The Scoop on Ice
Jessica Knoblauch
Recently, Shell announced to the world that it will end offshore drilling in Alaska’s Arctic Ocean for the foreseeable future. In addition, the Obama administration just announced that it will cancel upcoming oil and gas lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. It also denied requests for the extension of leases currently held by Shell and Statoil in the Arctic Ocean. Given this breaking news, what’s the next step in the fight to protect one of our nation’s most pristine and vulnerable ecosystems? Earthjustice attorneys give us the scoop.
Q: Let's start with Shell's news. The company has said that it is suspending for the foreseeable future offshore oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic, but it still holds 275 leases in the Chukchi Sea. What happens to those leases?
In 2008, the Bush administration offered 30 million acres of this sensitive Arctic ecosystem for oil and gas leasing. Companies like Shell purchased those leases, and we’ve been challenging them ever since on the grounds that the lease sale violated a bedrock environmental law. Due to our challenge, courts have twice sent the leases back to the government for reconsideration. We are continuing to challenge a recent decision to reaffirm the leases, which currently are not due to expire until 2020.
*
*
*
*
*
CONTINUE READING.......
http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-october/the-scoop-on-ice