What does the Federal Land Freedom Act really do?

In an ongoing effort by the oil and gas industry to make it easier for them to drill on public lands, the “Federal Land Freedom Act” introduced by Representative Andy Biggs (AZ) and Senator Markwayne Mullin (OK) would give state governments the power to take control of energy development on federal lands should they have “established a State leasing, permitting, and regulatory program.”

Aside from this vague wording regarding state requirements, this bill also explicitly exempts leasing, permitting and exploration from requirements under the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. These four laws set up processes to make sure that our lands, waters, historic sites and most vulnerable species are protected; it would be extremely detrimental to the health of our environment to allow companies to get around these important safeguards.