On June 22, 2026, the Department of the Interior announced proposed revisions to two Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rules: the oil and gas leasing rule and the waste prevention rule. The leasing rule revision would revert statewide bonding requirements from $500,000 back to $25,000—rates in effect since the 1950s and 1960s, far below BLM's own estimated cost of $35,000 to $200,000 to decommission wells. With an estimated 15,000 orphaned wells already on federal lands and $4.7 billion in taxpayer funds spent on cleanup, weakened bonding requirements would expose American taxpayers to billions more. The waste prevention rule revision would eliminate waste minimization requirements, allowing routine venting and flaring to continue—wasting domestic energy resources and exposing nearby communities to carcinogenic and toxic pollutants released alongside methane.

In response, Dr. Rev. Jessica Moerman released the following statement.

"Scripture calls us to be faithful stewards of God's creation—not to squander it for short-term gain or shift costs onto our neighbors and children. The Interior Department's plan takes us back to the 1960s. This is not wise stewardship; it is recklessness at taxpayers' expense. Routine venting and flaring wastes precious natural resources and releases methane and toxic pollutants into the air breathed by families in surrounding communities. Since the Trump Administration stopped enforcing methane regulations, oil and gas corporations have wasted an estimated $5.6 billion in natural gas that could have met the energy needs of over 22 million households. This is not the good stewardship of God’s blessings that our faith demands."