This story was corrected Feb. 14.
Most of the concerns heard by the US Bureau of Land Management during eight public meetings about the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for proposed oil and gas activity on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain have involved possible impacts on the porcupine caribou herd there, a US Department of the Interior official said during the final public meeting in Washington on Feb. 13.
But new issues, such as possible consequences from the noise of low-flying aircraft being used to conduct more frequent inventories of the herd, also have been expressed, Asst. Sec. of the Interior for Land and Minerals Joe Balash told reporters at a briefing. “The monitoring going on today, and for the last 40 years, has taken place without oil and gas development. We expect it to continue regardless,” he said.
“Every one of our alternatives takes steps to protect the caribou herd during calving. We’re seeking comments on all of them to allow responsible oil and gas resource development without harming the herd,” Balash said.
Oil and gas leasing on ANWR’s coastal plain was authorized and two sales scheduled as a provision in the federal tax reform bill that Congress passed, and US President Donald Trump signed in late 2017. The process formally began in April 2018 when BLM announced that it would begin taking comments about ANWR coastal plain leasing (OGJ Online, Apr. 20, 2018). It will take comments about the DEIS through Mar. 19.
Balash said the agency’s recent announcement that it would not conduct fresh seismic tests should not affect the first lease sale, which is scheduled for later in 2019. “It’s not a prerequisite to having a monetarily successful least, but it could delay the start of actual drilling by up to a year,” he said.
Polar bear protections
A draft incidental take program for polar bears also was considered, but there was not enough time to complete a rulemaking, Balash said. “The question now is whether there will be sufficient snow depth to have a workable 2-year protection program by the end of the year,” he said.
When told that Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), with 100 Democratic cosponsors, introduced a bill a day earlier that would repeal the 2017 tax reform law’s ANWR leasing authorization, Balash said, “Right now, we’re following the law. The only thing that would prevent our having a lease sale in another four years would be Congress changing the law.”
Witnesses at the final public hearing, meanwhile, generally were either opposed to or in favor of moving ahead with the lease sale. “There are 8,000 of us in 15 Gwich’in villages. We need to talk for things like birds, trees, and water that can’t talk for themselves,” said Sarah James, who testified on behalf of one of the Alaska Native tribes on the North Slope. “The State of Alaska put up $1 million/year to fight us, but we’re winning. The world knows there are people and porcupine caribou up there, and we’re going to keep fighting.”
A second witness, Glen Solomon, said, “I hope that many people can see the needs of my people in Kaktovik” in the North Slope Borough. “Most of our more than 200 citizens can’t travel to places like Washington because it’s too expensive. We’re not like environmental organizations where people fly everywhere and oppose our using our own resources. You should not worry so much about caribou and think about people whose families have lived in these areas for generations, and who want to have good economic opportunities.”
Marleanna Hall, executive director of Resource Development Council in Anchorage, said, “Development can be beneficial for Alaska Natives. There are many opportunities this development would bring, and we deserve every one of them. They make Alaska’s economy tick, and we have all benefited. If oil was being produced today, throughput in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System would be at two-thirds of capacity instead of the present one-third.”
Alaska Oil & Gas Association Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Kara Moriarty noted that more than two thirds of Alaskans support development of oil and gas on ANWR’s coastal plain. “When we talk about the area that’s being considered for leasing, it’s about 2,000 acres—smaller than the ranch I grew up on in North Dakota,” she testified.
The US Energy Information Administration has said that more than 50% of the energy the world consumes will need to come from oil and gas for some time, Moriarty said. “ANWR’s coastal plain is the largest play in the US. Production there could help keep the US less reliant on imported oil in the future,” she said. “Development today doesn’t occur as it did 65 years ago. The surface area now is about 12 acres, but technology has extended directional drilling up to 50 miles outward.”
Moriarty recalled that when she first came to Alaska 22 years ago to teach school on the North Slope, she found herself working in one of the richest school districts in the US because of revenue from oil production taxes. “In general, the DEIS is well organized and analyzes potential impacts of a well-managed drilling program. Although we’re still analyzing the alternatives, some would not allow integrated developments which we believe would be a mistake. I can’t guarantee that companies will participate in the Coastal Plain lease sale, or any specific lease sale, but I can guarantee they will continue to participate in lease sales across the globe because the world demands it."
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].