The Trump administration is allowing oil drilling for the first time on Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a pristine patch of wilderness covering 19 million acres on America's northern frontier, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2020) The Trump administration is allowing oil drilling for the first time on Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a pristine patch of wilderness covering 19 million acres on America's northern frontier, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday.
"Congress gave us a very clear directive here, and we have to carry out that directive consistent with the directive that they gave, and consistent with the procedural statutes," Bernhardt was quoted saying by the Journal. "I have a remarkable degree of confidence that this can be done in a way that is responsible, sustainable and environmentally benign."
Congress approved the program in 2017, during the Obama administration's term, and the Interior's Bureau of Land Management in December 2018 concluded drilling could be conducted within the coastal plain area without harming wildlife.
Bernhardt said he had signed the Record of Decision, which will determine where oil and gas leasing will take place in the refuge's coastal plain, a 1.56-million acre swath of land on Alaska's north shore with the Beaufort Sea, the Journal reported.
"Congress directed us to hold lease sales in the ANWR Coastal Plain, and we have taken a significant step in meeting our obligations by determining where and under what conditions the oil and gas development program will occur," the interior secretary said in a statement.
President Trump, asked about the oil leasing program during an appearance on Fox news on Monday, seemed uncertain about the decision, saying the administration "may or may not" approve it. He, however, stressed the administration has "been very good to Alaska" and "very pro-energy at the same time."
