WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior will no longer require the Bureau of Land Management to prepare an environmental impact statement for about 3,244 oil and gas leases in seven Western states.

This rescission of a Notice of Intent prepared by the bureau in January supports the policy direction of Executive Order 14154 and Secretary’s Order 3418, both with the title “Unleashing American Energy,” by reducing regulatory barriers for oil and gas companies and expediting domestic energy development.

With this action, the bureau will no longer move forward with preparing an environmental impact statement for oil and gas leasing decisions encompassing 3.5 million acres across Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, and the bureau is evaluating options for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act for these oil and gas leasing decisions.

The Notice of Rescission was scheduled to publish in Friday’s Federal Register.