Interior secretary says the lease sale was “seriously flawed.”
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the administration is canceling oil and gas leases in Alaska and proposing additional protection for the region. The lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were found to be “seriously flawed and based on a number of fundamental legal deficiencies,” the secretary said.
Secretary Haaland stated, “No one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on Earth. Climate change is the crisis of our lifetime and we cannot ignore the disproportionate impacts being felt in the Arctic.”
The secretary also announced proposed regulations for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which would add 1.3 million acres to the protected “special areas.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Haaland to be prudent in her assessments of the regulations for oil and gas leases.
- For Interior Department officials as they determine how to care for national lands and wildlife.
- For discernment for the president and his Cabinet members as they address climate issues.
Sources: Roll Call, Politico
