Without wasting any time to respond to President Trump's recent Executive Order addressing policies, reviews and development of U. S. energy resources that will set us on the track to domestic Energy Independence, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued a press release today announcing he signed two secretarial orders to help achieve energy independence in a safe and environmentally friendly way. Zinke's stated that his orders will help bring jobs back, boost the economy and encourage the supplying of more affordable power. The orders will be made permanent, as soon as they are converted to chapters in the departmental manual.

Setting goals of orders

Zinke's Secretary Order 3348, overturns the moratorium of the federal coal leasing program. The order was issued after a review of Secretarial Order 3338 issued in January 2017 and finding that the 2019 completion of the ordered Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) would cost millions of dollars and would not serve the public in any useful way. Secretary Order 3349, was issued to improve the internal management of the Department and compels the review of the agency actions, the re-examining of the migration policies and practices, as well as the climate change policies, sets up a timetable for these actions and reviews ways to create jobs for American families.

Committee created to advise

Interior Secretary Zinke, also established a discretionary committee, named Royalty Policy Committee to advise on current and emerging issues concerning fair market value and collection of revenues from Federal and Indian mineral and energy leases, include renewable energy sources.

The Committee will consist of approximately 28 Federal and non-federal members appointed by the Secretary to serve up to three-year terms, but no more than six consecutive years without compensation. They will meet at least once each calendar year, or when necessary, with an annual operating cost estimated at $350,000. The Committee will also be subject to biennial review.