Under new leadership, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced its termination of proposed amendments to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). On January 13, 2021, BLM had released draft amendments to the DRECP and a draft environmental impact statement analyzing the draft amendments. The draft amendments were described in a previous article. The draft amendments had faced public opposition from conservation groups and the California Energy Commissioner.
On March 12, 2021, the BLM announced its termination of the land use planning process for the draft amendments. The BLM cited a need to “evaluate consistency with Departmental and Executive priorities related to conservation and promotion of renewable energy development.” The BLM committed to “continue to work with cooperating agencies and stakeholders in the implementation of the existing land use plans.”
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