WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is suspending Arctic refuge drilling rights that were sold in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, dealing a victory to environmentalists who have argued
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The Biden administration will suspend Arctic refuge drilling rights sold in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, a move that buys time for further environmental analysis, according to a person familiar with the decision.
The Interior Department decision will temporarily halt action on 11 leases spanning about 553,000 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, said the person, who asked not to be named before a formal announcement. Politico reported the development earlier.
Spokespeople for the Interior Department and its Bureau of Land Management did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The department’s Bureau of Land Management is set to conduct fresh environmental analysis of the Jan. 6 sale of oil leases in the refuge. Just two oil companies and an Alaska economic development corporation bought the right to explore for oil and gas on tracts in the refuge’s coastal plain during that January auction.
Joe Biden s Justice Department is defending the Trump administration’s approval of a massive ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. project in federal court, over the objections of environmentalists.
The Justice Department is defending the Trump administration s approval of a massive ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. project in federal court.
(Bloomberg) The Justice Department is defending the Trump administration’s approval of a massive ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. project in federal court, over the objections of environmentalists who say the government didn’t adequately consider the venture’s effect on polar bears and the climate.
In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, the Biden administration said Wednesday that Conoco’s Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska was approved only after years of analysis, consultation and public input.