The state requests that the district court overturn acreage limitations.
Alaskan Attorney General Treg Taylor filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior (DOI) requesting that the district court overturn the department’s decision to limit oil and gas leases in the arctic to the smallest legal acreage of 400,000 acres.
“Congress did not authorize a new direction for ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). President Biden’s Administration ignored the law and took this unlawful detour without even presenting their final decision to the public for comment,” AG Taylor stated. He added that the surface use, construction, and occupancy restrictions prevent oil and gas development, making it “impossible or impractical to develop,” which deprives the state of revenue.
The lawsuit was filed shortly before the Interior Department announced that it had received no bids on its arctic leases before its deadline and that other leases for the area, which were mandated by a 2017 law passed under President Trump’s administration, had only yielded $14 million in bids when Congress had expected $2 billion.
During President Trump’s first administration, nine sales were approved in the Alaskan Coastal Plain. Two were eventually canceled by the bidders, while the remaining seven were suspended by President Biden’s administration.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Interior Department officials as they maintain restrictions that limit the arctic oil and gas leasing area.
- For Alaskan officials as they advocate for expanded oil and gas leasing for their state’s economy.
- For discernment for President Trump and incoming administration officials as they assess drilling potential in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain.
Sources: The Hill, NY Times, Washington Examiner
