Biden administration defends Trump-era Alaska oil decision

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — U.S. government attorneys are defending a decision made during the Trump administration to approve a major oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. Critics say the action flies in the face of President Joe Biden's pledges to address climate change.

U.S. Justice Department attorneys, in a filing Wednesday, wrote that opponents of the Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska were seeking to stop development by “cherry-picking” the records of federal agencies to claim environmental review law violations. The filing defends the reviews underpinning last fall's decision approving project plans.

A coalition of groups sued to invalidate the Trump-era approval. An appeals court earlier this year halted certain construction activities, and parties in the case later agreed to keep in place construction activity limits until Dec. 1 while the underlying case continued.

Wednesday's filing came in the underlying case. The filing was lauded by members of Alaska's Republican congressional delegation, who have been critical of prior actions by the Biden administration affecting resource development, such as a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Members Thursday credited administration officials with hearing their arguments on the Willow project.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told reporters the defense of the Willow project was “good news for Alaska. But I don’t think that folks should believe that we’ve been able to all of a sudden charm the administration and they're going to do whatever it is that we have on our to-do list. We have to work very, very very hard.”

ConocoPhillips is the project developer. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, in its decision approving Willow, said production over 30 years could reach about 585 million barrels of oil.

Trustees for Alaska filed the case challenging the adequacy of the review process on behalf of conservation groups and Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic, described as a grassroots organization. Bridget Psarianos, an attorney with the group, in a statement said the Biden administration's defense of the project “goes completely against its stated promises to take immediate and effective climate action, protect biodiversity, and take environmental justice concerns seriously."

Scott Fogarty, executive director of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, one of the litigants, said the administration's response “gives us real reason to question their commitment to science-informed management and climate action.”

Tyler Cherry, a spokesperson for the U.S. Interior Department, under which the Bureau of Land Management falls, provided a statement simply explaining the contents of Wednesday's filing.

Patrick Bergt, regulatory and legal affairs manager with the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, in a statement said the Willow project is “key to Alaska's energy future and will bring new oil production and jobs to our state.”