Biden Administration Unveils 50 Energy and Environment Rules Amid Controversy Over Public Lands Conservation Priorities.

The Biden administration is planning to complete a number of energy and environment-related rules before the next presidential election. The new Unified Agenda includes 50 rulemakings, including the Clean Air Act. Other federal agencies could provide better protection for coal miners, endangered species like California spotted owl, and the Bureau of Land Management could elevate conservation as a priority on public lands. The regulations could also spark debate and litigation, but could also be political campaign fodder. The public lands rule, proposed in March, would put conservation on par with other uses of the 245 million acres overseen by BLM. However, Republican lawmakers have accused the administration of attempting to remove livestock grazing, recreation, energy development and other authorized uses of BLM lands in the name of conservation. The proposed rule has received more public comments than 215,000 public comments.