President Trump today proposed a $188.8 million Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget for BOEM to safely and responsibly manage offshore energy and mineral resources.
The President’s FY 2021 budget request reflects careful analysis and focuses on the execution of BOEM’s mission, including offshore oil and gas exploration and leasing, offshore renewable energy development, marine minerals management, and science-based analyses.
“President Trump’s 2021 budget request for the Department is about investing in our people and public lands and waters," said Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. "He is committed to the mission of conservation and creating more public access for Americans to fully enjoy our national treasures and landscapes. This budget is a critical step in the right direction and provides a path to restore commonsense in our budgeting process.”
BOEM’s budget proposal continues to support efforts that are vital to advancing the goals of the President’s Executive Order 13795, Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy, which requires BOEM to develop and implement a new National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) in conformity with the provisions of the OCS Lands Act.
“This Administration calls for furthering America's energy security, producing energy in a safe and environmentally sound manner, while ensuring fair market value to the taxpayers,” said BOEM’s Acting Director, Dr. Walter Cruickshank. “The FY 2021 budget request allows BOEM to continue its efforts to advance these goals as part of our statutory mission.”
With this request, BOEM proposes to focus resources in the following areas:
- Oil and Gas Development. The FY 2021 budget includes approximately $60.5 million to advance oil and gas energy activities. Pursuant to Executive Order 13795 - and Secretary’s Order 3350 - BOEM continues to support the Administration’s America-First Offshore Energy Strategy through the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program). The proposed budget allows BOEM to continue OCS oil and gas exploration and production, while ensuring conservation stewardship. Note: The FY 2021 budget assumes continued lease sales in areas available under the current National OCS Program, but does not presume a particular Secretarial decision on the next program.
- Renewable Energy. The FY 2021 budget includes approximately $26.5 million to advance offshore renewable energy development. In recognition of the role renewable energy can play in securing the Nation’s energy independence and supporting economic growth, BOEM continues to advance renewable energy through its leasing program and streamlining its permitting and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes. In addition, the proposed budget increases BOEM’s capacity to undertake research activities and foster stakeholder engagement.
- Marine Minerals. The FY 2021 budget includes approximately $8.8 million for BOEM’s Marine Minerals Program. BOEM continues to focus on the creation of a National Offshore Sand Inventory that identifies sources of sand and other sediment for construction projects vital to the Nation’s economy, coastal environment and infrastructure. Expanding the sand inventory is critical to the Nation’s coastal restoration and resiliency efforts as it enables BOEM to proactively plan for the increasing demands for OCS resources and emergency needs as they arise. In addition, the proposed budget allows BOEM to continue to partner with other federal agencies to develop an OCS Critical Mineral Inventory to assess the Nation’s supply of critical minerals, potentially reducing the Nation’s vulnerability to economic disruption and negative national security impacts caused by a lapse in imports.
- Environmental Programs. The FY 2021 budget includes $75.9 million for BOEM’s Environmental Programs. Science is vital to BOEM’s mission to manage offshore energy and mineral resources in an environmentally and economically responsible manner. BOEM conducts its environmental analyses in a transparent, coordinated, and streamlined fashion to ensure that decisions regarding potential environmental impacts are informed by the best available science. Under the proposed budget, BOEM will continue to use environmental science as the foundation for sound policy decisions.
BOEM’s FY 2021 Budget Justification is available at https://www.boem.gov/office-budget-and-program-coordination, and additional details on the President's FY 2021 Budget Request are available on the Department’s website.