NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — This week, Senator John Hoeven was questioning the woman who may soon be one of the people in charge at the Department of the Interior.

Hoeven was pointing out policies that could impact oil and gas activity in North Dakota.

The Senate plans to vote soon on whether or not to confirm Shannon Estenoz as the new deputy secretary serving under Deb Haaland.

Hoeven questioned Estenoz on plans for the Bureau of Land Management’s Draft Resource Management Plan for North Dakota.

He’s also calling on the department to maintain access to federal lands to allow for continued use, including grazing, energy development, and tourism.

But he admits it’s complicated on land that may be a combination of federal, state- and privately-owned acres.

“So, in this Resource Management Plan, you close off access or refuse to lease your minerals, all of a sudden, whether it’s oil, or coal, or anything else,” said Sen. Hoeven. “They’re stopped and you might now own any of the surface acreage. And they’d have to go around you. So, you disenfranchise not on the state of North Dakota, but also those individuals, so you need to work with us on this management plan.”

In previous hearings, Hoeven has called for Secretary Haaland and BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning to get rid of the draft RMP, as well as the BLM’s Public Lands Rule.

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