The federal government on Wednesday announced its schedule to reinstate a controversial oil and gas lease sale this year in Cook Inlet, prompting a conservation group to warn that the plans are “legally vulnerable.”
, citing a lack of industry interest. But Democrats’ landmark climate bill in August, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, put the sale back on the table.in 2017, and Hilcorp Alaska was the lone bidder, securing 14 tracts for over $3 million. Lease sales in state and federal waters over recent decades have generally sparked little to no interest. This year’s sale will offer 10-year lease periods that could lead to exploration and drilling.
The climate bill, a compromise between conservative Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, was celebrated nationally by conservation groups. But it drew concern among environmentalists in Alaska in part because of the Cook Inlet sale requirement and other measures favoring resource extraction. The groups say drilling in Cook Inlet threatens the climate and endangered beluga whales.
Monsell added in an email: “We see this sale as legally vulnerable because the federal environmental analysis is woefully inadequate. Congress didn’t exempt Cook Inlet leasing from the National Environmental Policy Act, and Interior still has to thoroughly analyze the risks of offshore drilling in this fragile environment. That didn’t happen here, which is a huge legal problem and a major threat to the environment.
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