(The Center Square) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the Biden administration’s decision to cancel seven oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is illegal.
The leases were approved by the Trump administration in January 2021, shortly before the former president left office as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority holds the leases, according to a news release from Dunleavy’s office.
“The leases AIDEA hold in ANWR were legally issued in a sale mandated by Congress. It’s clear that President Biden needs a refresher on the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine. Federal agencies don’t get to rewrite laws, and that is exactly what the Department of the Interior is trying to do here,” Dunleavy said. “We will fight for Alaska’s right to develop its own resources and will be turning to the courts to correct the Biden Administration’s wrong.”
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement on Facebook that Alaskans have worked for decades to responsibly develop the area.
“Now the Biden Administration, at a time when America and our allies need Alaska’s resources more than ever, has decided to go their own way by further locking Alaska down while refusing to consult with the Alaska Natives who actually live on the North Slope,” Murkowski said. “It’s bad enough to tear up legal contracts and renege on federal commitments. But it’s even more unconscionable that the Biden administration is penalizing Alaska right as it allows Iran to produce more of its oil and solicits the same from Venezuela.”
Murkowski said the move will mean fewer jobs for Alaskans.
“Fewer jobs at home, more imports for California, and higher prices for everyone,” she said. “These decisions are illegal, reckless, defy all common sense, and are the latest signs of an incoherent energy policy from President Biden.”
A coalition of business groups led by the Alaska Chamber also denounced the decision.
“Such extreme actions will have many businesses and industries asking, ‘who’s next?'” the coalition said in a news release. The Biden administration’s decision strikes at the heart of the business community’s worst fears. When legally obtained contracts are abruptly terminated, for political reasons, it destroys the fundamental principles of fairness and predictability essential for a functioning, not to mention healthy and growing, economy.”
