(Reuters) – The state of Alaska said on Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit challenging new federal regulations governing oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).
In April, President Joe Biden’s administration took steps to restrict both oil and gas exploration and mining in Alaska.
The regulation blocked development of 40% of NPR-A to protect wildlife habitat and indigenous communities’ way of life. However, the regulation did not affect existing oil and gas operations.
“The new rules were adopted without proper input from stakeholders, went beyond the authority of Congress, and were rushed into place to avoid Congressional oversight,” the state of Alaska said in a statement.
The NPR-A, as the area is known, is a 9.3 million-acre tract on the state’s North Slope and is the largest tract of untouched public land in the United States.
“This lawsuit is intended to prevent federal agencies from overreaching and ignoring Alaskans’ rights,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.
Alaska said it had attempted to participate in the rulemaking process, submitted thoughtful comments and requested additional time to prepare comments. However, it claims the “rules were rushed into action to avoid a potential change in Congressional oversight.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Alaska filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking to recoup revenue it lost after the Biden administration canceled oil and gas drilling concessions in the 19.5 million-acre federal Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
