Alaska Requests to Join Litigation Over ANWR Moratorium

January 19, 2022

(Anchorage, AK) - The State of Alaska moved to join a lawsuit today challenging the Biden Administration's open-ended moratorium on oil exploration on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The State has asked in U.S. District Court in Alaska to intervene in litigation between the federal government and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), which filed suit after President Biden issued an Executive Order blocking any oil production activities, including preliminary work, on the 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain. This indefinite suspension of operations directly conflicts with a 2017 law enacted by Congress that expressly established a federal program for oil and gas leases, development and production on the Coastal Plain.

"There is no doubt the Biden Administration is acting on behalf of environmental groups to end Alaska's oil and gas industry and literally drive our economy off the cliff," said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. "Americans are paying more at the pump because of the policies coming out of the White House. Now the President is asking China and other nations to release their strategic oil reserves. The solution to the President's dilemma is simple, encourage environmentally safe oil and gas production here in America as has been done for many decades in Alaska. The 1002 Area in ANWR can play a key role in that solution."

Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor said: "President Biden and his administration ignored the law and the federal government's own environmental research with the decision to block oil exploration on ANWR's Coastal Plain. While the moratorium may satisfy a few special interest groups, it puts Alaska and its economy at risk."

According to the State's lawsuit, anywhere between 1.5 billion and 10 billion barrels of oil could be produced from the Coastal Plain. The State of Alaska stands to gain billions of dollars from lease sales and royalties on oil and gas production. The State would also benefit from the creation of new jobs, additional tax revenue and continued operation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Congress in 1980 placed restrictions on oil and gas production in ANWR when it enacted the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). At that time, it deferred a decision on whether to allow exploration on the Coastal Plain, which makes up less than a tenth of the 19-million-acre refuge.

With passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Congress authorized the Secretary of Interior to establish a competitive leasing program for the Coastal Plain. After a comprehensive environmental review and a series of lawsuits, the federal government authorized its first lease sale, as required by law, in January 2021. Days later, President Biden established the moratorium with an executive order on his first day in office.

The President's actions violate federal law, directly conflict with the 2017 Congressional mandate, and fail to follow the Administrative Procedures Act.

Alaska has requested permission from the Court to intervene in the AIDEA lawsuit as a plaintiff and file its own Complaint in Intervention.

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Department Media Contact:Communications Director Aaron Sadler.

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