August 4, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Today, the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC) filed comments to the Department of Interior’s interim final rule (IFR) to partially rescind and update regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). AXPC CEO Anne Bradbury commended the Trump Administration and Secretary Burgum for taking action to reign in the dysfunctional NEPA process that has stymied energy production and stifled infrastructure projects regardless of source:
America’s independent producers welcome the Trump administration’s leadership to reign in the needlessly complex and protracted NEPA process, which has put America’s energy security at risk for decades.
The IFR makes substantial improvements to the environmental review process and represents a critical opportunity to reorient the Department of Interior’s practices in line with NEPA’s procedural purpose as Congress intended.
AXPC applauds the Trump administration for recognizing that fully harnessing America’s domestic energy resources requires agencies to abandon NEPA practices that paralyze the permitting system, and we urge Congress to pass durable permitting reforms to ensure the progress being made to reign in NEPA can’t be unilaterally unwound by future administrations.
AXPC remains committed to working with the Department of the Interior to improve the NEPA process in a manner that promotes efficient, fair, transparent, and legally defensible permitting processes.
Read the full letter here.
