On Tuesday night, a federal court in Alaska overturned an oil and gas lease sale mandated by the Biden administration’s signature climate law, citing legal violations by the U.S. government in conducting the sale.
The ruling impacts a December 2022 lease sale of offshore tracts for oil and gas development in the Cook Inlet, northern Gulf of Alaska, mandated as part of a compromise to pass the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
The federal district court determined that the Interior Department violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider a reasonable range of alternative leasing areas. Additionally, the court found that the Department did not evaluate the impact of vessel noise on Beluga whales in the area and neglected to assess the “cumulative impact” of the sale on the environment.
Two other lease sales enshrined in the Inflation Reduction Act are currently under litigation.
“Today’s legal victory is a win for Alaska communities, threatened beluga whales, and future generations who will face a hotter planet,” said Carole Holley, an attorney at environmental law organisation Earthjustice, who represented the plaintiffs.
