Federal judge hears bid Thursday to throw out Arctic refuge oil leasing and leases

A federal judge in Anchorage hears arguments Thursday on whether to throw out the oil and gas leasing program for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain, along with the leases sold under it.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason has said she will try to rule by Nov. 20 unless the defendants tell the court no on-the-ground work is planned for this winter. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the state development agency that holds leases there, approved up to $190 million in May for seismic exploration, permitting and studies.

Plaintiffs asked last week that the government and AIDEA update the court on permitting for winter exploration.

Three related lawsuits are before Gleason. One was brought by the Gwich'in Steering Committee along with 11 conservation groups, including the Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society. The others were brought by the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government and by the Natural Resources Defense Council with other groups.

The Interior Department is defending the program. So are the Native Village of Kaktovik and the Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation, which joined the litigation on the government's side along with the North Slope Borough, the State of Alaska, AIDEA, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and the American Petroleum Institute.

Kaktovik is the only community inside the refuge, and its village corporation owns 92,000 acres on the coastal plain, making it the only private landowner there. The city's and tribe's leaders recently told visiting state development officials that they want oil and gas development. "Responsible development can provide real opportunities for our community and for Alaska," said Nathan Gordon Jr., the city's mayor.

The Gwich'in rely on the Porcupine caribou herd, which they say depends on the coastal plain for calving. Kaktovik's tribal president has pointed to state and federal survey data showing the herd calving mostly in Canada.

In court filings, the plaintiffs argue that Interior broke environmental, subsistence and endangered species laws, including by readopting the 2020 leasing program in 2025 without new environmental review. The government and the groups that joined it filed briefs opposing the lawsuits this summer.

Congress ordered coastal plain leasing in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Interior sold the first leases in 2021, then suspended them under President Joe Biden. A more restricted 2024 program drew no bids. Interior brought back the 2020 program last year, and a June sale drew nine bids on five tracts, all from AIDEA and Hex Energy.

If Gleason finds Interior got it wrong, whether to cancel AIDEA's leases would be argued separately.