Current Status
There are no active leases in the refuge. The administration is required by law to conduct a second lease sale in the Coastal Plain by December 2024.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge consists of more than 19 million acres of wilderness in northeastern Alaska. The refuge includes some of the most pristine, untouched lands and waters within the United States, with no roads, marked trails, or campgrounds. It provides important habitat for Porcupine caribou, denning polar bears, and other wildlife.
In 1960, DOI designated 9.8 million acres of wilderness in northeastern Alaska as the Arctic National Wildlife Range. A 1980 federal law opened 1.5 million acres in the refuge, called the Coastal Plain, to oil and gas development. However, no lease sales were conducted until 2021 after Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, which ordered the Secretary of the Interior to conduct at least two lease sales within 10 years. Under President Trump, BLM issued nine of 11 leases, totaling 437,804 acres.
President Biden issued an Executive Order pausing all activities relating to BLM’s Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program. On June 1, 2021, Secretary Haaland issued a moratorium, and the decision was later upheld by a federal district court. Secretary Haaland then canceled the seven remaining leases in the Coastal Plain. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act requires the administration to conduct a second lease sale by December 2024.
Timeline
July 2, 2024 The State of Alaska sued the federal government in the Court of Federal Claims seeking compensation for the canceled oil and gas leases, alleging the State would have earned “hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars in royalties and other revenues.” State of Alaska v. U.S., Docket No. 24-1017 C (Fed. Cl.).
Oct. 18, 2023 AIDEA filed a new complaint in the District Court for the District of Columbia challenging Interior’s termination of the seven lease agreements in the Arctic Refuge. AIDEA v. Interior et al., No. 1:23-cv-03126 (D.D.C.). On Feb. 23, 2024, the District Court for the District of Columbia granted Interior’s motion to transfer venue to the District of Alaska. AIDEA v. Interior et al., No. 1:23-cv-03126 (D.D.C.); No. 3:24-cv-00051 (D. Alaska). Litigation is ongoing.
Sep. 6, 2023 Secretary Haaland canceled the remaining seven oil and gas leases issued in the Refuge’s Coastal Plain, totaling 365,000 acres. The Secretary’s decision was supported by findings in the the draft supplemental EIS (SEIS), jointly released with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on the same day, which found that the 2021 lease sale was based on “multiple legal deficiencies” including insufficient NEPA analysis and an improper interpretation of Section 20001 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. BLM and FWS do not identify a preferred alternative in the draft SEIS. On July 2, 2024, the State of Alaska sued the federal government in the Court of Federal Claims seeking compensation for the canceled oil and gas leases. State of Alaska v. U.S., Docket No. 24-1017 C (Fed. Cl.).
Summer 2022 Regenerate Alaska, the only oil company to participate in the Jan. 6, 2020 Arctic Refuge lease sale, asked DOI to rescind its lease and refund the bid and lease rental payments. BLM also granted Knik Arm Service’s request to rescind its lease in the Arctic Refuge, making the state of Alaska the sole leaseholder in the Refuge. BLM refunded the money Knik Arm Services paid for the lease and all rents submitted.
Aug. 4, 2021 BLM issued a notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The release initiates the scoping process for the SEIS.
June 1, 2021 Secretary Haaland announced that the NEPA analyses conducted by the Trump administration regarding the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program were legally deficient. DOI temporarily suspended all activities relating to the existing leases while the agency conducts a new environmental analysis. The Alaskan Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) filed a lawsuit alleging that Secretary Haaland’s order to suspend the Coastal Plain Oil & Gas Leasing Program violated the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The District Court for the District of Alaska dismissed the suit on Aug. 7, 2023 . On Oct. 17, AIDEA filed a motion for relief from the court’s Aug. 7 judgment, arguing that the lease cancellation rendered their previous claims moot and asking the court to vacate its Aug. 7 judgment dismissing their claims. On Feb. 22, 2024, the District Court dismissed AIDEA’s motions for relief and vacatur, holding that the case is not moot because a court could still grant plaintiffs relief. AIDEA et al. v. Biden, et al., No. 3:21-cv-00245 (D. Alaska).
Jan. 20, 2021 President Biden issued an Executive Order placing a temporary moratorium on all activities relating to BLM’s Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
Nov. 17, 2020 BLM issued a call for nominations inviting representatives from the oil and gas sector to nominate tracts of land for auction before Dec. 17, 2020. However, ten days before that period ends, on Dec. 7, 2020, BLM announced the Notice of Sale for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program. BLM later reduced the number of tracts in the Coastal Plain available for lease by about 30%, but proceeded with the scheduled lease sale on Jan. 6, 2021, offering 22 sections of the Coastal Plain for lease. 11 of the 22 sections received bids, and in all but two cases, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) was the sole bidder. BLM’s Alaska branch issued nine of the 11 leases sold on Jan. 19, 2021, totaling 437,804 acres.
Oct. 23, 2020 BLM released a proposal to conduct seismic testing in the 1002 Area of the Arctic Refuge. BLM released the environmental assessment for proposed seismic exploration on Dec. 16, 2020, including a draft Finding of No New Significant Impact (FONNSI) for the proposed seismic exploration in the Coastal Plain, with a two week comment period. DOI rejected a similar application to conduct seismic testing in Feb. 2019 due to concerns over the impacts of testing on local polar bear populations.
Aug. 24, 2020 The Gwich’in Steering Committee and conservation groups and a coalition of environmental organizations challenged BLM’s oil and gas leasing program in the Coastal Plain under multiple statutes, including the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and NEPA. Gwich’in Steering Committee v. Bernhardt, No. 3:20-cv-00204 (D. Alaska); National Audubon Society v. Bernhardt, No. 3:20-cv-00205 (D. Alaska). Fifteen states led by Washington and three Tribes of the Gwich’in Nation filed similar lawsuits. Washington v. Bernhardt, No. 3:20-cv-00224 (D. Alaska); Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government v. Bernhardt, No. 3:20-cv-00223 (D. Alaska).
Sept. 12, 2019 BLM released the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, recommending the least protective alternative, which would allow oil and gas leasing on 1.56 million acres of the Arctic Refuge’s Coastal Plain. Secretary Bernhardt signed the Record of Decision (ROD) adopting this alternative on Aug. 17, 2020.
Dec. 22, 2017 President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Section 20001 of the Act authorizes oil and gas exploration, leasing, development, and production on the Refuge’s Coastal Plain and orders the DOI Secretary to establish an oil and gas plan for the Coastal Plain, including requiring that two lease sales occur within 10 years of the Act’s passage. Both lease sales must include at least 400,000 acres. The first must be held before Dec. 21, 2021, and the second before Dec. 21, 2024.
Jan. 27, 2015 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a Revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Final EIS for the Arctic Refuge. The plan considered five management alternatives and recommended that Congress designate around 12 million acres as Wilderness Study Areas, including the Coastal Plain. This would allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to implement policies to protect those areas’ natural conditions until Congress decides to designate them as wilderness areas. DOI’s Regional Director in Alaska signed the Record of Decision (ROD) adopting the Plan’s recommendations on April 3, 2015, but cannot begin managing the targeted areas as Wilderness Study Areas without Congressional authorization.