Oil companies stock up on drilling permits, challenging Biden on climate
Matthew Brown and Cathy Busswewitz
Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. In the closing months of the Trump administration, energy companies stockpiled enough drilling permits for western public lands to keep pumping oil for years and undercut President-elect Joe Biden s plans to curb new drilling because of climate change, according to public records and industry analysts.
An Associated Press analysis of government data shows the permit stockpiling has centered on oil-rich federal lands in New Mexico and Wyoming. It accelerated during the fall as Biden was cementing his lead over President Donald Trump and peaked in December, aided by speedier permitting approvals since Trump took office.
Wolf s departure from the Trump administration, just days before the president s norm-shattering term is set to come to a close, is the latest Cabinet resignation.
Brady McCombs
FILE - This May 28, 2013 file photo shows a on a rock formation known as The Wave in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. Outdoor enthusiasts and nature photographers hoping to explore the colorful, contoured landscape of the hugely popular trail in the U.S. Southwest will now have a better chance at landing one of the elusive permits after the U.S. government Monday, Jan. 11,2021 tripled the number of daily visitors allowed. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File) January 11, 2021 - 5:39 PM
SALT LAKE CITY - Outdoor enthusiasts and landscape photographers hoping to land one of the elusive permits needed to explore the colorful, contoured landscape of a hike called The Wave in the U.S. Southwest will have a better chance under a federal plan announced Monday that allows more than three times the previous number of daily visitors.
Government triples daily number of hikers allowed at The Wave
The plan takes effect Feb. 1 and will allow as many as 64 people per day to hike the popular rock formation near the Utah-Arizona border.
Credit: AP
FILE - This May 28, 2013 file photo shows a on a rock formation known as The Wave in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. Outdoor enthusiasts and nature photographers hoping to explore the colorful, contoured landscape of the hugely popular trail in the U.S. Southwest will now have a better chance at landing one of the elusive permits after the U.S. government Monday, Jan. 11,2021 tripled the number of daily visitors allowed. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)