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Biden admin freezes ANWR 1002 leases
North Slope Natives, Alaska governor, Congressional delegation say action illegal; initial BLM environmental review comprehensive Kay Cashman Petroleum News
The Biden administration suspended oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on June 1, saying it will review the Trump-approved program and subject it to a stringent environmental review.
The reaction from the Native people of the area was immediate, with Arctic Alaska residents contending the Trump-approved program was not rushed and supporting the Record of Decision for the ANWR 1002 Area where the nine leases are located.
The leases were issued on Jan. 20 by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which is part of the Interior Department.
Voice of the Arctic Inupiat released a statement June 1 saying its members were disappointed in Interior’s announcement.
“Our members are looking forward to meeting with the Interior Department to learn exactly what ‘deficiencies’ Secretary Haaland is referencing within the Environmental Impact Statement that prompted this order. We also would like to know how the Record of Decision diverges from the intent of Section 20001, PL 115-97,” said VOICE President John Hopson Jr. “As an organization whose members actively participate in NEPA on a routine basis, we felt the process was as robust and comprehensive as any our members have been involved in.” (NEPA stands for the National Environmental Policy Act.)
BLM consulted with tribal and ANCSA entities and “applied appropriate mitigations as a result of that consultation,” Hopson said (ANCSA is the abbreviation of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act).
VOICE is a nonprofit organization established to provide direct input from the people of the North Slope in matters of Arctic policy. Its membership includes 24 entities from across the Slope including tribal councils, municipal governments, Alaska Native regional corporations, Alaska village corporations, educational institutions and other area entities.
The Arctic Slope Regional Corp., which is owned by and represents the business interests of the Arctic Slope Iñupiat, issued its own statement following Interior’s June 1 decision to freeze oil leases in the ANWR 1002 Area.
“Today’s announcement is disappointing as it seemingly ignores the local Iñupiat voices of the North Slope of Alaska, and it fails to consider the beneficial impacts this exploration will provide to our communities. Our shareholders and the approximately 9,500 residents of the North Slope directly benefit, given such exploration brings important job opportunities and economic infrastructure support to our remote region,” the Native regional corporation said.
The Biden administration’s decision to stall progress on the nine leased tracts in the 1002 Area “not only reneges on promises made to producers that took part in January’s oil lease sale but also does not take into account the benefits to our region. We are disheartened by this decision, as opening the 1002 Area to oil and gas development is a valuable way to bring jobs and opportunity - like health clinics, support for our schools and other benefits - to our communities,” ASRC said.
ASRC owns title to 92,000 acres of subsurface rights within the 1002 Area, with Kaktovik Iñupiat Corp. owning title to the surface rights. KIC has also recently issued a strong statement favoring 1002 Area exploration and development.
Wilderness group: a good start The Alaska Wilderness League, one of several environmental organizations that sued the Trump administration in August over the finalizing of the ANWR 1002 Area leasing program, was the first to release a statement - hours before the Biden administration made its announcement.
The League’s acting executive director, Kristen Miller, said, “We strongly support the Biden administration’s commitment to preserving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last great expanses of untouched wilderness areas in America.”
The leasing program and resulting lease sale, she said, “were the result of a substantial flawed and legally deficient process that must be reversed.”
Suspending the leases is “a step in the right direction,” Miller said, noting the Canadian Gwich’in people, who have established an office in Fairbanks, Alaska, consider the 1002 Area “sacred.” They were “ignored by the Trump administration,” she said.
“There is still more to be done. … Now we look to the administration and Congress to prioritize legislatively repealing the oil leasing mandate and restore protections to the Arctic Refuge coastal plain,” Miller said.
Governor rebukes Biden Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and the state’s Washington, D.C., delegation, all Republicans, criticized Interior for announcing it will suspend all oil and gas leases for portions of the non-wilderness 1002 Area, pending the outcome of another environmental review.
“ANWR spans 19.3 million acres, an area of land roughly equal in size to South Carolina, in northeast Alaska. In 1980, Congress (and President Jimmy Carter) designated more than eight million acres within ANWR as federal wilderness as part of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). That same legislation set aside the 1.57 million-acre coastal plain for petroleum exploration and potential future development, which is supported by a majority of Alaskans,” their June 1 release said.
“The Biden administration’s suspension of leases … is contrary to federal law. … Neither the President nor the Secretary are given the discretion to decide otherwise. Our leases for oil and gas are valid and cannot be taken away by the federal government,” said Dunleavy.
“The Biden administration’s actions are not unexpected but are outrageous nonetheless,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
“DOI’s announcement suspending leases … goes against the law, facts, the science, and the will of the Native communities on the North Slope. It is nothing more than a naked political move by the Biden administration to pay off its extreme environmental allies,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan.
“I am extremely dismayed by the Administration’s decision to freeze oil leases in ANWR,” said Rep. Don Young. “Make no mistake; this suspension is a grave one, not only for those employed by Alaska’s energy industry but also for the Alaska Native community of Kaktovik. Despite being the primary stakeholders involving policy affecting their land, the pro-development voices of the Kaktovik Iñupiat continue to be ignored by those who believe they know better than the people who actually live in ANWR.”
AIDEA protests The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority also criticized the Biden administration’s actions.
AIDEA received seven of the nine leases that BLM issued. (The other two leases went to Knik Arm Services and 88 Energy’s Alaska operating subsidiary Regenerate Energy.)
“For decades, Alaska has proven that energy development and environmental conservation can proactively co-exist,” said AIDEA’s executive director, Alan Weitzner. “The Department of Interior has yet to provide AIDEA with documentation of any deficiencies that would warrant a suspension of leases. We’re extremely disappointed in the Biden administration’s effort to prevent Alaska from lawfully and responsibly developing its natural resources as agreed and provided for under ANILCA.”
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