"Plan clears the way for an oil and gas lease auction on the refuge’s 1.6 million-acre coastal plain by December 2021"
"The Trump administration finalized plans Monday to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, a move that will auction off oil and gas rights in the heart of one of the nation’s most iconic wild places. Achieving a goal Republicans have sought for 40 years, it marks a capstone for an administration that has ignored calls to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the face of climate change.
The move will allow leasing on the 1.6 million-acre coastal plain, the center of a nearly pristine wilderness home to migrating caribou and waterfowl as well as polar bears and foxes that live there year-round. It marks a major step toward reviving fossil fuel development in an area that has been untouched for three decades.
In a statement, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said that his department was following through on the 2017 budget bill that instructed the federal government to conduct oil and gas leasing on the refuge."
Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post August 17, 2020.
SEE ALSO:
"Trump Administration Finalizes Plan to Open Arctic Refuge to Drilling" (New York Times)
"Trump Administration Announces Plans To Drill in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" (CNN)
"Trump Admin Greenlights Drilling In Alaska's Arctic Refuge" (E&E News)
"Trump Plans Arctic Drilling Rights Sale in Likely 2020 Clash" (Bloomberg Environment)
"Trump Administration Moves Closer To Allowing Oil Drilling In Arctic Refuge" (NPR)
"US Approves Oil, Gas Leasing Plan For Alaska Wildlife Refuge" (AP)
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