Green groups ramp up pressure on Biden as Alaska oil drilling decision approaches

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Environmental groups are stepping up pressure on the Biden administration to reject a plan to drill for oil in Alaska, a decision they see as a test of President Biden's commitment to move away from fossil fuels.

The Bureau of Land Management-Alaska completed its report Wednesday on the environmental impact of an $8 billion oil drilling project known as the Willow Project. That project, led by ConocoPhillips, Alaska’s largest crude oil producer, could produce an estimated 600 million barrels of crude oil.

A federal judge ruled the assessment was necessary for the Department of Interior to finalize its decision on the project, which will be made by the end of the month.

Reports that the Biden administration may be considering approving the Willow Project in whole or in part prompted dire warnings from environmental groups on Wednesday.

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The Biden administration has 30 days to decide whether to approve an oil drilling project in Alaska opposed by environmental groups. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

"We urge the Biden-Harris administration to reverse course and reject ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project as soon as possible," the League of Conservation Voters said in a statement Wednesday. "In the wake of a year when Big Oil raked in record shattering profits at the expense of the rest of us, the last thing ConocoPhillips needs is another carbon bomb project to further pad C-suite executives’ salaries and wealthy stockholder buybacks."

"It’s not too late for the Biden-Harris administration to reject the dirty and dangerous Willow Project, and that’s exactly what they should do," the group added.

The League of Conservation Voters and other groups, including the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and the Defenders of Wildlife, protested the Willow project outside the White House in January. A group of 38 indigenous organizations wrote a letter to President Biden Tuesday demanding he put an end to the project.

"Locally, nationally, and globally, we cannot afford this climate disaster," they wrote. "Stop the Willow Project today, tomorrow, and forever."

The Department of the Interior released a statement Wednesday in response to the Bureau of Land Management-Alaska report that said the agency is worried about the Willow Project, but will discern if they can implement the plan in a more environmentally friendly manner.

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The Biden administration faces pressure from environmental allies to put an end to the Willow project. (Anna Moneymaker)

"The Department has substantial concerns about the Willow project and the preferred alternative as presented in the final SEIS, including direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impacts to wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence," the statement said. "Consistent with the law, a decision will be finalized by the Department no sooner than 30 days after publication of the final SEIS. That decision may select a different alternative, including no action, or the deferral of additional drill pads beyond the single deferral described under the preferred alternative."

Alaska’s congressional caucus supports the Willow Project, which they say would create jobs in the state and boost the nation’s energy production amid a struggling economy.

The Willow Project was first put into place by the Trump administration. The Biden administration defended the plan against court challenges as it has attempted to balance environmental and economic priorities.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland opposed the Willow plan as a congresswoman. She signed a letter in 2020 to the Department of the Interior that said the agency should delay the plan for environmental reasons.

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Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland opposed the Willow project as a congresswoman. (Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Biden administration is expected to propose a scaled-down version of the Willow Project that allows drilling on a more limited basis. The publication cited an anonymous source who said the administration will propose to cut the drilling project from five to three sites.

Environmental activists slammed the Biden administration in response to the story.

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"This is morally abhorrent, and bad politics, to boot," climate activist Alex Steffen tweeted.

"We can’t afford to move @conocophillips' Willow Project forward and still have hope for a livable future," the Center for American Progress energy account tweeted.