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.
