The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority on Thursday filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden, Secretary of the Department of the Interior Deb Haaland, and other members of the Biden Administration.
The lawsuit is in response to unlawful actions to obstruct and delay the development of valid oil and gas leases in the non-wilderness Coastal Plain (Section 1002 Area) of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
For more than 40 years, Alaskans — led by Native communities and Native corporations on the North Slope — have urged Congress to open the Section 1002 Area for resource exploration.
With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, Congress authorized the Department of the Interior to establish and administer a competitive oil and gas program in the Coastal Plain, which occurred in December 2020.
AIDEA is a stakeholder in ANWR after securing seven tracts totaling 365,775 acres for 10-year lease agreements during the auction last year.
“Responsibly developing oil and gas in this area specifically set aside for development is supported by
the majority of Alaskans, over 20 Alaska Native entities located in and around the 1002 Area, Alaska’s governor, Alaska’s congressional delegation, and the Alaska State Legislature,” sald AIDEA Board Chair
Dana Pruhs. “It was passed by US Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and was officially signed into
law by a sitting US president. Then, on his first day in office, President Biden issued a moratorium on the whole thing through an executive order. I don’t like the idea of turning our nation’s energy security over
to Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.’
AIDEA has filed civil action against the following individuals: Biden, Haaland, Laura Daniel-Davis, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. Land and Minerals Management, Tracy Stone-Manning. Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and Thomas Heinlein, Director of the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Office.
The agency cites seven violations of AIDEA’s valid and enforceable leases.
“Alaska has been promised the legal right to responsibly detennine development of its natural resources. The continued delay and obstruction of these leases impacts Alaska’s economic future for generations,” said AIDEA Executive Director Alan Weitzner.
“The Biden Administration’s brazen attempt to try to strip away valid and legally-acquired oil and gas exploration leases in ANWR is just one more example of an administration with little to no regard for the rule of law, or any understanding of how the nation’s energy infrastructure actually works,” said Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. “The 1002 Area was specifically set aside by the United States Congress for exploration and development. The benefits of environmentally safe development will be family-supporting jobs and a secure supply of domestically produced energy. AIDEA is well within its rights to take the President and his staff to court over their unlawful actions.”
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is a public corporation of the state, whose purpose is to promote, develop, and advance the general prosperity and economic welfare of the people of Alaska. Since 1967, AIDEA has been responsible for directing more than $3.5 billion in economic development in Alaska and has declared $439.7 million in dividends to Alaska since 1997.
Guess they got tired of waiting for the Cowardly Lion of a governor to do something.
Does Dunleavy have a big brother/sister who can come out and do his political fighting for him?
I used to think Providence needed to do a spine transplant on him, but they obviously like him as he is. Useless
Just drill, then let them try to stop it.
The Dimwits playbook on Alaska hasn’t changed since Jimmy Peanut Carter and his great Alaska lockup.
Dunleavy, if he had the cojones of DeSantis or other governors who have actually taken a STAND against federal overreach and outright tyranny, would issue a directive telling all oilfield companies and contractors to just ignore these federal mandates, and pretend that they don’t exist, and go ahead and continue the pre-PotatoHead administration plans.
.
They only have power over us if we cede it to them; withdraw consent and compliance, and their power will crumble like a sandcastle in the rain. This is a completely lawless federal cabal, with utterly NO legitimacy, and it is high time that decent, honest and respectable people start treating the feral government in Washington DC as the criminals and willfully destructive sociopaths that they are.
Do you think we might see a comment, and as a long shot, maybe some action from our Congressional Delegation on this issue..?? This is certainly in the interest of all Alaskans….mostly for and a few that do not understand the stakes and what is going on here.
Finally. I wish our three DC representatives had raised the issue continuously. The use of these monarchical edicts to over turn constitutionally passed laws is really getting old. Sure like to know what our three reps did in DC to alleviate the financial stress this causes AK families, businesses and State operations.
Sadly, the Biden administration is doing everything it can to break the economy, and energy independence, of the United States. Every single action this evil administration has taken has been done with the sole purpose of bringing down our country.
Should’ve been a Lawyer or a Bureaucrat!!! These are the only folks benefiting from potential resource development.
Unfortunately the feds own so much land in Alaska, while the action by Biden is clear overreach, it is to be expected and sadly lawsuits are required. Land owned by the state should be opened for development post haste, Pebble Mine comes to mind. The statehood act allows us our land, let’s develop it. If the feds want to protect state land then they need to open fed land as an equitable exchange. If the feds want to close fed land then we should open state land.
The State just needs to tell the Feds to leave Alaska and we will develop the resources.
We should secede and reclaim all the federal land back. We’ve got enough export to fund our own growth as well as workers from other states. If the US won’t buy our oil, other states and countries would. At least float the idea and see how the feral government squeals.
See how the federal government squeals patrocles? We are a welfare leach to the United States. I don’t think we have much bargaining room with them. The amount of federal money we seek on a yearly basis makes us the laughingstock of the rest of the country. We should be giving them our oil free of charge.
They can pay for it. But they don’t want it. Other countries want it and will pay for it. Let them go bankrupt themselves buying OPEC oil. we’ll do just fine without them.
We’ve got some of the richest oil patches in the free world. We’re already giving it away. If we drilled it ourselves and sold it to get full revenue then we wouldn’t be on welfare. Just look how well the Permanent Fund is doing just on royalties. Think what if we got full revenues from sales. The feral government can’t even take in that much in taxes. Yeah, they’ll squeal. If not only because we take the land back, but when they can’t afford OPEC where will they go?
I agree with you Patrocles
AIDEA foolishly bid on these leases when no one else would, and now they are trying to wash the egg off their faces.
Your money, not at work. When will we learn.
Meanwhile, the “Esteemed, Honorary, Rich, Famous and Royal” at Glagow. The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, a.k.a. “COP26” or the Glasgow Conference, is the 26th one of its kind. This one was held in Glasgow, Scotland, between Halloween and November 12th, with the host United Kingdom and Italy sharing the soiree’s presidency. It is also the third meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement.
The gathering, of course, caused the rich and famous — and tragically hypocritical — to descend on the island of Great Britain to allegedly attempt to save the world and to be seen allegedly attempting to do so.
Some of the powerful have spoken. Some have clinked glasses. At least one fell asleep.
Hmmm, where was Murkowski? Surely she would have easily been welcomed into this crowd.
Greta Thunberg was indignant and angry. (And the sun rises in the east. She is the worst thing to come out of Sweden since lutefisk.)
They arrived at the climate summit on more than 400 private jets, President Biden in an 85-car caravan. This is like traveling to an anti-gun rights rally sporting an Uzi and a couple of Glocks. Or going to an A.A. meeting with a double martini…while riding in a beer truck. Or heading to an abstinence summit with a carload of hookers. But hypocrisy is a key feature of “progressivism.”
But these are the beautiful people, the experts, the rulers, the elite, the benighted, so cut them some slack. They are a tiny handful of people compared to all the rest of us, so how much harm can they do if they live in multiple mansions with Olympic size heated pools and vast, amply watered gardens? Sure, their other car is a limo, too, and they have their own fleet of private jets, but these are necessary to help convince all the rest of us to use the subway and take no more than two showers a week, thereby saving far more energy than if they just did the same. See?
Next, they may be winging their way to a forum on “world peace,” a summit on hunger in Africa, or a pro-choice rally, or stop to check on their Black Box portfolio in Panama. After a brief 3-day stop at an exclusive resort in Tahiti, of course, to recharge their batteries, where they may even leave a respectable tip for the wait staff and other attendants. Is there no end to their sacrifice and largess?
Most of us have never even bothered to attend a “climate summit.” I guess we are not worthy.
Maybe we can make up for it by banishing meat from our diets and pledging to take only one shower a week. I feel better already.
Let’s Go Brandon!
Invade ANWR.
So lemme get this straight… Congress passes a law allowing further oil development and the FJB Administration can override it with an executive order? I musta missed that day in civics class.
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