President Donald Trump signed several energy-focused executive orders aimed at increasing production and distribution of domestic fossil fuel resources, including development of Alaska’s natural resources.
The executive orders (EOs), signed on January 20, 2025, reflect the new administration’s concern that inadequate infrastructure and energy supply have created emergency conditions and direct agency leaders at the US Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Interior (DOI), Department of Commerce (DOC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and others responsible for US energy policy to remove existing regulatory barriers to promote energy reliability and security.
In the coming days, we expect each agency to begin issuing orders and other directives that implement and expand on President Trump’s energy-related EOs, as most EOs are not self-executing and require an agency or executive officer to take action. Highlights and takeaways from three of the day one energy-related EOs are summarized in this LawFlash.
First, in Declaring a National Energy Emergency, President Trump directed heads of executive departments and agencies to identify and exercise any lawful emergency authority available to them
- to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on federal lands;
- to expedite the completion of all infrastructure, energy, environmental and natural resources projects that fall under their purview; and
- to facilitate the supply, refining, and transportation of energy in and through the West Coast, Northeast, and Alaska.
Agency heads are directed to identify any planned or potential actions they may take “to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply” that are subject to regulations promulgated by the Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) or through the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in reports submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The secretary of the Army and the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service are also to make themselves available for consultations and to take any other action necessary to assist the agencies in executing the Army Corps and ESA’s emergency provisions, respectively.
The EO tasks the EPA administrator to work with the secretary of energy to issue emergency fuel waivers to allow for the year-round sale of E15 gasoline to address gasoline shortfalls across the U.S.
Second, Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential makes it US policy to expedite the extensive development of Alaska’s natural resources, including energy, minerals, timber, and seafood. The order outlines policies to maximize resource utilization while repealing previous measures that restricted development.
The order also specifically states that US policy is to efficiently and effectively maximize the development and production of the natural resources located on federal and state lands within Alaska, expedite permitting and leasing of energy and natural resources projects, and prioritize the development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential. To accomplish this, the order directs federal agencies such as DOI and DOC to rescind regulations, policies, and agency actions issued between January 20, 2021, and January 20, 2025, that are inconsistent with this policy, as well as to reinstate certain environmental impact statements and land-use decisions that were issued during the Trump administration’s first term.
The order also aims to initiate new leasing and permitting in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) by rescinding secretarial orders and rules that halted all activities within these areas.
The order positions Alaska as a critical component of the Trump-Vance administration’s economic and energy strategy. The order states that development of Alaska’s resources will enhance job creation, reduce energy costs, and strengthen national energy security.
Businesses involved in Alaskan projects may experience streamlined processes and an increase in new business opportunity. Industries involved in energy, mining, and infrastructure development should prepare for expedited project approvals. However, stakeholders should be prepared for possible legal and environmental challenges from environmental groups and stakeholders, and regulatory adjustments from lawmakers.
Finally, in Unleashing American Energy, President Trump directs the following specific actions with the goal of increasing domestic energy production: reviewing existing energy-related regulations, reforming the permitting process for energy infrastructure, revoking or modifying existing carbon reduction regulations, and expanding access to federal lands.
REGULATORY REVIEW
Like the Declaring a National Energy Emergency EO, Unleashing American Energy directs federal agencies to review existing regulations that impose an undue burden on domestic energy production and then, within 30 days, begin to suspend, revise, or rescind such agency actions.
The EO also revokes the following 13 executive orders of prior administrations and terminates the American Climate Corps:
- Executive Order 11991 of May 24, 1977 (Relating to protection and enhancement of environmental quality)
- Executive Order 13990 of January 20, 2021 (Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis)
- Executive Order 13992 of January 20, 2021 (Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation)
- Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad)
- Executive Order 14007 of January 27, 2021 (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology)
- Executive Order 14013 of February 4, 2021 (Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration)
- Executive Order 14027 of May 7, 2021 (Establishment of the Climate Change Support Office)
- Executive Order 14030 of May 20, 2021 (Climate-Related Financial Risk)
- Executive Order 14037 of August 5, 2021 (Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks)
- Executive Order 14057 of December 8, 2021 (Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability)
- Executive Order 14072 of April 22, 2022 (Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies)
- Executive Order 14082 of September 12, 2022 (Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022)
- Executive Order 14096 of April 21, 2023 (Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All)
States have general authority over the siting and construction of electric generation plants, and a majority have various mandates pertaining to the mix of resources or carbon emission reduction targets that electric distribution utilities must satisfy. This EO does not override such state laws, and therefore developers of generation resources and local distribution utilities might still be required to procure energy from resources with a lower carbon intensity, such as wind and solar. Regardless of state policies, new energy development might find willing international markets because the Trump-Vance administration has signaled its intent to expand exports of energy.
PERMITTING REFORM
The Unleashing American Energy EO undertakes regulatory reforms to expedite permitting of energy resources, including the revocation of Executive Order 11991, which was issued by President Jimmy Carter and authorized the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to issue regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EO requires the CEQ to provide guidance on implementing NEPA, propose rescinding the CEQ’s existing NEPA regulations, and convene a working group to coordinate the revision of agency-level regulations implementing NEPA to expedite permitting approvals and meet permitting deadlines established in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. The EO further directs cabinet secretaries to eliminate permitting delays, such as through use of general permitting and permitting by rule, and to expedite projects essential for national security.
The EO also directs the director of the National Economic Council and the director of the Office of Legislative Affairs to prepare recommendation for Congress on reforming statutory requirements on permitting to facilitate energy production and transportation. The EO specifically highlights the need to facilitate pipeline development in areas where such development has lagged and to reform judicial review of agency application of NEPA.
NEPA does not mandate an outcome, but only requires agencies to consider environmental impacts when permitting infrastructure projects. The review, however, can often take years. Courts have often delayed infrastructure projects on the basis that agencies did not perform a sufficient NEPA review, such as when a trial court vacated a permit for the 1,200 mile Dakota Access Pipeline to cross one mile of federal waters despite the pipeline being in operation for four years. After nearly five years of prior unsuccessful litigation, the trial court found that the permitting agency did not resolve four discrete controversies raised by pipeline opponents. The trial court initially ordered the pipeline to suspend operations. An appellate court agreed with vacating the permit, but reversed the trial court’s order to suspend operations.
One open question is whether the president can require “independent” federal regulatory agencies such as the NRC and FERC to amend NEPA regulations absent congressional action, which remains untested in the courts. The NRC has jurisdiction over the construction of nuclear power plants and FERC has plenary jurisdiction over siting of natural gas pipelines and hydro facilities, and some jurisdiction over siting electric transmission lines, the permitting of which would all implicate NEPA. FERC and the NRC have taken the position that they are not bound by NEPA changes promulgated by the CEQ, although FERC has indicated that it will comply with CEQ regulations “except where . . . inconsistent with [its] statutory requirements.” NEPA reform would also not affect environmental reviews required by state law.
In addition, when agencies undertake permitting actions, the EO directs them to adhere only to legislated requirements for environmental considerations and to use only robust methodologies to assess environmental impacts. Specifically, this direction aims directly at agency-developed considerations of the effect of gas emissions for carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide.
Neither this EO nor others issued to date address federal regulation of siting or rates and access to carbon dioxide (CO2) or hydrogen pipelines, with growing interest in CO2 pipelines to sequester CO2 to meet decarbonization goals and the potential for hydrogen to be used as a clean-burning replacement for methane. Presently, there is regulatory ambiguity over whether the federal government may regulate siting, rates, and terms of access and use of either type of pipeline, and, if so, which agency has that authority
REVOCATION OF CARBON REDUCTION/NET-ZERO INITIATIVES
The Unleashing American Energy EO directs the EPA to address deficiencies or rescind the current social cost of carbon methodology. The EO argues that the existing methodology suffers from flaws and politicization and has no statutory basis. Until new guidance is promulgated, agencies must assess the value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from agency actions consistent with the guidance contained in OMB Circular A-4 of September 17, 2003 (Regulatory Analysis).
The EO further disbands the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG) and withdraws all of its guidance, instructions, and recommendations. This action removes prior estimates of the social cost of greenhouse gases, and specifically carbon, the methane, or nitrous oxide where based, in whole or in part, on the IWG’s work.
LNG EXPORTS TO RESUME
As widely anticipated, the Unleashing American Energy EO directs the secretary of energy to resume reviews of applications for liquified natural gas export projects. The prior administration enacted in early 2024 a purportedly temporary pause on permits for new LNG projects to study the environmental impacts of LNG. Several new facilities were put on pause. The EO allows for the permitting process for these LNG export projects to resume.
DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL MINERALS
The Unleashing American Energy EO directs the secretaries of the interior and agriculture to revise or rescind agency actions that impose undue burdens on the domestic mining and processing of non-fuel minerals, and to reassess the withdrawal of public lands for mining. In addition, the US Geological Survey must consider whether to update its list of critical minerals, including uranium, and to accelerate ongoing geologic mapping with a focus on identifying deposits of critical minerals. The secretary of energy must also ensure that critical mineral projects, including the processing of critical minerals, receive consideration for federal support.
The US trade representative and the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Homeland Security must also undertake a review of whether foreign state-assisted mineral projects are contrary to US law or impair US commerce, and whether a reliance on mineral imports harms national security. The EO further targets mineral imports that are the product of forced labor. The Department of Defense must further assess its stockpiles of critical minerals and plan to ensure availability in the event of trade disruptions.
IMPACTS ON DISBURSEMENTS
The Unleashing American Energy EO directs “all agencies [to] immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated” through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58). A subsequent memorandum issued by the OMB on January 21, 2025, clarified that the pause only applies to funds implicated by, or that contravene the objectives in, the policy areas specifically identified in the EO (e.g., the “electric vehicle mandate”).
The EO also provided agencies with 90 days to conduct a review and report how their office spends the money allocated by the Inflation Reduction Act. The OMB and the president of economic policy will review those reports to determine whether the distributions remain aligned with the Trump-Vance administration’s policy goals. Our reading of this directive is that it does not affect the Investment Tax Credit and Production Tax Credit benefits of the IRA, but only programs involving cash grants and cash payments.
CONCLUSION
We expect additional executive, regulatory, and legislative action in the next few days and months to implement President Trump’s energy policy.
[View source.]
