Latest news with #Alaska-specific
San Francisco Chronicle
13-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
US appeals court refuses to vacate Biden approval of Alaska's Willow oil project
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Friday refused to vacate the approval of the massive Willow oil project on Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope though it found flaws in how the approval was reached. The decision from a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes in a long-running dispute over the project, most recently greenlit in March 2023 by then-President Joe Biden's administration and under development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska by ConocoPhillips Alaska. The court's majority opinion found what it called a procedural error — but not a serious or substantive one — by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of the analysis in approving Willow. The court sent the matter back to the agency for additional work. The majority determined that vacating the project's approval would be unwarranted and its consequences severe, though Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez dissented on that point. A prior version of the project approved late in President Donald Trump's first term was overturned in 2021, leading to the environmental review process completed under Biden that drew the latest legal challenges from environmentalists and a grassroots Iñupiat group. Alaska's Republican governor and its congressional delegation and state Legislature have backed Willow. The project also has broad support among Alaska Native leaders on the North Slope and groups with ties to the region who see Willow as economically vital for their communities. But critics cast the project as being at odds with Biden's pledges to combat climate change and raised concerns that it would drive further industrialization in the region. Trump expressed support for additional drilling in the reserve as part of a broader, Alaska-specific executive order he signed upon his return to office aimed at boosting oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in the state. During the cold-weather seasons, ConocoPhillips Alaska has worked to build infrastructure such as new gravel roads, bridges and pipelines at the project site, and it has laid out a timeline for producing first oil in 2029. In a statement Friday, the company said it welcomed the ruling and looked forward to 'continuing the responsible development of Willow.' J. Elizabeth Peace, a spokesperson with the U.S. Department of the Interior, said the agency doesn't comment on litigation. The Bureau of Land Management falls under Interior. The appeals panel ruling comes more than a year after it heard arguments in the case. Environmental groups and the grassroots Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic had appealed a lower-court ruling that upheld Willow's approval. Attorneys representing the groups on Friday were evaluating next steps. Arguments before the appeals court panel focused largely on claims the land management agency did not consider a 'reasonable' range of alternatives in its environmental review, as well as the groups' contention the agency had limited its consideration of alternatives to those that allowed for full-field development of the project. Attorneys for ConocoPhillips Alaska argued the leases in the company's Bear Tooth Unit in the northeast part of the petroleum reserve are in areas open to leasing and surface development — and that the agency committed the unit to development in issuing leases there over a number of years. Willow is in the unit. Friday's ruling said the agency during the environmental review process took a stance that it needed to screen out alternatives that stranded an economically viable quantity of oil but then never explained whether the pared-back plan it ultimately approved satisfied the full-field development standard. The agency 'framed its environmental review based on the full field development standard and had a rational explanation for doing so,' the ruling states. 'But that does not permit BLM to potentially deviate from the standard without explanation.' ConocoPhillips Alaska had proposed five drilling sites for Willow but the Bureau of Land Management approved three, which it said would include up to 199 total wells. Erik Grafe, an attorney with Earthjustice who represented some of the groups that challenged Willow, saw the ruling as a partial victory. 'They found a fundamental flaw that led them to conclude that the BLM acted arbitrarily in approving the Willow project and have sent that back to the agency to reconsider in a non-arbitrary way and make a new decision,' he said.
CBC
26-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Biden administration lacked authority to cancel oil and gas leases in Alaska refuge, judge rules
A federal judge in Alaska on Tuesday ruled the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said terms of a 2017 tax law that set the stage for the first-ever lease sale in the refuge's coastal plain in early 2021 suggested that leases could only be cancelled by a court order. She sent the matter back to the Department of Interior for further action. President Donald Trump upon his return to office in January signed an Alaska-specific executive order that among other things had sought to rescind the lease cancellation. The tax law called for two lease sale offerings by late 2024 in the refuge's coastal plain, a roughly six-million-hectare swath of the vast refuge that borders the Beaufort Sea and is home to such wildlife as polar bears, caribou and birds. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state corporation, was the major bidder in the first sale, which was held in the waning days of the first Trump administration. Small companies won two other leases but gave them up. Gleason in 2021 had rejected calls by drilling opponents to halt that first lease sale until underlying lawsuits were resolved. The second sale, held shortly before Biden left office, drew no bids. It was criticized by Alaska political leaders as too restrictive to attract interest, but environmental groups pointed to a lack of interest from oil companies as a reason to put the long-running debate over whether to allow drilling to rest. Tuesday's decision, in a case brought by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority against the Interior Department and federal officials, is the latest twist in the decades-long fight. Gwich'in leaders have opposed drilling on the coastal plain, which they consider sacred, citing its importance to caribou they rely upon. Leaders of the Inupiaq community of Kaktovik, which is within the refuge, have expressed support for drilling, as have Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state's congressional delegation. Dunleavy in a statement lauded the decision: "Now the leasing program can move forward and could result in more safe, secure energy production right here in Alaska." Gwich'in leaders and environmental groups vowed to keep fighting. "While we are deeply disappointed by today's ruling, we want to be clear that this decision does not diminish our determination to protect these sacred lands," Raeann Garnett, First Chief of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, said in a statement.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel oil and gas leases in Alaska refuge, judge rules
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska on Tuesday ruled the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said terms of a 2017 tax law that set the stage for the first-ever lease sale in the refuge's coastal plain in early 2021 suggested that leases could only be canceled by a court order. She sent the matter back to the Department of Interior for further action. President Donald Trump upon his return to office in January signed an Alaska-specific executive order that among other things had sought to rescind the lease cancelation. The tax law called for two lease sale offerings by late 2024 in the refuge's coastal plain, a roughly 1.5 million acre (more than 6 million hectare) swath of the vast refuge that borders the Beaufort Sea and is home to such wildlife as polar bears, caribou and birds. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state corporation, was the major bidder in the first sale, which was held in the waning days of the first Trump administration. Small companies won two other leases but gave them up. Gleason in 2021 had rejected calls by drilling opponents to halt that first lease sale until underlying lawsuits were resolved. The second sale, held shortly before Biden left office, drew no bids. It was criticized by Alaska political leaders as too restrictive to attract interest, but environmental groups pointed to a lack of interest from oil companies as a reason to put the long-running debate over whether to allow drilling to rest. Tuesday's decision, in a case brought by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority against the Interior Department and federal officials, is the latest twist in the decades-long fight. Gwich'in leaders have opposed drilling on the coastal plain, which they consider sacred, citing its importance to caribou they rely upon. Leaders of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik, which is within the refuge, have expressed support for drilling, as have Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state's congressional delegation. Dunleavy in a statement lauded the decision: "Now the leasing program can move forward and could result in more safe, secure energy production right here in Alaska.' Gwich'in leaders and environmental groups vowed to keep fighting. "While we are deeply disappointed by today's ruling, we want to be clear that this decision does not diminish our determination to protect these sacred lands,' Raeann Garnett, First Chief of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, said in a statement.
The Independent
26-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel oil and gas leases in Alaska refuge, judge rules
A federal judge in Alaska on Tuesday ruled the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said terms of a 2017 tax law that set the stage for the first-ever lease sale in the refuge's coastal plain in early 2021 suggested that leases could only be canceled by a court order. She sent the matter back to the Department of Interior for further action. President Donald Trump upon his return to office in January signed an Alaska-specific executive order that among other things had sought to rescind the lease cancelation. The tax law called for two lease sale offerings by late 2024 in the refuge's coastal plain, a roughly 1.5 million acre (more than 6 million hectare) swath of the vast refuge that borders the Beaufort Sea and is home to such wildlife as polar bears, caribou and birds. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state corporation, was the major bidder in the first sale, which was held in the waning days of the first Trump administration. Small companies won two other leases but gave them up. Gleason in 2021 had rejected calls by drilling opponents to halt that first lease sale until underlying lawsuits were resolved. The second sale, held shortly before Biden left office, drew no bids. It was criticized by Alaska political leaders as too restrictive to attract interest, but environmental groups pointed to a lack of interest from oil companies as a reason to put the long-running debate over whether to allow drilling to rest. Tuesday's decision, in a case brought by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority against the Interior Department and federal officials, is the latest twist in the decades-long fight. Gwich'in leaders have opposed drilling on the coastal plain, which they consider sacred, citing its importance to caribou they rely upon. Leaders of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik, which is within the refuge, have expressed support for drilling, as have Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state's congressional delegation. Dunleavy in a statement lauded the decision: "Now the leasing program can move forward and could result in more safe, secure energy production right here in Alaska.' Gwich'in leaders and environmental groups vowed to keep fighting. "While we are deeply disappointed by today's ruling, we want to be clear that this decision does not diminish our determination to protect these sacred lands,' Raeann Garnett, First Chief of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, said in a statement.
Associated Press
26-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel oil and gas leases in Alaska refuge, judge rules
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska on Tuesday ruled the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said terms of a 2017 tax law that set the stage for the first-ever lease sale in the refuge's coastal plain in early 2021 suggested that leases could only be canceled by a court order. She sent the matter back to the Department of Interior for further action. President Donald Trump upon his return to office in January signed an Alaska-specific executive order that among other things had sought to rescind the lease cancelation. The tax law called for two lease sale offerings by late 2024 in the refuge's coastal plain, a roughly 1.5 million acre (more than 6 million hectare) swath of the vast refuge that borders the Beaufort Sea and is home to such wildlife as polar bears, caribou and birds. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state corporation, was the major bidder in the first sale, which was held in the waning days of the first Trump administration. Small companies won two other leases but gave them up. The second sale, held shortly before Biden left office, drew no bids. It was criticized by Alaska political leaders as too restrictive to attract interest, but environmental groups pointed to a lack of interest from oil companies as a reason to put the long-running debate over whether to allow drilling to rest. Tuesday's decision, in a case brought by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority against the Interior Department and federal officials, is the latest twist in the decades-long fight. Gwich'in leaders have opposed drilling on the coastal plain, which they consider sacred, citing its importance to caribou they rely upon. Leaders of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik, which is within the refuge, have expressed support for drilling, as have Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state's congressional delegation. Dunleavy in a statement lauded the decision: 'Now the leasing program can move forward and could result in more safe, secure energy production right here in Alaska.' Gwich'in leaders and environmental groups vowed to keep fighting. 'While we are deeply disappointed by today's ruling, we want to be clear that this decision does not diminish our determination to protect these sacred lands,' Raeann Garnett, First Chief of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, said in a statement.
