United States—The Biden administration on Friday acted to cap oil and gas drilling and mining in Alaska, angering state officials who promised loss of jobs and the US becoming dependent on foreign resources but bringing environmentalists some pleasure.
Environmental Protection Focus
The actions are targeted at achieving Biden’s orders to limit the oil and gas sector’s activity on public lands and preserve 30% of US lands and waters to fight climate change, as reported by Reuters.
The Interior Department endorsing a regulation that literally blocks any oil and gas process on 40% of Alaska’s National Petroleum Preserve to protect the habitat of polar bears, caribou, and other wild animals and the lifestyle of indigenous tribes.
Denial of Mining Project
The office also denied a state agency’s request to build a 211-mile (340-km) road that would facilitate the establishment of a mining field in the Ambler Mining District in north central Alaska.
The agency referred to caribou and fish communities that provide necessities that hundreds of native people depend on for subsistence.
Biden’s Statement
“I am proud that my Administration is taking action to conserve more than 13 million acres in the Western Arctic and to honor the culture, history, and enduring wisdom of Alaska Natives who have lived on and stewarded these lands since immemorial,” Biden said.
NPR-A, known as the 23 million-acres (93 million hectares) land, is the largest tract of undisrupted public land in the United States. It is located on the state’s North Slope. Under the new policy leasing on 10.65 million acre (4.3 million ha) would be prohibited and the development on more than 2 million acres (809,000 ha) would be limited.
Impact on Industry
The regulation does not affect the work of these companies. The current administration approved the Willow projects, valued at 8 billion USD, in 2022.
These oil and gas leases currently occupy about 10 million hectares (2.5 million acres).
According to the authority’s claims, the Ambler Access Project, supported by the Alaska Industrial and Development Export Authority, will unlock mine development in an area with copper, zinc, and lead ore deposits and create jobs.
On Friday, on behalf of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, it proposed “no action” as the environmentally preferred alternative. The project now stands at the last stage in the Department of The Interior’s process.
On Thursday, Republican US senators from Alaska and a number of other states held a press conference to strongly condemn the administration’s upcoming judgment calls.
Political and Environmental Responses
“When you remove access to our resources, when you say you cannot drill, produce, explore, or move them—this is the energy insecurity that we’re talking about,” Senator Lisa Murkowski said. We’re still going to need the germanium, the gallium, the copper, and the oil. But we’re just not going to get it from Alaska.”
Environmentalists, who made up a significant portion of Biden’s support base prior to the US elections on November 5, applauded the actions to safeguard cultural resources and habitats during a period of transition in the area, as reported by Reuters.
“As the Arctic undergoes dramatic climatic changes, this new rule (on NPR-A) is absolutely necessary to protect birds, caribou, and fish,” said David Krause, interim executive director at Audubon Alaska.