In rejecting the latest appeal, the Superior Court relied on House Bill 86, passed by the Legislature last May and signed into law by the governor in June, the department said. HB 86 gave direct legislative authorization to oil and gas projects in the Cook Inlet basin that already have their state environmental permits.
“HB 86 was a fair and reasoned step to avoid endless litigation over projects that have already passed a thorough environmental review,” Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes said in a statement. “I am gratified that the court agreed with the governor and the Legislature, and opened the way for environmentally responsible development of our rich petroleum resources.”
The Department of Law said the Superior Court also upheld a second provision of HB 86 which narrows the range of parties allowed to appeal coastal zone approvals issued by the Department of Natural Resources. That provision, the department said, “will prevent Cook Inlet Keeper from pursuing future appeals like the one that delayed the Redoubt Shoals project.” HB 86 provided that unless a claim is based on the United States Constitution or the Alaska Constitution, consistency determinations can only be appealed by “the applicant or an affected coastal resource district.”
The department said that Cook Inlet Keeper’s suggestions that HB 86 violated provisions of the Alaska Constitution failed to persuade the judge, who noted that the state has an important interest in “promoting oil and gas development with minimal delay and expense to the public.”
The Department of Law said litigation over the Redoubt Shoals development has been active since the late 1990s and said the Superior Court’s decision declines to hear Cook Inlet Keeper’s second appeal of decisions to grant the project its environmental permits.