Governor Mark Gordon urges President Joe Biden to withdraw an Executive Order that bans new oil and gas development on federal land and offshore waters with 16 other Governors.

Gordon pointed to the negative economic effect of the ban on western states with large tracts of federal land.  Gordon wrote that the Order has the effect of “chasing away capital investment for long-term economic growth and undermining public services, public conservation, public safety, public education, and more.  Beyond directly impacted states, the Order is estimated to spike American residential energy costs by $1.7 billion per year.”

In late January, Biden issued an executive order halting new oil and gas leasing on federal land to allow the Department of Interior time to conduct a comprehensive review of the federal leasing program and existing fossil fuel leases.

In a Feb. 17 letter, Gordon wrote to Secretary Scott de la Vega that the “statement released by the Department of the Interior last week indicate it is Interior’s view that Order 3395 has not resulted in a slowdown of permitting allowed by the Secretarial Order for existing operations under valid leases,” Gordon wrote.  “To the contrary in Wyoming: what we see here is a backlog of actions tied to existing operations under valid leases at the BLM State Office level.”

The moratorium on new federal oil and gas authorizations has “severe implications that devastate the State of Wyoming’s revenue in the near-term with the potential to spell a long-term blow for our State’s economic wellbeing,” Gordon wrote.

The 17 governors were unified in their support for an “all of the above energy approach” and said that “as governors, we believe that solutions come from innovation, not regulation.”

Gordon stressed that “along with private sector ingenuity, state frameworks and standards are the best solutions to producing cleaner and more affordable energy that curbs emissions, including during the development and production of fossil fuels.  Instead, the Order inevitably shifts development away from U.S. federal lands and offshore waters to other countries with far less stringent emission controls, exacerbating concerns over greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.”

“You began your presidency with calls for unity, specifically to end the divide that pits urban versus rural, and as Republican leaders, we stand ready to work with your Administration to advance our states and country,” Gordon wrote.  “In contrast, the lack of consultation with our states demonstrated by Executive Order 14008 is alarming, showing disregard for the citizens we serve and the businesses that employ them and keep our country running and our nation secure.”

Other Governors that signed the letter were Kay Ivey (A.L.), Mike Dunleavy (A.K.), Doug Ducey (AZ), Asa Hutchinson (A.R.), Brad Little (I.D.), Eric Holcomb (IN), Tate Reeves (M.S.), Mike Parson (MO), Greg Gianforte (M.T.), Pete Ricketts (N.E.), Doug Burgum (N.D.), Kevin Stitt (OK), Kristi Noem (S.D.), Bill Lee (T.N.), Greg Abbott (TX), Spencer Cox (U.T.).