LAWSUIT AIMS TO BLOCK DRILLING IN ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGEBy MARY KAUFFMAN
August 26, 2020
The lawsuit, filed August 24, 2020, by the National Audubon Society, Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Friends of the Earth, represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice and NRDC, is one of several legal actions launched in response to the oil and gas drilling plan. The Gwich’in Steering Committee, a voice for indigenous traditional hunting communities, also filed suit to challenge the oil and gas development plan. Gwich’in people revere the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain as a sacred place because it serves as calving grounds for the Porcupine Caribou Herd, animals that are essential for food and cultural tradition in Gwich’in villages.
The environmental groups say the Trump administration’s plan to sacrifice this cherished place for oil and gas development comes at a time of rising concerns about the climate crisis, and as energy markets contend with an oil glut due to a global pandemic. The administration selected an alternative that maximizes the area to be handed over to the fossil fuel industry. Its flawed analysis ignores the irreversible harm oil and gas development will bring to one of the world’s most significant wildlife habitats, dealing a blow to species such as polar bears, caribou, and millions of migratory birds. The final Environmental Impact Statement even acknowledged that some bird species may go extinct. Those filing the lawsuit say the Bureau of Land Management also downplayed how development would damage the tundra and permafrost that support the Arctic ecosystem and the consequences on the people who recreate, hunt, and otherwise use the Arctic Refuge. And although temperatures are rising in the Arctic at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, federal approval for oil and gas drilling also under-reported leasing’s climate change implications. The lawsuit calls for the court to block the leasing program because its approval ignored federal law, violating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act, the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The program maximizes oil development at the expense of all other protected values in the Refuge, and ignores important requirements designed to avoid such damage. However, the leasing program is required by law in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-97), which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017. The decision determines where and under what terms and conditions leasing will occur in the 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain within the 19.3 million-acre ANWR. “Congress directed us to hold lease sales in the ANWR Coastal Plain, and we have taken a significant step in meeting our obligations by determining where and under what conditions the oil and gas development program will occur,” said Secretary Bernhardt on August 17th when he signed the Record of Decision on August 17, 2020. “Our program meets the legal mandate that Coastal Plain leaseholders get the necessary rights-of-way, easements and land areas for production and support facilities they need to find and develop these important Arctic oil and gas resources.” The energy potential of the ANWR Coastal Plain was finally unlocked after 30 years of gridlock when President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, finally settling the question of whether the leasing, exploration and development of oil and gas will occur on about 8 percent of the refuge that lies with an oil and gas province of national significance. The legislation was unique because it didn’t just allow for an oil and gas development program, it requires one that delivers energy to the nation and revenue to the treasury. The Act changes the purposes of ANWR management to include oil and gas development in a small but potentially energy rich area along the Arctic coast, directing the Secretary of the Interior to carry out an aggressive, competitive energy development program that could keep oil flowing in the nation’s energy artery, the 800 mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline, decades from now. “[The] announcement marks a milestone in Alaska’s forty-year journey to responsibly develop our State and our Nation's new energy frontier - the 1002 Area. The Record of Decision is a definitive step in the right direction to developing this area's energy potential - between 4.3 and 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil reserves,” said Alaska Governor Michael J. Dunleavy. Dunleavy said, “In 2017, the U.S. Congress, under the leadership of Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and Congressman Young, authorized the leasing of lands in the 1002 Area, recognizing the critical role that Alaska plays in our Nation's energy independence. I would like to thank Secretary Bernhardt and the U.S. Department of the Interior for their hard work and fulfilling their commitment to work with and consult with Alaskans on this important development. Alaska plays a critical role in our Nation's energy security. The vision of Secretary Bernhardt and President Donald J. Trump will lead to the responsible development of Alaska's abundant resources, create new jobs, support economic growth and prosperity, and most importantly, retain well into the future Alaska’s critical role in our Nation's energy policy.” “This is a capstone moment in our decades-long push to allow for the responsible development of a small part of Alaska’s 1002 Area. I appreciate the significant work of Secretary Bernhardt and his team to get us to this point. I’m confident the ROD has been developed carefully and comprehensively and look forward to the lease sales mandated by law,” said U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). “New opportunity in the 1002 Area is needed both now, as Alaskans navigate incredibly challenging times, and well into the future as we seek a lasting economic foundation for our state. Through this program, we will build on our already-strong record of an increasingly minimal footprint for responsible resource development.” “We've made historic progress this past month for Alaskan jobs and our economy,” said U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK). “First, we had a record of decision for the Ambler Road project, then a final Environmental Impact Statement for the Willow project in the NPR-A, and now the record of decision for the responsible development of ANWR. This is what happens when the executive branch and Congress work together to create opportunities for Alaskans, not shut us down." Sullivan said on the announcement, "I thank all Alaskans who have worked for more than 40 years for responsible resource development in the 1002 area of ANWR. I particularly applaud the tireless advocacy of the many Alaska Natives—who call the area home—and who know firsthand how responsible oil production can provide enormous economic and social benefits while having minimal impact on the environment. Finally, I appreciate all of the hard work and diligence of Secretary Bernhardt and the Department of the Interior to produce this record of decision—bringing us that much closer to unleashing America’s energy potential, filling up the Trans Alaska Pipeline, boosting our economy, and providing good jobs for Alaskans, all while protecting the Coastal Plain’s ecosystem.” “[This] is a great day, not only for the State of Alaska, but also for American energy independence. I have long fought to realize the original promise of ANILCA, which designated the 1002 Area of ANWR's Coastal Plain for responsible oil exploration. In Alaska, we have proven that protecting the environment, honoring our history, and developing our natural resources can go hand-in-hand. The ROD released today is a crucial milestone in our efforts to make the 1002 Area's vast oil reserves available for development. Thousands of Alaskans are employed in our oil industry, and their livelihoods depend on the good-paying jobs created by our state's reserves. Today, we are one step closer to securing a bright future for these Alaskans and their families. I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Bernhardt, and the countless others at the Department of the Interior for the important work they have done. As we approach the day where the first drilling rigs arrive and crude starts flowing, I will continue working with great excitement to ensure that Alaska is front and center as we blaze the trail toward American energy dominance,” said Congressman Don Young (R-AK). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to conduct at least two area-wide leasing sales, not less than 400,000 acres each, within the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Program area of ANWR. The lease sales must be held within seven years with the first lease sale taking place before December 22, 2021 and the second lease sale before December 22, 2024. The Act also requires the Secretary of the Interior to grant rights-of-way and easements necessary for successful development of the oil and gas resources and authorize up to 2,000 surface acres, or .01 percent of ANWR’s 19.3 million acres, to be covered by production and support facilities. August 17th’s decision makes the approximately 1,563,500 acres, or the entire Coastal Plain program area, available for oil and gas leasing, and consequently for potential future exploration, development and transportation. While providing these opportunities, the program adopted in the Record of Decision also provides protections for surface resources and other uses, including subsistence use, through a comprehensive package of lease stipulations and required operating procedures that will apply to future oil and gas activities. Congress opened 8 percent of ANWR for oil and gas development, leaving 92 percent of the 19.3-million-acre refuge off-limits to energy development by law, including 8 million acres in the Mollie Beattie Wilderness included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Including oil and gas development on the Coastal Plain as a purpose of the refuge, Congress struck a balance between access to national important energy resources and the permanent preservation of vast areas of wilderness. Under the approved plan, a majority of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program area will be subject to no surface occupancy restrictions (359,400 acres) and operational timing limitations (585,400 acres) to protect habitat and wildlife. All permitted activities will incorporate required operating procedures and stipulated restrictions based on the best science and technology to ensure that energy development does not come at the expense of the environment. The Bureau of Land Management received almost two million public comments, each of which were considered in developing an environmentally responsible plan for Congress’s oil and gas program. More than 70 specialists contributed their expertise to the analysis, working more than 30,000 hours to ensure the plan was thorough and robust. “SILA demands BLM stop all processes of oil and gas extraction projects until justice and true public engagement are possible," Siqiñiq Maupin, co-founder of SILA stated. “The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Western Arctic are lands that sustain our spirits, wellbeing, and traditions, since time immemorial. These lands are under attack while our communities are being left behind. Both Gwich’in and Iñupiat need caribou to sustain our ways of life and have been divided by oil and gas for far too long. We must stand in solidarity to protect our sacred ways of life and use our voices together.” “This is an ongoing attack upon Gwich’in and Inupiat communities of northern Alaska and their traditional lifeways. It is nothing more than yet another example of the Trump administration kowtowing to the interests of the oil and gas industry. We are prepared to take whatever action is needed to support the frontline villages and communities in their fight to protect the sacred,” Dallas Goldtooth stated as the Keep it in the Ground Campaigner with Indigenous Environmental Network."[The] record of decision approving oil and gas leasing on the Arctic Refuge, shows the Trump Administration's complete disregard or concern for the millennia strong Gwich'in way of life that depends on the health of the Refuge's coastal plain where oil development is proposed," stated Jody Potts, Regional Director at Native Movement. The adverse impacts of oil development in this sacred and very critical caribou calving grounds will be heavily felt by Gwich'in villages and families food security, culture, spirituality and ways of life. The Gwich'in people will not compromise and we will defend our way of life for future generations until this sacred land is protected." CO-PLAINTIFFS AND ATTORNEYS ENGAGED IN THIS LAWSUIT ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS: “Birds can’t vote and they can’t file a lawsuit — but we can. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment to defend the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and protect America’s bird nursery from drilling,” said David Yarnold (@david_yarnold), president and CEO of the National Audubon Society. “On the darkest days I like to think about the perseverance of the Tundra Swan that travel in family groups from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over three thousand miles to spend their winter with us on the Potomac and the Chesapeake. They never give up and neither do we — if we don’t look out for them and the 200 other bird species that depend on the Refuge — who will?” “Developing Alaska’s last wild places would be a death sentence for polar bears and other threatened Arctic species. The oil industry just doesn’t belong in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s obscene that the Trump administration and its industrial allies targeted this special place, and we need the courts to stop them. Preventing climate chaos requires protecting our final frontiers.” “There’s no good time to open up America’s largest wildlife refuge to drilling, but it’s absolutely bonkers to endanger this beautiful place during a worldwide oil glut,” said Monsell.. “An oil spill in this special sanctuary could devastate polar bears and caribou and cause irreparable harm to a pristine Arctic ecosystem. We’ve reached a dangerous new low in the Trump administration’s obsession with expanding the extraction of dirty fossil fuels.” “Trump and his grifter administration are determined to hand our most precious wild spaces over to corporate polluters,” said Marcie Keever, legal director for Friends of the Earth. “Opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to destructive drilling, mining and extraction will irreversibly harm the land and surrounding communities and exacerbate the climate crisis. The Trump Administration is opening the doors of this cherished place to the oil and gas industry, and we need the courts to intervene. Protecting our climate means we must keep fossil fuels in the ground.” “This plan to expose the Arctic Refuge to the hazard and harm of drilling violates so many laws, it’s hard to even list them all,” said Garett Rose, attorney for the Alaska project at NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council). “Here’s the administration, ready to violate an area sacred to the Gwich’in and other Indigenous people. It’s coming for baby polar bears! It’s coming for porcupine caribou, peregrine falcons, and will run roughshod over sensitive tundra, wetlands and foothills. We are simply not going to let polluters win this fight.” “Earthjustice has been defending the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from fossil fuel development since the 1980s. Today we’re taking action to stop an administration that’s run roughshod over laws designed to protect this irreplaceable landscape,” said Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe. “The Trump administration’s aggressive oil-drilling scheme ignores the science of climate change. It violates the rights of Indigenous people who hold the Refuge to be sacred, robs the millions of Americans of who cherish the unspoiled beauty of this public-lands treasure, and threatens to harm iconic wildlife like endangered polar bears whose habitat is dwindling due to vanishing sea ice. Not only is the plan to ruin this place for the profit of a dead-end industry completely heartless and short-sighted, it is also unlawful — and our court battle to defend the Refuge begins today.”
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