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On Friday, the Interior Department began the formal process to offer oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. By calling for nominations possibly as soon as today, the rushed process could allow the Bureau of Land Management to hold a lease sale before the Trump administration leaves office in January.
Drilling in the Arctic Refuge was banned for decades before a provision in a 2017 tax bill reversed the ban. The Trump administration has pushed to make drilling in the region a reality despite risks to wildlife and the sensitive ecosystem, proposing a plan to conduct seismic testing that could harm polar bear mothers and cubs last month.
President-elect Joe Biden has voiced his opposition to drilling in the Arctic Refuge, and leases sold under the Trump administration will be subject to permitting and regulations under the next administration. In addition, oil prices have yet to rebound from the industry's crash earlier this year, and widespread public opposition has resulted in several major banks refusing to finance drilling operations in the Refuge.
Interior Department undermines Great American Outdoors Act
President Trump and several Republican senators campaigned on the Great American Outdoors Act, a popular bipartisan bill including full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. However, a new Interior Department order undermines the program, requiring state and county government approval for purchasing land from voluntary sellers. “It’s a clear interference with private property rights and that the big irony here is that it's coming from the party claiming to support personal liberty and private property rights. They're trying to give every county commission and governor in the country veto power over private land owners who want to sell their land to the government at fair market rates,” said Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director.
Under Interior Secretary Bernhardt, the department has attempted to reject the Land and Water Conservation Fund whenever possible. Before receiving permanent funding through the Great American Outdoors Act, the Trump administration attempted to effectively zero out the program in its yearly budget. After using the bill to greenwash the administration's environmental record, the Interior Department and the Forest Service missed a key deadline earlier this month to nominate projects for funding through the program.
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This administration can’t resist the urge to break the law, and this order is a perfect example of why they can’t be trusted to protect our environment. They have no interest in conservation; even with clear direction and guidance from Congress they are doing their best to sabotage the Land and Water Conservation Fund. They’re just trying to smash and grab whatever they can on their way out the door when they should focus on working with the Biden transition team.”
