North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum makes final appeal against U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management Plan

Image courtesy of U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s appeal is against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) updated Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the state.

Burgum said that the plan would hurt electric grid reliability and jeopardize national security. He also said the plan would raise energy costs for consumers. The plan would block leasing on more than four million acres of federal coal acreage, and close off about 44% of federally owned fluid mineral acreage from leasing. The plan could eliminate $34 million in revenue from oil and gas and more than 12,000 coal-related jobs.

Governor Burgum’s appeal, directed to BLM director Tracy Stone-Manning, can be found online.