Interior Department Bypasses NEPA Review for 34-Sale Offshore Drilling Expansion Plan

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it would finalize a five-year offshore drilling plan covering 34 lease sales — including new areas off California, the High Arctic, and eastern Gulf — without conducting the programmatic Environmental Impact Statement required under NEPA, breaking with decades of practice. The agency argued court precedent meant its obligation to fully comply with NEPA did not mature until the lease sale stage. Environmentalists immediately filed legal challenges.