David Bernhardt, the new interior secretary, participates in the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Meeting at the White House in April. (Chris Kleponis/Pool/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Former oil and gas lobbyist David Bernhardt was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to lead the Interior Department, an agency that controls nearly half a billion acres of public land and the vast amount of oil and gas mineral resources resting beneath it. The Interior Department oversees 700 million acres minerals and other resources underground and 1.7 billion acres offshore. Conservationists and several attorneys general representing coastal Atlantic states are fighting the NOAA permits and the applications for Interior permits in court. “We are deeply disappointed that the Senate decided to confirm the Secretary of Interior with a record full of ethical conflicts and unwavering allegiance to the oil and gas industry,” said Rappaport.

Source: Washington Post April 11, 2019 18:33 UTC