Phil Taylor, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Six Senate Democrats today urged the Obama administration to forgo oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Ocean until more is understood about its impacts on the environment, the economy and Native Alaskans.
Led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), the lawmakers said it was “perplexing” that the Interior Department had decided to include up to three sales off the Alaska coast in its new five-year plan given the lack of infrastructure and the challenges of cleaning up a spill.
“The Arctic Ocean is characterized by hurricane-force storms, 20-foot swells, sea ice up to 25 feet thick, sub-zero temperatures and months- long darkness,” said the letter last week signed by Merkley; Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.); and Sens. Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.). “Moreover, the Arctic has extremely limited infrastructure (there are no roads or deep water ports and only a handful of small airports) and the nearest Coast Guard station is 1,000 miles away.”
The agency this summer finalized a leasing plan that would allow targeted sales in the Chukchi Sea in 2016 and in the Beaufort Sea in 2017.
But in contrast to Gulf of Mexico sales that include all of the federal planning areas, the size and location of the Arctic sales will be determined by factors including resource potential, subsistence use and environmental conditions, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Moreover, Salazar last November told a House committee he won’t hesitate to yank the leases if new infrastructure and scientific insight are not developed in time for their sale (Greenwire, Nov. 16, 2011).
That’s the course Senate Democrats called for in their letter, which cites a recent report from the members of President Obama’s oil spill commission that found additional infrastructure and Arctic research is needed to safely develop oil.
The senators said Interior should make future Arctic leases contingent on scientific research and monitoring, demonstration of effective spill response, and continued protection of sensitive areas including Hanna Shoal and Barrow Canyon.
But Robert Dillon, a spokesman for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a backer of Arctic drilling, said the Obama administration has exercised an “abundance of caution” in allowing Arctic development.
“We support the Obama administration on this one,” he said, adding that Murkowski believes there should be annual lease sales in the region.
Arctic leasing has spawned controversy since the George W. Bush administration sold billions of dollars in federal blocks during its second term. Environmentalists oppose Arctic drilling, warning weather conditions there would make oil spill response nearly impossible.
And for the first time, an oil giant today publicly opposed drilling in the Arctic. Christophe de Margerie, the CEO of Total SA, said energy companies should not drill in the Arctic because the costs are simply too high (Greenwire, Sept. 26).
Royal Dutch Shell PLC this summer began drilling the first well in Arctic waters in more than two decades, though it was forced to postpone drilling into oil-bearing rocks until next summer.
Special thanks to Richard Charter