Cases

Oil and Gas Lease Sale in the Chukchi Sea

In Brief:

Alaska's Chukchi Sea provides vital habitat for polar bears, endangered bowhead whales, walrus, beluga whales, seals, fish and marine birds. Native Alaskan communities along the Chukchi Sea practice a subsistence way of life and have depended on the resources of this sea for their cultural and nutritional well-being for thousands of years. The U.S. Interior Department has decided to open nearly 30 million acres of this vitally important habitat in the Chukchi Sea for oil and gas leasing and possible development.

The environmental impact statement prepared by the Mineral Management Service (part of the Department of the Interior) in connection with the lease sale failed to properly evaluate the potential effect of exploration and drilling in this pristine area, and did not adequately analyze the combined effects of climate change and oil and gas activities on the wildlife that inhabits the sea and the communities that depend upon it.

Earthjustice filed suit on behalf of a coalition of Alaska Native organizations and conservation groups challenging the adequacy of the agency's environmental impact analysis. Earthjustice will ask the court to void any leases issued pursuant to the sale if it determines that the environmental review was inadequate until the government conducts a more thorough environmental review.

Updated: February 4, 2008

Case #1307