The Trump administration is advancing oil exploration Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in a move critics see as an attempt to lock in drilling before President-elect Joe Biden
Joe BidenObama: US ‘adversaries have seen us weakened’ US sees 1M new coronavirus cases in one week GOP shows limited appetite for pursuing Biden probes MORE takes office in January.
The Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska state office on Tuesday will publish a “call for nominations” seeking input on which pieces of land should be leased for drilling.
The call describes an “upcoming Coastal Plain (CP) Oil and Gas Lease Sale” although it does not specify when the sale will take place.
Environmentalists argue the Trump administration is trying to rush through lease sales that are opposed by Biden, making it harder for him to reverse drilling plans there after he takes office.
The federal government is slated to hold a lease sale in ANWR by Dec. 22, 2021, and another by Dec. 22, 2024, under a provision in Trump’s 2017 tax law.
