On a 51-48 party-line vote, senators passed a resolution to revoke an Obama administration regulation intended to give the public more input into land management decisions by the Bureau of Land Management. The Republican majority said the rule, which covered 245 million acres of federal land under BLM control, gave outsiders too large a voice and diluted local input over decisions on how to use use land for grazing, recreation and energy and mineral development, said Reuters.
The House already approved the repeal, so it goes to the White House. “Once President Trump signs the resolution, it will be the third successful (Congressional Review Act) challenge to an environmental measure so far this year,” said The Hill newspaper. The others were Obama-era regulations on restoration of streams near mines and a financial disclosure requirement for energy companies.
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state said the BLM rule modernized a 30-year-old land management process so decision-making was more open to the public. The Wilderness Society said it would be simpler to let the Interior Department agency amend its rule rather than strike it down.