ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
A public hearing was held Tuesday evening about environmental concerns stemming from the 2008 lease sale in the Chukchi Sea. The sale received bids totaling $2.7 billion and issued 487 leases, but environmental and Alaska Native groups sued and in July a federal court judge said environmental information was lacking.
It was a star-studded meeting, packed with environmentalists, Alaska Natives, oil insiders and actor Ted Danson.
“If you have done the science to begin with you'd say, ‘don't drill here, drill there,’ and it has less impact on the environment and you can still get your oil, but you can do it in a safer way,” said Danson.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) is back again, under orders from the federal courts, asking for public comment on a supplemental environmental impact statement.
“The supplemental review is flawed. It fails to do a good job really, fully analyzing the impacts and risks to the region,” said Betsy Beardsley of the Alaska Wilderness League, “they need to take a step back and gather that sound science.”
But oil insiders disagree, saying millions of dollars have already been spent over the past 20 years on environmental reviews and the economic impact to the state is priceless.
“If you look at projections over 50 years you're looking at $72 billion in payroll, an estimated 35,000 additional jobs and, most importantly, continuation of TAPS (Trans-Alaska Pipeline System),” said Marilyn Crockett, Alaska Oil and Gas Association.
This is the final public testimony and with so much major attention on drilling, more than just Alaskans will be watching for answers.
The testimony and research will be forwarded to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
