The Trump administration has a new signature achievement, in finalizing a plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
"The Trump administration finalized plans Monday to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, a move that will auction off oil and gas rights in the heart of one of the nation’s most iconic wild places," reports Juliet Eilperin.
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been a goal fo the Republican party for 40 years, according to Eilperin, who describes the plan as a capstone achievement for the Trump administration.
"The move will allow leasing on the 1.6 million-acre coastal plain, the center of a nearly pristine wilderness home to migrating caribou and waterfowl as well as polar bears and foxes that live there year-round," writes Eilperin. "It marks a major step toward reviving fossil fuel development in an area that has been untouched for three decades."
Environmentalists and Native American tribes who live in and around the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have pledged to fight the plan in court.
A "record of decision" published this week by the Bureau of Land Management paves the way for construction of as many as four airstrips and well pads, 175 miles of roads, vertical supports for pipelines, a seawater-treatment plant and a barge landing and storage site, according to Eilperin.
The article includes more details about the geographic scope of the refuge, and the animals that make their habitat there. Also included is a timeline for the auctioning of oil drilling rights in the refuge.
FULL STORY: Trump finalizes drilling plan for iconic Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Department of Interior Plans to Open 1 Million Acres in California to Fracking
The Bakersfield Office of the Bureau of Land Management released an environmental study that is the basis for undoing a 2013 de facto moratorium on fracking on federal lands in California. The Supplemental EIS triggers a 45-day public comment period.
The Trump Administration's Trail of Broken Environmental Regulations
Critics of the Trump administration who chide the president for a lack of accomplishments should check the environmental record.
Judge Tosses Trump Administration's Rollback of 'Waters of the United States' Protections
The Trump administration's Navigable Waters Protection Rule was sloppy, and it would have done "serious environmental harm," according to a recent court ruling.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
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Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Meet NYC’s New Office of Livable Streets
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Transit Riders Face the Highest Safety Risks in These 10 States
According to federal data, the average number of safety incidents on public transportation averaged 55.2 per 100,000 people across all states between 2010 and 2023. Which states came in well above the national average?
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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