BLM takes steps to hand over Western Arctic to industry
The Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 requires the BLM to balance oil and gas development with the protection of fish and wildlife, subsistence, recreational, and other values.
Bob Wick / BLM
The federal Bureau of Land Management is moving to accelerate the administration’s effort to sell off and develop our shared public lands
The federal Bureau of Land Management has announced an effort to recklessly fast-track permitting for oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and it reads like a destructive wish list that would essentially hand over the Western Arctic to the oil industry.
The Alaska Oil and Gas Association petitioned for the proposed rule, which it drafted. The rule would accelerate the administration’s effort to sell off and develop our shared public lands. There will be a 45-day scoping comment period for an environmental impact statement that the agency will prepare for the proposed rule, and BLM offered no assurances of any further public comment period.
The proposed changes would eliminate environmental reviews and gut the public process, forcing BLM to rubber-stamp virtually any drilling project proposed by leaseholders such as ConocoPhillips, Repsol SA and Santos Ltd., and prohibit BLM from rescinding permits unless they were “fraudulently obtained.” BLM would have to review applications within 14 days and if listed criteria are met, issue an approval within 60 days.
“It would be beyond reckless and irresponsible for BLM to turn over the keys to the Western Arctic and virtually walk away,” said Matt Jackson, Alaska senior manager for The Wilderness Society. “Not only would this proposed rule deprive the public of input over giant oil projects, but it would also turn a blind eye to environmental and public health impacts, putting clean water, wildlife habitat and subsistence resources at risk while stripping the government’s ability to hold companies accountable for things like oil spills, wildlife impacts or rig collapses.
“This administration is running amok and scheming to obliterate the freedom of local communities to have a say in developments happening in their own backyard, and the voices of all Americans who care about keeping public lands healthy and intact for future generations.”
