President Joe Biden announced on Monday a sweeping ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling across most US coastlines. Biden’s offshore drilling ban, projecting 625 million acres of ocean, including Alaska’s Bering Sea, aims to minimize environmental risks.
However, Biden described this as part of the America the Beautiful initiative to preserve 30% of national lands and waters by 2030. Alaska’s congressional delegation quickly criticized the decision. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, shared his frustration focusing on the Biden Administration’s unilateral decision-making process. Sullivan, who opposes Biden’s offshore drilling ban in the Bering Sea, stated that the administration failed to consult Alaska’s delegation.
“It’s no exaggeration to say this administration has sanctioned Alaskans and our energy industry more than he sanctioned the terrorist regimes in Iran and Venezuela,” stated Sullivan. Senator Representative Nick Begich, R-Alaska, expressed anger on social media, calling Biden’s move sanctimonious and driven by socialist-driven climate science.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, criticized the timing of the decision as an 11th-hour move. While she acknowledged the Alaska tribe’s desire to block oil development in nearby waters, Murkowski argued that current energy policies fail to meet Southcentral Alaska’s natural gas needs.
What we have faced over the past four years is an unbalanced policy that has left us on the verge of importing LNG,” stated Murkowski. In defending the ban, Biden’s administration emphasized the importance of preventing disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Begich, however, argued that Alaska maintains the world’s strictest environmental standards for resource development. When you shut down areas like Alaska, you’re pushing that work to a jurisdiction with lower environmental standards and a worse record,” Begich explained.
As Biden’s term nears its end, Alaska’s delegation plans to challenge the offshore ban. Sullivan revealed upcoming discussions with North Dakota Governor (Doug) Burgum, Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Interior.
Delegation leaders are exploring budget reconciliation measures to reverse Biden’s executive actions. And when you unleash American energy, you have to unleash Alaska,” Sullivan stated. The delegation faces legal challenges in repealing this order under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
This news article was originally published by Alaska’s News Source.
