The U.S. Department of the Interior announced a new rule Friday limiting future oil and gas activities in the 23 million-acre Alaska National Petroleum Reserve. The rule modifies existing federal regulations that the Bureau of Land Management uses to protect the preserve from environmental damage and gives the bureau more power to reduce oil and gas development.
The bureau will not grant any new oil and gas leases on 10.6 million acres of reserves. For existing leases on 13.6 million acres, the bureau will more critically evaluate new oil and gas projects before approving them. For example, the agency will delay or deny new projects if necessary to avoid “significant adverse effects” on the preserve’s environment.
Public commenters on the proposed rule, of which there were many, asked the agency to exempt existing leases from the changes. But he responded like this:
[W]Although the terms of an existing lease and an approved project or development permit are not affected by the rule, a valid lease does not give the lease holder the absolute right to drill wherever they wish… nor does it give the lease holder the right to produce everything economically. oil and gas recoverable from the lease. Future development of an existing lease is, by its terms, subject to additional terms and conditions.
US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland commented: “[T]These decisions will help biological, cultural, historical and livelihood resources, safeguarding the way of life of the indigenous peoples who have called this special place home since time immemorial. Environmental groups also welcomed the rule. Jeremy Lieb of Earthjustice “claps[s] this movement and this call[s] for even bolder action to keep the fossil fuel industry out of the Arctic, for the sake of the climate and future generations.
But this rule has also attracted strong criticism. U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) noted that the United States will become more dependent on foreign sources of oil and gas, such as Iran, China and Russia. U.S. Rep. Sattler Peltola (D-AK) also opposed banning new leases on the 10.6 million acres. She says:
Fence [that area] This is a huge step backwards for Alaska, which fails to balance the need for oil and natural gas with legitimate environmental concerns, and which sends the voices of many Alaska Natives rolling in the decision-making process… Alaska has a wealth of natural resources. that can be responsibly developed to help spur domestic manufacturing and innovation – ultimately, it should be up to Alaskans to decide what they want to develop in their regions.
The new rule moves in the opposite direction from developments last year, when U.S. President Joe Biden approved an $8 billion oil development. The move drew criticism from environmental groups.