Far-left environmentalists have teamed up with a radical Alaska Native social justice group to file a federal lawsuit aimed at overturning the Trump administration’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ winter seismic and exploration drilling program in the Western Arctic.
On Nov. 26, the Bureau of Land Management approved a one-year exploration program proposed by ConocoPhillips in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska. The move has generated widespread praise from Alaska’s D.C. delegation as a potential boon for the state’s economy and job market.
Environmentalists, however, are not happy.
Spearheaded by Earthjustice, a powerful nonprofit legal group funded by major Democrat donors, the new lawsuit is part of the organization’s much wider efforts to block coal, oil, gas and timber industries all across the nation. Earthjustice vehemently opposes new fossil-fuel infrastructure like pipelines, LNG terminals, coal mines and offshore drilling, and advocates for a complete phasing out of fossil fuels. It also works to undermine commercial logging on federal lands.
The lawsuit does not represent the values and interests of many Alaska Native groups, which have voiced strong support for developing the NPR-A.
Ideologically, Earthjustice views its environmental efforts as tied to broader so-called “intersectional issues” like racial justice, expanded LGBTQ rights and abortion on demand.
Filed on Dec. 11, the lawsuit claims that so-called “thumper trucks” will “repeatedly strike the ground with a large plate to send seismic waves into the earth to help detect oil deposits.” Coupled with ConocoPhillips plan to drill four exploration wells to the west of its Willow project, Earthjustice fears the exploration efforts will “cause harm to the tundra” and surrounding wildlife, while disturbing the scenery.
Earthjustice asserts that the public did not have enough time to weigh in on the BLM’s approval of the exploration program, and that BLM did not do enough to prove that it could mitigate environmental impacts.
“BLM is jamming through approval of this poorly designed program without regard for proper process or for the integrity of this vital ecosystem and the people who depend on it,” Earthjustice attorney Ian Dooley claimed in filing the suit. “We’re suing to hold BLM accountable to federal laws and to prevent harm to resources and values that cannot be undone. The Arctic is an irreplaceable resource for people and wildlife and should remain that way for future generations.”
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It goes on to assert that oil exploration will lead to more greenhouse gas emissions that “could … accelerate global warming through dangerous feedback loops, harming wildlife and human health and well-being.”
Other environmental activist groups involved with the lawsuit are Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, the Center for Biological Diversity and The Wilderness Society.
The lawsuit, however, does not represent the values and interests of many Alaska Native groups, which have voiced support for expanded developments in the NPR-A, which bring the promise of good paying jobs and increased revenues to rural Alaska communities. Groups such as Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, the Kuukpik Corporation, the Native Village of Nuiqsut, and the City of Nuiqsut have all expressed support for resource development in the NPR-A.
