On Tuesday, an Alaska federal judge determined that the nine oil and gas leases granted to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by the Biden administration were invalid.
According to U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason, a court order is required to terminate a lease, as stated in a 2017 tax bill that authorized the first-ever sale of leases in the coastal plain of the refuge in early 2021. To have this resolved, she referred it back to the Interior Department.
Upon assuming office in January, President Trump signed an executive order pertaining specifically to Alaska, which aimed to overturn the cancellation of the lease, among other things.
The coastal plain of the refuge, which is home to polar bears, caribou, and birds, is to be divided into two lease sale offers by the end of 2024 according to the tax legislation. This area encompasses about 6 million hectares, or about 1.5 million acres, of the expansive sanctuary that borders the Beaufort Sea. Near the end of the first Trump administration, a state entity called the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority was the leading bidder in the first sale. Small businesses were unsuccessful in retaining two additional leases.
In 2021, Gleason denied drilling opponents’ requests that he delay the sale of the first lease until the underlying cases were settled.
Nearly no one placed a bid in the second auction, which took place just before Biden resigned. Environmental organizations cited the lack of interest from oil firms as an excuse to end the protracted discussion over allowing drilling, while Alaska political leaders condemned it for being too restricted to encourage investment.
This ruling, handed down on Tuesday, adds another twist to the decades-long battle that the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority has been waging against the Interior Department and federal authorities.
Because of the sacredness of the coastal plain and the importance of the caribou that live there, Gwich’in leaders have spoken out against drilling there. Not only have Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy and the state’s congressional delegation voiced their support for drilling, but so have leaders of the Iñupiaq village of Kaktovik, located within the refuge.
“Now the leasing program can move forward and could result in more safe, secure energy production right here in Alaska,” Dunleavy said in a statement, praising the ruling.
Environmental organizations and Gwich’in elders have pledged to continue the struggle.
In a statement, Raeann Garnett, First Chief of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, expressed her disappointment with the result but emphasized that the decision will not lessen the tribe’s resolve to safeguard the holy grounds.