January 6, Alaska: In a recent activity, the Trump administration has put it in final terms its plan to expose a vast extent of protected land in the Arctic Refuge region of Arctic Alaska for oil development. On Monday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposal for the 23 million acres on the western slope of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
A Step Taken By BLM for National Petroleum Reserve
Now about 80 percent of the refuge reserve that is 18.6 million acres are now available for gas and oil development by the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. According to the statement given by the BLM, the decision has been taken in “support of the Trump Administration’s agenda for a stronger and more energy independent nation.”
Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, sharing her opinion said that the drastic action highlights a significant achievement in delivering authorities’ promise of proving energy to each and every American. She further stated that with this step, they are escalating access to America’s great energy potential and of course in the process create more job opportunities in a post-pandemic world.
Permission granted By Trump
Last year in August, outgoing President Donald Trump announced a plan that aimed at allowing drilling for an undecided amount of oil on an area spanning more than 1.5 million acres on the Arctic Wildlife Refuge’s coast. And this happened in spite of activists protesting over how the oil drilling process could have an adverse effect not only on the environment but also on several indigenous tribes who have long been inhabiting the region.
The new plan “includes important safeguards for wildlife and sensitive resources,” and also distinct measures in order to address trepidations on the environmental impact raised from nearby communities, as per the bureau.
Authorities clearly mention that the plan encompasses important safeguards for wildlife and other sensitive resources. They further state that additional special measures have also been incorporated in order to address concerns from communities living nearby on the environmental impact.
The decision to throw open the land happened prior to the drilling rights on the North Slope of the Arctic Refuge region are to be auctioned on Wednesday. The ruling or the current outgoing Trump administration has hindered or reversed some efforts that were aimed at protecting the environment, especially backing out of the Paris Agreement, withdrawing clean water fortifications, and striving to fast-track review processes of dozens of projects that were exclusively targeted at environmental conservations including drilling and pipelines.
Source: ABC News
