In this Feb. 9, 2018, file photo, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke walks through the Western Conservation and Hunting Expo in Salt Lake City. Zinke said Tuesday, March 6, that his agency should be a partner with energy companies that seek to drill for oil and gas on public land.
As he has before, Zinke defended the plan, which faces fierce opposition from governors and lawmakers along the entire West Coast and much of the East Coast.
Zinke said he would listen to local objections, and he noted that states have leverage if they oppose drilling in federal water off their coastlines — they would have to approve pipelines and terminals to handle the oil.
Zinke said the United States won't exhaust its resource of fossil fuels in our lifetime, but that cleaner-burning natural gas will take on a bigger role.
The Trump administration, he said, is "pro-energy across the board," and he tried to dismiss an environmental disadvantage to burning fuels that emit carbon linked to climate change. All fuels, he said, have consequences.
Zinke began his comments with a shout-out to his boss, President Donald Trump, calling him "a delightful boss," before explaining Trump's goal of encouraging U.S. "energy dominance." He has frequently criticized former President Barack Obama.
U.S. oil production surged during Obama's tenure and has kept growing, recently surpassing 10 million barrels a day, thanks to increasing output from shale formations in Texas, North Dakota and elsewhere.