Senate Confirms Nomination of New BLM Director

The U.S. Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Stevan Pearce to be the new Director of the Bureau of Land Management, according to the senate.gov website.

Voting, which took place on Monday, confirmed several nominees in one swoop, including Kyle Haustveit as Under Secretary of Energy, David LaCerte as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2031, and Ryan Raybould as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas for the term of four years, the site outlined.

The site revealed that voting concluded with 46 Yeas to 43 Nays. Eleven senators did not vote, according to the site, which revealed that every Yea vote came from a Republican senator and every Nay vote came from a Democrat senator, bar two, which came from independents. Those not voting included a mix of Republican and Democrat senators, the site showed.

According to a bio posted on the Young America’s Foundation website, where Pearce was listed as a speaker, Pearce was raised in Hobbs, New Mexico, where his father worked as a roustabout. Pearce is a Vietnam war veteran, “long owned and operated Lea Fishing Tools, an oilfield services company in Hobbs”, and has previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the bio highlights.

In a statement sent to Rigzone, International Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) said  Pearce in place as the director of the Bureau of Land Management “signals a return to a properly functioning BLM”.

“IPAA congratulates Congressman Steve Pearce on his confirmation as Director of the Bureau of Land Management,” IPAA EVP and Chief Policy Officer Dan Naatz said in the statement.

“It’s important that the head of the BLM understand the multiple use mandate for federal lands management as enshrined in law,” he added.

“Pearce’s background in Congress and serving the state of New Mexico qualify him to lead the agency. With Director Pearce in place, BLM can now move toward operating at its highest capacity and carrying out its vital mission,” he continued.

American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC) CEO Anne Bradbury said, in another statement sent to Rigzone, that the AXPC congratulates Pearce on his confirmation and “welcomes his seasoned leadership to an agency that plays an outsized role in advancing energy affordability and strengthening America’s energy security”.

“We look forward to partnering with him to increase permitting efficiencies and achieve a durable regulatory environment that supports responsible energy production, delivers lasting benefits for the American people, and balances environmental protections,” Bradbury added.

A statement posted on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources website on Monday noted that the senate confirmed an additional 49 of President Trump’s nominees this week, “three of which came out of the ENR Committee”.

Senator Mike Lee, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said in the statement, “each of these nominees brings a wealth of experience, and they will play an important role in carrying out President Trump’s agenda to unleash American energy dominance”.

In a statement posted on its website, the Sierra Club criticized the approval of Pearce as the new director of the Bureau of Land Management.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which was established in 1946, describes itself on its website as the nation’s largest land manager.

“We manage 245 million acres of public lands - that’s one in ten acres in the country - and 700 million acres of mineral estate,” the Bureau’s site notes.

“These public lands and subsurface acres are integral to the lives and livelihoods of communities and families across the country. This is accomplished by 12 main regional offices and headquarter offices in Grand Junction, Colorado and in Washington, DC,” it adds.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com