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Parnell continues to press on ANWR State sues federal officials in bid to force them to consider the governor’s plan to conduct 3-D seismic survey of coastal plain Wesley Loy For Petroleum News
The state of Alaska has gone to court to try to force federal officials to consider Gov. Sean Parnell’s proposal for a seismic survey across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain.
The state’s lawsuit, filed March 14 in federal court in Anchorage, names Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and ranking officials in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as defendants. The service manages ANWR.
These officials have all rejected Parnell’s exploratory proposal, citing a lack of authority in the law to entertain the plan.
Parnell and his attorney general, Michael Geraghty, insist the law does allow for seismic exploration. And they’re asking the court to order the federal officials to seriously consider it.
The suit drew both cheers and jeers.
State Rep. Ben Nageak, who says he’s the only legislator born in ANWR, hailed the lawsuit.
“Quyanaqpak, Gov. Parnell and Attorney General Geraghty, thank you,” the Barrow Democrat said in a press release. “We have been trying to open ANWR to development through the federal process for decades, only to be met with roadblocks, push-back, disinterest, and environmental extremists. The area was set aside for exploration. The federal government has not held up its end of the bargain. Our people need the energy underneath the ground there, and the economic opportunity it will bring.”
Reading ANILCA Parnell in 2013 offered two exploratory plans, the most recent of which would involve conducting a three-dimensional seismic survey on the coastal plain but no drilling.
The Republican governor pledged to ask the Alaska Legislature for $50 million to fund the plan.
He says existing seismic data is outdated, and a modern 3-D survey could better inform everyone regarding the coastal plain’s oil and gas potential.
The coastal plain has long been thought to be highly prospective for perhaps billions of barrels of oil. But leasing and development would require congressional approval.
Parnell and the state’s lawyers contend that a provision in ANILCA, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, allows for exploratory activity.
But federal officials disagree with the state’s reading of ANILCA and certain regulations, saying any authorization for exploration expired long ago.
The state’s lawsuit asks the court for a declaratory judgment that the federal defendants violated the law by “summarily refusing” to consider the state’s exploration plan and application for a special use permit.
The court should “vacate and set aside that refusal,” and order the federal defendants to review the state’s plan, the suit says.
‘Enough is enough!’ Opening ANWR to oil development has long been a top economic development objective for Alaska elected officials. But they have been unable to overcome opposition in Congress and the White House. Environmentalists and others say industry activity is incompatible with the coastal plain’s caribou and other wildlife.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued this statement:
“I support Gov. Parnell’s decision to move forward with litigation against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As I have repeatedly said, the agency has clearly lost sight of its responsibility to Alaskans. Any legitimate ‘all of the above’ energy policy must include all 50 states, especially Alaska. Right now, however, we are being shut out by this administration, with good ideas and great opportunities for needed production rejected out of hand. Congress specifically reserved the 1002 Area for further study and production — but today, we can’t even survey the resources located there. Litigation is warranted.”
The coastal plain is also called the 1002 area, after a section in ANILCA.
Cindy Shogan, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, had this to say:
“Enough is enough! The state of Alaska and Gov. Parnell continue to pursue the same dead-end, roundly rejected drilling proposal in the sensitive Arctic Refuge over and over again. The latest chapter: Gov. Parnell has brought a wasteful suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service despite the fact his quest for seismic oil testing in the Arctic Refuge is prohibited without an act of Congress.”
Shogan added that the Obama administration “has been clear — oil development in the Arctic Refuge is ‘off the table.’ It is time for the state of Alaska to take no for an answer and move on.”
Parnell, in a press release announcing the lawsuit, said: “It is both disappointing and disturbing that the Obama administration, which claims that it is pursuing an ‘all of the above’ energy policy, is afraid to let the people of the United States learn more about ANWR’s oil and gas resources. The modern technology that we are seeking to use is responsibly utilized all across the North Slope with extremely limited environmental impact, and would dramatically improve our understanding of ANWR’s resources. The state has filed this lawsuit to ensure all Americans have an opportunity to learn about the vast resource base Americans own in the 1002 Area of Alaska.”
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