Joe Biden, or whoever is pulling his strings now – perhaps his spouse, the famous Trump-flirting Lady in Red – seems determined to stick it to Alaska on the way out the door. In the latest such action, the administration is conducting a drilling lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on Alaska’s North Slope – and they are holding it to the bare minimum that they are required by statute, effectively closing off 3/4 of the ANWR to development.
The Biden Administration announced it will hold a congressionally mandated lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s 1002 Area, which was an area set aside in law for oil and gas. The sale is required by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump.
But the Interior Department, after canceling all of the lawfully allowed leases to date, has actually shut down all but one quarter of the 1002 area. The department will auction just 400,000 acres, which is the minimum required by the 2017 law, that mandated the department conduct two sales before the end of 2024.
During the Donald Trump Administration, there were nine leases…
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