Sullivan, Murkowski: Biden’s ANWR Decision Ignores Law

Washington, DC-U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) slammed the Department of the Interior (DOI) after it released an unlawful Record of Decision (ROD) for the federally-mandated oil and gas program on the Coastal Plain of the non-wilderness Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeast Alaska.

Interior's ROD dramatically restricts leasing and future development on the 1.57-million-acre Coastal Plain by deliberately departing from the clear and unambiguous language that Murkowski and Sullivan enacted within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Interior also announced a lease sale for January 9, 2025, while transparently attempting to ensure it fails to attract bidders and raises revenue for the federal government.

"For the past four years, Interior has done everything it can think of to undermine responsible development on the Coastal Plain, ignoring federal law and those who actually live on the North Slope to upend the reasonable program the Trump administration put in place in 2020," Murkowski said. "The ROD does not reflect statutory requirements, the preferences of most local residents, or the needs of our nation, but it's a fitting finale for an administration that has routinely allowed Iran, Venezuela, and other adversaries to produce their resources, regardless of the consequences, while attempting to shut everything down in Alaska."

"The Biden-Harris administration's eleventh-hour lease sale in ANWR is yet another charade aimed at subverting the will of Congress in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," Sen. Sullivan said. "The Biden Interior Department is proposing a lease sale that closes three-quarters of the 1002 Area-including lands that are projected to have substantial resources beneath them-after having previously cancelled all of the leases lawfully-issued under the first statutorily mandated lease sale. But the most insulting aspect of BLM's announcement is the agency's claim to have 'consulted with Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations' on this Record of Decision. Having spoken with the leaders of these entities, I can report that nothing is further from the truth. The Biden-Harris administration has never given any weight to the voices of the Alaska Native people in the region who strongly support responsible resource development in ANWR for the benefit of their communities-just like the Biden-Harris administration refused to even meet with Alaska Native leaders when promulgating their illegal NPR-A rule. Cancelling Alaska Native voices continues under the Biden-Harris administration, but don't hold your breath for the mainstream media to write that story. The good news is we will soon be working with the Trump administration that, unlike Biden-Harris, has a proven track record of responsible oil and gas production and Alaska resource development, and respects the voices of the Iñupiat people of the North Slope."

In November 2024, Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a final SEIS for the Coastal Plain oil and gas program selecting Alternative D2 as its "preferred alternative." BLM described Alternative D2 as the "most restrictive" of all alternatives, as it would arbitrarily place 74 percent of the Coastal Plain off-limits to leasing and thus development. BLM also restricted seismic testing to just 400,000 acres left available for leasing, which will prevent resources across the Coastal Plain from being studied and characterized.

Among other major legal deficiencies, BLM did not meaningfully consult with leaders of Kaktovik, the only community within ANWR, or Alaska Native leaders on the North Slope. Last Friday, the Native Village of Kaktovik (NVK) sent a letter to BLM asserting that the agency's process has been "a failure of NEPA, our Memorandum of Understanding, your responsibility to us through tribal consultation - all of it a complete sham of a process. We do not want to be associated with this failure and proverbial slap in the face to us, the Kaktovikmiut."

In 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which established an oil and gas program for the Coastal Plain of ANWR (also known as the "1002 Area") and required two area-wide lease sales in the area by December 2024. The 1002 Area is estimated to contain a mean of 7.7 billion barrels of oil that could help refill the three-quarters empty Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Congress authorized the development of up to 2,000 surface acres within the 1002 Area - just 0.01 percent of ANWR - to bring those barrels to market.

Instead of upholding the law and implementing it as Congress directed, the Biden administration imposed an unlawful pause for the Coastal Plain program, illegally rescinded valid leases issued in early 2021, and deliberately injected uncertainty into the future of leasing and development efforts at every turn.

At the same time, the Biden administration stunningly relaxed sanctions and other production and export restrictions on nations such as Iran and Venezuela, allowing them to increase their production levels and generate tens of billions in new revenues for illicit and corrupt purposes that have degraded global security.