Alaska court to hear challenge to Arctic refuge oil leases – By Associated Press (Las Vegas Sun) / Janury 4 2021
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Conservationists will try to persuade a U.S. judge on Monday to stop the Trump administration from issuing leases to oil and gas companies in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The videoconference in U.S. District Court in Anchorage is expected to determine whether the Bureau of Land Management can open bids in an online lease sale scheduled for Wednesday, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The land agency said in a statement that it’s required by law to create an oil and gas program for the refuge’s coastal plain and hold at least two sales there.
The agency has offered 10-year leases on 22 tracts covering about 1,563 square miles (4,048 square kilometers) in the coastal plain, which accounts for about 5% of the refuge’s area.
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