Many details — in fact most of the reports dealing with inspections, safety and emergency planning — aren’t freely available to the public.
Energy & Mining
Feds to resume work on possible Cook Inlet lease sales
Alaska and 12 other states sued the Biden administration in March, arguing the pause on leases bypassed the public process when they hit pause on the sales.
Federal judge reverses Trump environmental approval for major Alaska oil project
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason, in a 110-page ruling Wednesday, said the Trump administration’s approval of the project under the National Environmental Policy Act was flawed.
Energy secretary praises Alaska’s innovation in renewables
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski traveled with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. She said Alaskans innovate because they have to, because they need sustainable energy generation to survive and because they have requirements that may be specific to their area.
Dunleavy won’t appeal judge’s ruling that state must fund program for lower energy costs
Dunleavy said in a statement that the ruling provided clarity and that the Power Cost Equalization program provides an essential service.
Mendenhall Glacier’s retreat is exposing new land. The Forest Service doesn’t want it to be mined.
In 1952, the Forest Service took the land around the Mendenhall Glacier off the table for mining. Now there’s a strip of land exposed by the shrinking glacier.
Judge orders EPA to update rules for dispersants used on oil spills
Cleanup crews used dispersants in large quantities after the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill and 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
State allows Donlin Gold to lease land for 315-mile pipeline
DNR has granted land-use rights for a proposed 315-mile long pipeline that would stretch from Cook Inlet to the proposed mine site.
Biden administration goes back to drawing board on oil leasing in Arctic Refuge
The announcement calls for a new study that will be a supplement to the 2019 environmental impact statement conducted by the Trump administration.
Plan to lease land near Ester for mine draws ire from residents, recreators
The Ester Community Association is opposing the plan, saying it would have broad impacts on the many Fairbanks-area residents who come to enjoy the area’s underdeveloped forestland and maze of back trails.