"Green Groups See Legal Flaws In Trump's Plan For Arctic Refuge Drilling"

"The Trump administration’s effort to open up drilling across more than a million acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) faces significant legal hurdles, according to experts who are likely to assist in challenging the newly announced plan.

The Interior Department on Monday finalized plans to move ahead with a longstanding item on the GOP’s wishlist: allowing drilling in the Alaskan wilderness. The move could have dire consequences for polar bears, caribou, birds and other species that live in the coastal area in the northern part of ANWR.

But environmental lawyers argue the Trump administration was lax in conducting the reviews needed to proceed and ignored key requirements established by Congress when it gave the green light for oil exploration in late 2017."

Rebecca Beitsch reports for The Hill August 18, 2020.

SEE ALSO:

"Trump Opens an Arctic Refuge for Drilling—But Companies May Not Want To" (Earther)

"Is Trump Killing His Favorite Industry?" (New Republic)

"3 Issues May Thwart Trump's ANWR Plan" (E&E News)

"The Federal Government Will Hold An ANWR Lease Sale. But Drilling Would Be More Than A Decade Away" (Anchorage Daily News)

"ANWR Oil Drilling Plan Fuels Regional Tension Over Economic, Subsistence And Climate Issues" (KTUU)

"It's A Bizarre Time For Trump To Open Alaska's Arctic Refuge Up To Oil Drilling" (CNN)

Source: The Hill, 08/19/2020