The Obama administration is requesting a substantial increase in Interior Department funding for fiscal year 2016, including increased fees for oil and gas companies to fund accelerated processing of permit requests and increased site inspections. The administration Feb. 2 unveiled a request for $13.2 billion in discretionary funding for Interior in 2016. The total is 8 percent above the enacted level for 2015, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said during a telephone news conference. Energy production is a significant part of Interior's public lands regulatory mandate. On an energy subject more immediate than the 2016 budget, Jewell said the Interior Department is very close to issuing an update of regulations for hydraulic fracturing and related oil and eas well activities.
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