Bureau of Land Management releases arctic lease sale analysis

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for drilling the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Wednesdayâ€s FSEIS re-assesses the impact of the Arctic Refuge oil and gas leasing program, addressing deficiencies in the original Final Environmental Impact Statement, issued in 2019. 

The FSEIS is a necessary step before BLM holds a lease sale in the Refuge. The lease sale is required by the 2017 Tax Act which required the Department of the Interior to hold two lease sales in the Arctic Refuge by the end of 2024. 

A lease sale was held on January 6, 2020. Only half of the leases offered were bid on and all of the oil companies that were awarded bids have pulled out of their leases.

In response, Environment America Public Lands Campaign Director Ellen Montgomery issued the following statement:

“The 2017 Tax Actâ€s mandate forces the hand of the Bureau of Land Management, but that doesnâ€t make this lease sale a good idea. We urge oil companies to stay away from the refuge and leave it to the caribou, polar bears and migratory birds who depend on it.

“Every time we drill in a new place, nature suffers the devastating effects for generations. And we donâ€t need the oil. Renewables are on the rise. America produces more than three times as much power from the sun, the wind and the earth as we did in 2014, with growth in all 50 states.â€