"Natural Resources Defense Council"

Eighty million acres of the Gulf of Mexico — an area twice the size of Florida — was put on the auction block on Wednesday.

“The Corps finds that the project, as currently proposed, cannot be permitted under section 404 of the Clean Water Act,” the U.S. Army said in an official statement.

“Asking the governor to shill for them, right? It’s extraordinary,” Heimer said. “The governor is giving a sales pitch, on behalf of a foreign mining corporation.”

Officially, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is neutral on the Pebble Mine. But a letter he wrote to a potential investor in the controversial project calls his neutrality into question.

Along with five environmental groups, the Native Village of Nuiqsut is challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ exploratory drilling program this winter in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

Restrictions on the ivory industry are multiplying in the U.S., causing concern for artists in Alaska. Alaska Native carvers do have a degree of protection under federal law. But, non-Native carvers who only work with fossilized ivory are not shielded in the same way.

The Obama administration has removed the Arctic Ocean from any new oil and gas leasing for the next five years.

“We do not want to impact anyone’s drinking water in any way,” said Larry Burgess, BlueCrest’s health, safety and environmental manager.