blueprint written by a group called Project 2029.According to Axios, the group is proposing that the next Democratic White House issue sweeping changes to the power markets to encourage competition and accelerate the connection of clean energy resources to the grid.The proposal, first obtained by the outlet, would force vertically integrated utilities that own power plants and transmission into wholesale markets. The group says these changes would remove barriers to bring power plants online, even if upgrades to the grid are pending.“Opening the electric grid to competition and innovation can help lower costs, address the climate crisis, and power America’s energy future all at the same time,” the group said in its proposal.GAS PRICES DROPPING: National average price of gasoline dropped by 6.2 cents per gallon yesterday, making it the third largest single decline in the last 26 years, according to GasBuddy analysis.As we mentioned earlier this week, gas prices on average have fallen below $4 per gallon for the first time in nearly four months. As of today, the national average price of gas stands at $3.90 per gallon, according to AAA. Diesel has also fallen but remains slightly above $6 a gallon.Fuel experts say that the recent drop in prices is not the result of political efforts, but because of seasonal factors. With summer being over, fewer people are driving, resulting in less demand. Refineries are also completing their annual maintenance and ramping output.NEWSOM BLASTS TRUMP ON CLIMATE RETREAT AT COP31: California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized President Donald Trump’s efforts to retreat from the fight against climate change at the United Nations annual climate conference, Bloomberg reports.“China is cleaning our clock,” Newsom said on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya, Turkey. “It’s not just about environmental policy. It’s about influence, it’s about supply chains, it’s about investment. As we walk off the international stage, they’re stepping in, and they’re also stepping in with this new technology.”Newsom said he felt renewed optimism following the midterm elections, but said he still remains concerned about the two years of environmental policies under the Trump administration.“Trump’s head is in sand soaked with oil. He’s a wholly owned subsidiary of big oil and we have been on the receiving end of some of the most aggressive assaults on our climate leadership in our generation,” Newsom said.Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, was joined by a group of other governors and mayors at the conference today. Other officials at the conference included Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. There will be a coalition of 19 House representatives attending later this week.The Trump administration did not send any federal officials to the conference for the second year in a row, following the president’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.UNDER WATER DATA CENTERS? The Trump administration is considering proposals for underwater data centers in Cook Intel, Alaska and the Gulf of Maine.Over the summer, DeepGreen Holding LLC was granted a 48-month preliminary permit to begin conducting studies and surveying the two regions. It does not allow the company to start construction, Michigan Advance reported.The proposed project in Maine would consist of a group of data center pods installed on the ocean floor and powered by 50 tidal turbines across 27 acres. Then, the one in Cook Intel would consist of 66 data center pods and more than 300 tidal turbines across 1,650 acres, according to Scientific American.Environmental groups have begun to push back against the company’s efforts to place data centers in these two regions. There are currently only two operational underground data centers in China.RUNDOWNDesert News The West’s next energy frontier is beneath a small Utah townThe Guardian Historic U.S. ocean liner sinks near Florida to become world’s largest artificial reefPolitico The election climate diplomats can’t stop talking about. It’s not the midterms.