(The Center Square) – Alaska lawmakers are praising a decision by a federal judge to dismiss challenges to the Biden administration’s approval of drilling projects on the North Slope.
The Willow Master Development Plan, approved by the Bureau of Land Management in March, allows ConocoPhillips to lease land in the National Petroleum Reserve to drill and market oil and gas.
Environmental groups, led by Earthjustice on behalf of the Defenders of Wildlife, sued to stop the project. They said they plan to appeal the decision.
“While today’s ruling is disappointing, we are entirely confident in our claims, and plan to appeal to the higher court,” said Erik Grafe, deputy managing attorney in Earthjustice’s Alaska regional office, in a statement posted on the Defenders of Wildlife website. “Beyond the illegality of Willow’s approval, Interior’s decision to greenlight the project in the first place moved us in the opposite direction of our national climate goals in the face of the worsening climate crisis.”
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the court’s ruling affirms that the project is an “environmentally responsible energy project.”
“Willow will demonstrate once again that Alaska develops its resources with the most stringent environmental standards in the world,” Dunleavy said. “The Willow project will create new jobs, higher revenues, and increase the nation’s overall energy security.”
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the ruling should mark the end of litigation.
“This ruling is a victory for Alaskans’ right to responsibly produce our energy resources in the National Petroleum Reserve and to contribute to American energy security,” Murkowski said in a post on the social media site X. “The claims against Willow were not just dismissed, but dismissed with prejudice.”
The project could create up to $7 billion in federal revenue, according to the decision by the Bureau of Land Management. ConocoPhillips Alaska officials said there is a potential for up to 2,500 construction and 300 long-term jobs.
“Willow underwent nearly five years of rigorous regulatory review and environmental analysis, including extensive public involvement from the communities closest to the project site,” said Erec Isaacson, president of ConocoPhillips Alaska, in a statement. “We now want to make this project a reality and help Alaskan communities realize the extensive benefits of responsible energy development.”
