ELKO, Nev. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt toured a Nevada gold mine's expansion project to tout the Trump administration's streamlining of environmental regulations to expedite permitting for development on federal lands.
Bernhardt said Tuesday streamlining of the National Environmental Policy Act is one of the reasons the newly formed Nevada Gold Mines committed to the expansion at the Cortez Mine.
Greg Walker, executive managing director of the company formed by the recent joint venture between Barrick Gold and Newmont Goldcorp, said it's a significant improvement from the old process that added 18 months to the completion of environmental impact statements.
One of President Trump's executive orders requires such reviews be completed within a year.
Conservationists say the expedited reviews short-circuit federal regulations that have protected fish and wildlife for a half-century.