Black Bear Natural Gas Development Project is the Latest to Gain FAST-41 Coverage
Contact Information
Permitting Council Press Office (media@permitting.gov)
WASHINGTON (October 31, 2025) – The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) welcomes the Black Bear Natural Gas Development Project to FAST-41 coverage. This natural gas production and pipeline project will play a key role in the Trump Administration's goal of unleashing the nation’s abundant energy resources.
“I am thrilled to welcome the Black Bear Natural Gas Development Project to FAST-41 coverage,” said Emily Domenech, Permitting Council Executive Director. “In the previous Administration, the oil and gas industry struggled with a burdensome federal permitting process that held back domestic production. Under the Trump Administration we are using every tool to responsibly increase production and strengthen our energy security. I am excited to see FAST-41 provide a transparent and predictable permitting process for this critical project.”
“The need for responsibly sourced energy to support the country’s rapidly expanding infrastructure project growth is overwhelming, and we believe the FAST-41 permitting process provides the most efficient method for transparent and environmentally responsible regulatory review,” said Chelsea Budowsky, Senior Vice President Land of Revenant Energy.
Located in Angelina National Forest in San Augustine County, Texas, the Black Bear Natural Gas Development Project proposal includes up to four gas well pads, access roads to the well pads, a main trunk pipeline for the transportation of natural gas and gathering pipelines connecting the well pads. Each well pad will have up to eight proposed wells (total of 32 wells) that will be horizontally drilled into both private and U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed minerals with the intent of producing primarily natural gas.
The project is sponsored by Revenant Energy Operating LLC. The U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service will lead federal permitting. Learn more on the Federal Permitting Dashboard.
About the Permitting Council and FAST-41
Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) is a federal agency charged with improving the transparency and predictability of the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects. The Permitting Council is composed of the Permitting Council Executive Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 federal agency Council members; and the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of the Executive Director coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage, which are in turn entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard.
Learn more about the Permitting Council at permitting.gov.
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Last Updated: Friday, October 31, 2025