As the majority of the human population in Alaska’s Railbelt faces power brownouts and possible blackouts this winter and winters far into the future, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason has sided with the environmentalists to block natural gas leases that had already been awarded in Cook Inlet.
Gleason just overturned the 2022 lease sale held in federal waters of Cook Inlet, a lease that was conducted to fulfill requirements of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which was enacted to establish an offshore oil and gas leasing regime.
Groups like Cook Inletkeeper, which keeps its funding sources secret, persuaded Gleason that the Department of Interior didn’t properly analyze impacts of a lease sale and the harm it could cause beluga whales. There are 331 belugas in Cook Inlet, an increases from the 279 whales counted in 2018, but down from the 1,300 believed to have been in the inlet in 1979.
Gleason suspended the single lease acquired by Hilcorp, which was the only bidder in 2022. Her adverse ruling against Alaska’s economy is in line with most of her past rulings.
“Another case of an activist judge putting their ideology ahead of sound (Congressionally-mandated) policy strikes once again! November – and the ability for a new President to start replacing retiring judges with ones who want to follow the law – can’t come soon enough,” said Rick Whitbeck, Alaska director for Power the Future.
Gleason is the chief judge on the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, and the only judge, as the other two seats are vacant. An appointee of President Barack Obama, she joined the court on Jan. 4, 2012.
In 2021, Alaska Gleason overturned the approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska, a decision that was later reversed by higher courts.
God, please give the United States of America a President who will appoint Judges who will let Americans Drill, Baby Drill. We will be prosperous again and energy-dominant again! Alaska and our Nation will be Great Again!
FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!
DRILL, BABY DRILL!
VOTE, VOTE, VOTE !!!
You mean “activist judges” who have a personal agenda and do not want to follow the law? Why have the law then at all? We could just live in an autocracy and place all of the power in a single Executive. Of course, that goes against our Constitution, but maybe it’s time to burn the Constitution and start over with something that dictates that our lives our ruled by fiat.
We voted out the judge who let the rapist go, why can’t we vote out a judge who is doing it to Alaska?
Their should be a way to remove judges who are not doing their jobs and letting personal views control the outcome.
She’s a federal judge. Their appointments are for life unless they retire.
Hope Judge Gleason enjoys the coming natural gas shortage and brownouts.
The rest of us sure won’t.
Probably lives in Juneau so doesn’t care about the rail belt.
Cook Inlet Keeper is a joke. They are far more about power and control and an agenda having little to do with caring for our environment. They like to pick battles that are easy, politically correct, but make them look good and well intentioned, ignoring myriads of stuff that have actual impact on water and fisheries. I hope this comes back to bite them too. It is not right that there is no recourse for judges who do not follow the law and legislate their politics from the bench.
Unbelievably, after being caught with deficient wastewater testing records in the mid-1990s, rather than pay a large fine to EPA Unocal funded the origin of Cook Inlet Keeper. Look how that turned out.
Next up – tearing down the Eklutna dam.
Citizens Revolt if they try that.
I hope that everyone has a woodstove or some sort of alternative heat.
Didn’t *want* to buy one, but after Biden announced his policies, I knew we’d need one. So glad we got it before inflation got so bad.
And, as soon as the results of RCV are announced (and Peltola has won once again), the Willow project will get killed by a Federal Judge.
State of Alaska must appeal that nonsense.
My dad used to fly the folks that did the whale counts in C.I. The last year he did it, he said [whom ever was in charge of that troupe] told him, ‘Fly over here.’ He responded, ‘That’s not where the whales are; you’ll find them over there.’
‘FLY OVER HERE!’
The count has been bogus for two decades. Dad’s gone and can’t testify to this, but it is the truth.
I’ve been a supporter of CIK since their inception. They are watchdogs and advocates for what’s good in Alaska.
And they pretend to wonder why nobody wants to pay big money for the leases!!
Shut down America, that’s the plan and there’s lots of dark money flowing in to accomplish that.
Judge Gleason was not overturned on her Willow decision–that is a blatant lie in this article, and I stand by the use of “lie” as Willow has been the subject of multiple articles on this site. Judge Gleason, in 2021, remanded the Willow EIS back to BLM for additional analysis. BLM produced a Supplemental EIS and new Record of Decision in 2023. That new Record of Decision was challenged in court and Judge Gleason upheld the Record of Decision–Conoco is now constructing the project.
While the article is quick to skewer Judge Gleason–and frame this as a “thanks, Obama” situation–her only other co-judge that was placed on the bench by former President Trump, was just removed from the bench for extensive ethics violations.
move judge cannon out of Florida, Alaska needs her more. she’ll give SOA a fair shake. brilliant jurist, creating new law from the bench, we need more like her
“………Groups like Cook Inletkeeper, which keeps its funding sources secret………”
Are they a non-profit corporation, and do they donate to political campaigns? How are they able to legally withhold information on their funding sources?
According to its latest Form 990 tax return (2022), Cook Inletkeeper received $185,708 in government grants. Did the State of Alaska provide any of this government grant money or did all of it come from your tax dollars, ie the federal government?
Well of course she did. She is the worst thing ever happen to Alaska.
Another one proving our government is not a reliable business partner.. ” here!! Give us money for a lease!! ” sorry, too bad, so sad we take your money and you get shafted!!”
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