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With the clock ticking down to the end of the Trump administration's first term, the Interior Department is rushing to approve seismic surveys of oil reserves in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Politico and Type Investigations report that the Interior Department received an application for those seismic tests in late August, and the Bureau of Land Management is aiming to approve the application in half the time it would usually take.
News of the fast-tracked testing application comes as the director of the U.S. Geological Survey finally released a long-delayed study that highlights the risk that climate change poses to polar bears living on the coast of the Beaufort Sea. The analysis found that 34 percent of maternal dens in the U.S. Arctic are located on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
In order to conduct seismic testing in Alaska, companies must ensure that polar bears and other protected species won't be harmed. That analysis, performed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, usually takes six to twelve months. Two sources at Interior tell Politico that the agency has been asked to issue the permit in four months or less.
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If the agencies argue that they’ve done NEPA or looked at the impacts of this proposal then that rings very, very hollow. The administration’s attempt to rush this process now is irresponsible.”
