A bill under consideration in the U.S. House would reverse protections put in place last month by the Department of the Interior near Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.
The order by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland banned new oil and gas leasing within 10 miles of the park for 20 years to protect sacred and historic sites and nearby tribal communities.
It prevents many Navajo allottees from leasing their land and has received pushback from Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and other tribal leaders.
The House bill sponsored by Arizona Republicans Eli Crane and Paul Gosar would nullify what they call the Biden administration’s “overreaching” actions affecting more than 330,000 acres of federal land.
They say the ban would have negative economic impacts on Navajo residents and American energy production.
Environmental and other advocates, however, applauded the protections and say the more than 37,000 wells drilled in the area threaten public health and animal habitat.