House Democrats want to slow down Alaska oil project

May 05, 2020

Several House Democrats want the Department of the Interior to tap the brakes on an oil and gas project in Alaska, adding to criticism targeting the department's pivot to virtual public hearings during the coronavirus-driven pandemic.

ConocoPhillips' Willow Master Development Plan, under review by the Bureau of Land Management, would expand the oil and gas company's drilling activities along the eastern border of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the Arctic Coast in the northern part of the state by drilling up to 250 new wells, laying pipelines and building associated infrastructure.

BLM's public comment period closed yesterday. This was for a supplemental environmental analysis on the proposed project, added after Conoco made some changes to its original development proposal.

In a letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt yesterday, the members said the Alaska Native communities most affected by the project do not have widespread phone and internet access, making access to the virtual hearings held last month by Alaska BLM problematic.

"The Willow Plan is a continuation of efforts by the Trump administration to advance its aggressive oil and gas development agenda, ignoring the public health, environmental, subsistence, and climate impacts these projects will have," members wrote.

The letter was signed by House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.); Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Chairman Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.); Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee Chairman Jared Huffman (D-Calif.); Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States Chairman Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.); and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairwoman Deb Haaland (D-N.M.).

The letter follows a series of public hearings on the Willow project last month that produced mixed reviews. They were hosted on Zoom and livestreamed via Facebook. The majority of public testimony was critical of BLM (Greenwire, April 17).

Many callers were based in Alaskan cities but noted limited high-quality online access in rural parts of the state.

The bureau released a statement on the Willow public hearings yesterday extolling the success of its virtual outreach.

The livestream had more than 2,000 "unique views" compared with approximately 250 in-person attendees during previous Willow hearings held in six towns and cities, said BLM.

"We are able to use the same technology that is being used nationwide for a variety of business practices to provide information and receive great feedback from more communities in Alaska than we have ever reached before," Chad Padgett, BLM's Alaska state director, said in a statement.

BLM plans to hold a series of virtual public meetings later this month on a resource management plan for northern New Mexico that will contemplate potential oil and gas development near the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.


By:  Heather Richards
Source: E&E News