U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congresswoman Mary Peltola today sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, urging her Bureau of Land Management to complete the permitting process for the Willow Project in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska by the end of the year, so that construction can start this winter.
In their letter, the Alaska delegation noted that the project has been developed under the strictest environmental standards in the world and is strongly supported by Alaska Native leaders, labor leaders, the State of Alaska, lawmakers from both parties, and President Joe Biden.
“The expeditious approval of this crucial project would greatly benefit Alaska, our nation, and the world, while demonstrating the Administration’s commitment to addressing inflation, high energy costs, the need for greater energy security, and environmental justice initiatives,” the delegation wrote. “After years of study and review, both the Administration and Alaskans can feel confident that the Project will abide by the strictest environmental considerations in the world, while being constructed and operated by a company with an impressive record of safe and responsible development on the North Slope.
“We believe the final SEIS should identify the preferred alternative; appropriately weight the purpose of energy production in the NPR-A; and recognize the public interest in supporting energy security and responsible resource development. The permitting process must be completed by the end of 2022 at very latest so the project’s proponent can make a final investment decision and hire Alaskans in time for the winter construction season. That decision will not be possible, and none of those jobs will be created, in the absence of a clean and timely Record of Decision (ROD).”
Political observers have noted that the Democrats controlling the White House are likely to allow the Willow project to be permitted in order to help the campaign of Peltola, as she runs for the two-year congressional seat.
The Willow discovery was announced by Conoco-Phillips in 2017, and could produce more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day. It would create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs, and contribute tax revenue to federal, state and local entities. The proposed project would consist of drill sites, access and infield roads, pipelines, a processing plant and other facilities to support production and transportation of petroleum from federal oil and gas leases in the NPR-A while minimizing impact to the environment and subsistence resources.
In 2021, federal Judge Sharon Gleason voided an earlier Bureau of Land Management approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow development, by declaring that the federal agency had not considered greenhouse gases as an effect of the project. Gleason also complained that the environmental impact statement should have either included an estimate of emissions resulting from oil consumption as a result of Willow or it should have explained why such data could not be estimated. She also said she wanted more protection for caribou in the Teshekpuk Lake area.
