On March 25, the House Committee on Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee held a fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget hearing for the Department of the Interior (DOI). Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell testified before the subcommittee, defending her agency’s $11.9 billion request for FY 2015.

The DOI’s budget request includes $1.1 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a 4 percent increase from FY 2014, and $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a 4 percent increase from FY 2014. The request also includes $753.2 million for conventional and renewable energy programs, a 5 percent increase, $169.8 million for Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), a 3 percent increase, and $144.8 million for the Office of Surface Mining, a 4 percent decrease from FY 2014.

USGS plans to prioritize funding increases for climate change adaptation, environmental health impacts, invasive species removal, and earth observations.

The proposal also includes efforts to increase rates for private oil and gas development leases on public lands and a penalty for delays in drilling after a permit has been awarded. According to Secretary Jewell, revenue gained would fund streamlining of the permitting process for such leases.

Sources: FY 2015 Presidential Budget Request; House Committee on Appropriations