"The Interior Department today said it will restart an environmental review of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s oil and gas program, following its determination earlier this year that the Trump administration’s assessment was flawed.
This supplement to the original environmental impact statement will consider the effects of a drilling program in the refuge’s 1.6-million-acre coastal plain.
Interior will explore new alternatives, such as reserving some areas of the coastal plain as off-limits to drilling, prohibiting surface disturbance in sensitive areas, and how to “otherwise avoid or mitigate impacts from oil and gas activities,” according to an Interior notice published in the Federal Register.
Officials anticipate a draft of the supplemental review taking six to eight months to complete, following an initial scoping period for public input."
Heather Richards reports for E&E News August 3, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"US Will Review Oil And Gas Leasing Program In Alaska Refuge" (AP)
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