Biden administration defends Trump-era approval of massive Willow project

UngulateNerd92

UngulateNerd92

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Premium Member
This is quite unfortunate and I am disappointed...

“The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else in the world and the Biden administration should not allow industry to drill in this sensitive area,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska program director, Defenders of Wildlife. “The Willow project threatens denning polar bears, people that call the Arctic home and is at odds with the administration’s commitment to address climate change.”

Today the Biden administration confirmed by submitting legal briefs that it will undermine its own climate goals and allow harm to local Indigenous communities by continuing to defend the flawed Trump era approval of the massive Willow oil project in court.

Biden administration defends Trump-era approval of massive Willow project
 
Here is another relevant article.

Biden administration backs Alaska oil project approved under Trump

The Willow project would be one of the first major new oil projects in Alaska in years.

The Biden administration defended a proposed ConocoPhillips oil development in Alaska on Wednesday, backing the project pushed by Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, the centrist lawmaker the administration has wooed as a potential swing vote.

The decision by the Interior Department to defend in court the Trump administration’s October 2020 decision and allow the Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to proceed comes despite Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's opposition to the project last year when she was a member of Congress.

Biden administration backs Alaska oil project approved under Trump
 
Here is another relevant article, but a positive one.

Biden Administration Will Not Appeal Court Decision to Halt Willow Arctic Drilling Project

"We are pleased that the Biden administration decided not to appeal the court ruling on the Willow proposal. We should not be expanding our fossil fuel footprint in the Arctic. We look forward to working with the Biden administration moving forward to ensure that climate impacts, imperiled species like polar bears, and concerns of local residents are sufficiently and respectfully addressed."

Nicole Whittington-Evans, Director of Defenders of Wildlife's Alaska Program

Biden Administration Will Not Appeal Court Decision to Halt Willow Arctic Drilling Project
 
Here is another relevant article.

Defenders Urges BLM to Stop the Willow Project and Drilling in the Arctic for Good

Defenders of Wildlife and 12 other organizations sent a letter today to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), expressing deep concern regarding the agency’s attempt to revisit the massive Willow drilling project in the sensitive Alaskan Arctic.

The groups – including Defenders of Wildlife, Alaska Wilderness League, Audubon Alaska, Conservation Lands Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Trustees for Alaska – urged the agency to reconsider the project, particularly when the Biden administration has pledged sharp cutbacks in U.S. carbon emissions.

“We should not be expanding our fossil fuel footprint in the Arctic – period,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, director of Defenders of Wildlife’s Alaska program. “The Willow project threatens denning polar bears, people that call the Arctic home and is at odds with the administration’s commitment to address climate change.”

Defenders Urges BLM to Stop the Willow Project and Drilling in the Arctic for Good
 
Here is another relevant article.

Biden Administration Approves Huge Alaska Oil Project

The administration also announced new limits on Arctic drilling in an apparent effort to temper criticism over the $8 billion Willow oil project, which has faced sharp opposition.

The Biden administration gave formal approval Monday for a huge oil drilling project in Alaska known as Willow, despite widespread opposition because of its likely environmental and climate impacts.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproj...-willow-arctic-drilling-restrictions.amp.html
 
Here is another relevant article.

Biden Administration Takes the Wrong Turn with Approval of ConocoPhillips’ Massive Oil and Gas Expansion in the Western Arctic

Despite millions of comments in opposition, the Biden administration has approved ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil and gas expansion in Alaska’s Western Arctic. The largest new oil extraction project on federal lands in the United States, the project is a major setback for climate policy and will have devastating impacts to the entire western Arctic region, posing serious health, environmental, and food security threats to nearby Alaska Native communities.

Biden Administration Takes the Wrong Turn with Approval of ConocoPhillips’ Massive Oil and Gas Expansion in the Western Arctic
 
Here is another relevant article. I am glad to see litigation taking place on this issue!

Biden Administration Sued Over Willow Oil Project in Alaska’s Western Arctic

Earthjustice filed a lawsuit yesterday on behalf of conservation groups to stop the massive Willow oil drilling project in Alaska’s Western Arctic, which the Biden administration approved March 13. This approval of an enormous new carbon pollution source undermines President Biden’s promises to slash greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and transition the United States to clean energy.

Trustees for Alaska filed a similar legal challenge on behalf of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and conservation groups.

The Bureau of Land Management’s record of decision approving Willow essentially greenlights ConocoPhillips’ desired blueprint while ignoring pleas from around 5.6 million people, including leadership from the nearby village of Nuiqsut, asking the federal government to halt the project.

Biden Administration Sued Over Willow Oil Project in Alaska’s Western Arctic
 
Last edited:
Here is a detailed discussion about the Willow Project from the YouTube channel of the National Park Diaries.

 
Here is what Mike Greiner, an Assistant Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies at Oakland University in Oakland County, Michigan had to say about the Willow Project;

 
Here is another relevant article. This is saddening news...

Federal Judge Allows Massive Willow Oil Project Construction to Proceed in Western Arctic

A federal judge today ruled in favor of oil giant ConocoPhillips by denying a motion for preliminary injunction brought by environmental groups as part of a lawsuit challenging the Willow project in Alaska’s Western Arctic. The ruling allows construction activities planned for the remaining three weeks of the construction season, including constructing roads and a gravel mine as a first step toward developing a massive oil-extraction operation.

The road construction and gravel mining plans are slated for high-density caribou winter habitat, which will disturb the herd and affect hunters in the area. The request was part of a lawsuit filed last month by Earthjustice on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace USA, and by the Center for Biological Diversity and Natural Resources Defense Council.

Federal Judge Allows Massive Willow Oil Project Construction to Proceed in Western Arctic
 
@Pleistohorse being from Alaska, are you familiar with this project? If so, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this if you are willing to share them?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top