Trump administration authorises plan to drill in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
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Washington — The Trump administration on Monday authorised a sweeping plan to sell drilling rights and spur oil development in Alaska’s rugged Arctic refuge, setting up a possible auction by the end of 2020 and a political clash if the president loses the November election.
The interior department’s decision approves oil leasing across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s entire 632,726ha coastal plain — that is home to polar bears and caribou. Though Congress earmarked the area for possible energy development in 1980, it has remained off limits to oil drilling for decades.
“The establishment of this programme is a major milestone,” interior secretary David Bernhardt said in an interview. “It’s not the end of the leasing process, but it is a very, very significant milestone.”
The decision sets the stage for the federal government to auction Arctic drilling rights in the final quarter of 2020 — and a potential confrontation in 2021 if President Donald Trump does not win re-election. Democratic nominee Joe Biden said he is “totally opposed” to drilling in the Arctic refuge, having called the idea a “big disaster” in a February town hall meeting.
Trump did not commit to a sale during a Monday interview on Fox News. “We are looking at it,” he said, before adding, “we did do ANWR.”
Congress mandated an Arctic oil and gas programme three years ago, with a law requiring the department to sell drilling rights and facilitate development in the coastal plain. Under the 2017 Republican tax law, the interior department must hold at least one auction of coastal plain oil leases before December 22 2021 and another by December 22 2024. Congress also required the department to issue rights-of-way and easements necessary to support oil exploration and production.
The record of decision signed on Monday is anchored by those congressional mandates, which Bernhardt said provide “far greater assurances to potential leaseholders” that they will have the ability to access, explore and develop operations.
The approach is meant to help buttress Trump’s Arctic oil plans that environmentalists have vowed to challenge in court, while making it harder for a future administration to reverse course.
“Congress has mandated these lease sales ... they have to go forward in some regard,” Bernhardt said in a call with reporters on Monday. “They can’t simply unduly delay.”
Environmentalists argue Arctic oil development imperils one of the world’s last truly wild places — a ...
The interior department’s decision approves oil leasing across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s entire 632,726ha coastal plain — that is home to polar bears and caribou. Though Congress earmarked the area for possible energy development in 1980, it has remained off limits to oil drilling for decades.
“The establishment of this programme is a major milestone,” interior secretary David Bernhardt said in an interview. “It’s not the end of the leasing process, but it is a very, very significant milestone.”
The decision sets the stage for the federal government to auction Arctic drilling rights in the final quarter of 2020 — and a potential confrontation in 2021 if President Donald Trump does not win re-election. Democratic nominee Joe Biden said he is “totally opposed” to drilling in the Arctic refuge, having called the idea a “big disaster” in a February town hall meeting.
Trump did not commit to a sale during a Monday interview on Fox News. “We are looking at it,” he said, before adding, “we did do ANWR.”
Congress mandated an Arctic oil and gas programme three years ago, with a law requiring the department to sell drilling rights and facilitate development in the coastal plain. Under the 2017 Republican tax law, the interior department must hold at least one auction of coastal plain oil leases before December 22 2021 and another by December 22 2024. Congress also required the department to issue rights-of-way and easements necessary to support oil exploration and production.
The record of decision signed on Monday is anchored by those congressional mandates, which Bernhardt said provide “far greater assurances to potential leaseholders” that they will have the ability to access, explore and develop operations.
The approach is meant to help buttress Trump’s Arctic oil plans that environmentalists have vowed to challenge in court, while making it harder for a future administration to reverse course.
“Congress has mandated these lease sales ... they have to go forward in some regard,” Bernhardt said in a call with reporters on Monday. “They can’t simply unduly delay.”
Environmentalists argue Arctic oil development imperils one of the world’s last truly wild places — a ...
