The Trump administration wants to stage another massive public lands giveaway to oil and gas billionaires — while silencing the public.
Their new proposal guts requirements that ensure Big Oil pays to clean up and plug oil wells after drilling on public lands. And they want to cut your voice out of the leasing process by eliminating opportunities to raise your concerns about drilling on public lands, while leaving local communities to pay for cleanup.
Submit a public comment today and tell the administration to abandon this reckless proposal.
The proposed rule would:
Stick taxpayers with the bill: Currently, oil companies must pay to clean up and plug their wells. The administration's rule would put taxpayers on the hook for these costs when drillers leave town — a massive giveaway to the oil and gas industry at taxpayers’ expense.
Silence the public’s voice: The rule eliminates long-standing opportunities for local input and slashes the sole remaining public engagement period to a mere 10 days. The rule would also let the administration keep the public in the dark about the environmental impacts of proposed leasing until after a lease sale — a stage when it is too late for the public to use that information to participate in the leasing process.
Eliminate commonsense leasing standards: The rule will eliminate protections that guide drilling away from sensitive wildlife habitat, cultural sites, and treasured recreation areas.
Across the western United States, abandoned oil and gas wells already threaten public lands, wildlife, water, and nearby communities. Rolling back these requirements shifts potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in future cleanup liabilities away from the trillion-dollar oil and gas industry and onto the American public.The Trump administration’s proposed change is deeply antidemocratic and ignores the voices of people across the nation. In 2023 and 2024, Earthjustice supporters submitted 62,000 comments in support of the new requirements. Comment periods like these for oil and gas lease sales are at risk if the administration gets its way. Hunters, anglers, ranchers, outdoor recreationists, and all Americans who care about our public lands deserve a voice in decisions that affect the places we live, work, and enjoy ourselves.
Submit a comment to BLM urging it not to go through with this rollback!
2025 Clean Energy Wins!
After months of tireless advocacy and engagement efforts from the Sierra Club, the Clean Energy and Climate Packages have been signed into law! The Sierra Club is proud of the work done to ensure these bills place Michigan as a leader in clean energy, pushing our state toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Thank the lawmakers who voted YES on clean energy!
There is so much more work to do to achieve just climate action and an equitable clean energy revolution. Check out the Michigan Chapter's 2026 Legislative Priorities to see what we are advocating for in 2026.