ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration’s approval of a five-year exploration program at an oil field on Alaska’s North Slope is being challenged by environmental groups who say a federal agency failed to assess greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management “approved the program without assessing the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from oil and gas produced and consumed if exploration results in discovery, development, and production,” the lawsuit states.
The land agency “later assessed only a fraction of the direct emissions that would result from on-the-ground operations to conduct the exploration.”
The lawsuit challenging the adequacy of environmental reviews for the Peregrine project was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace USA, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
“We are beyond frustrated with Biden’s rubber stamping of Big Oil’s drilling in Alaska’s vulnerable and wild places,” said Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth, in a statement.
Emerald House, a subsidiary of Australia-based 88 Energy, was granted the exploration approvals for the field in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The field is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of ConocoPhillips’ Willow prospect, which conservation groups have sued to stop.
Representatives with the federal agency and 88 Energy declined to comment when contacted by the newspaper.