Fargo Standard

The House of Representatives has passed H.J. Res. 105, a joint resolution introduced by Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND), aimed at overturning the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Resource Management Plan (RMP) for North Dakota. The plan, implemented under the Biden administration, restricts energy development on federal lands in the state.

"Today’s vote reaffirms a simple fact: the Biden administration’s Resource Management Plan for North Dakota was deeply misguided,” Fedorchak said. “At a time when energy demand is reaching record highs and Americans want to pay less for everything, locking up responsible energy development is the exact opposite of what we need. I’m grateful to my House Republican colleagues for their support that unleashes North Dakota’s energy resources for the betterment of America. I urge the Senate to act swiftly to reverse this harmful policy.”

In July, members of North Dakota's congressional delegation introduced legislation to counteract the RMP. The plan would close leasing on more than four million acres—nearly 99 percent—of federal coal acreage and 213,000 acres—44 percent—of federally owned fluid mineral acreage in North Dakota.

“Thanks to the hard work of Congresswoman Fedorchak, today Congress takes steps to restore American energy dominance and overturn disastrous policies from the Biden administration. Her bill will protect $34 million in state revenue and 12,000 jobs in North Dakota. I’d like to thank her for her leadership on this important legislation for North Dakotans and all Americans,” said Chairman Westerman.

“The House passage of our CRA is a significant step in canceling the Biden administration’s plan to restrict North Dakota’s energy development,” said Senator Cramer. “This resolution reaffirms the multiple use doctrine by ensuring North Dakota gets the best long-term plan possible to responsibly utilize our natural resources. I applaud Congresswoman Fedorchak’s leadership in the House. Now it’s time for the Senate to work with the Trump administration and get rid of this disastrous rule.”

“House passage of our CRA resolution is an important step toward blocking this onerous Biden-era policy and ensuring our state can continue to utilize all of its abundant energy resources,” said Senator Hoeven. “Considering the vast areas of federally-controlled surface acreage and subsurface minerals in our state, policies like the one we are overturning are particularly harmful to North Dakota, as duplicative and burdensome federal permitting can often prevent the development of private and state-held energy resources. We appreciate Representative Fedorchak for working to secure our resolution’s passage in the House and look forward to advancing the legislation through the Senate.”

Ron Ness, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council said, "We urge Congress to pass this Congressional Review Act and reject federal overreach that would devastate North Dakota's energy industry. The BLM's Resource Management Plan ignores modern drilling technologies and imposes blanket closures that are inconsistent with federal law and harmful to our state's economy. We thank Congresswoman Fedorchak for her leadership on this critical issue and call on both chambers to swiftly pass this legislation to protect North Dakota workers and America's energy independence."

“The BLM’s plan would shut down nearly all coal development on federal lands in North Dakota, ignoring decades of responsible energy production,” said Jonathan Fortner, Executive Director of the Lignite Energy Council. “We thank our delegation for fighting back. This resolution is a critical step toward restoring regulatory balance and protecting the affordable, reliable power our industry provides.”

Supporters of overturning BLM's RMP include Governor Kelly Armstrong as well as organizations such as Americans for Prosperity, Minnkota Power Cooperative, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Western Energy Alliance.

H.J. Res. 105 marks Fedorchak’s second piece of legislation passed by the House during this session of Congress. In June, she led another effort with Senator John Curtis (R-UT) resulting in repeal of another environmental regulation known as “Once-in-Always-in," which was signed into law by President Trump earlier this year.