The administration of President Joe Biden reversed the drilling program approved by the previous administration, suspending the oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska on Tuesday, June 1.

The move revived a political battle over a remote region that is rich in reserve oil and home of polar bears and other wildlife.

Temporary Moratorium on Oil Leases

According to Associated Press, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's order follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by Biden on his first day in office.

The January 20 executive order of Biden suggested a needed new environmental review in order to address the possibility of legal flaws in a drilling program approved by the administration of former President Donald Trump under a 2017 law enacted by Congress.

After the Interior Department conducted the required review, they have identified the defects in the underlying record of decision that supported the leases. 

The department found a lack of analysis of a reasonable range of alternatives in the drilling program that is supposedly required under the National Environmental Policy Act, which is a bedrock environmental law, The Hill reported. 

Moreover, the remote region of 19.6 million-acre refuge is home to polar bears, caribou, snowy owls, and other wildlife not only from the U.S. but also migrating birds from six continents.

In addition, the Indigenous people of Gwich'in also considered the Alaska Arctic Refuge as a sacred place and not for drilling. But Republicans and some companies in the oil industry have long been trying to open up the oil-rich refuge.

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Pres. Joe Biden on Oil Leases in Alaska's Arctic Refuge

Environmental groups and Democrats, together with numerous Alaska Native tribes, have been trying to block the proposed opening of the oil industry in the region.

Despite the cheers coming from environmental groups and Democrats in the order of the Interior Department, the all-Republican congressional delegation of Alaska slammed it. The congressional delegation emphasized that the order is misguided and illegal.

On January 6 or two weeks before Biden took office, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an Interior Department agency, held a lease sale for the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain.

Other nine tracts were also signed for leases by the agency eight days later. It summed up to close to 685 square miles, CNBC reported. However, the public announcement regarding the issuance of all the leases was only made on January 19, the last day in office of Trump.

Biden totally opposed the drilling in the region. During his presidential campaign, Biden called for permanent protection in the refuge. Environmental groups also pushed for long-term protections.

The action made by the Biden administration, suspending the leases, came after officials disappointed environmental groups last week by defending a Trump administration decision to approve a major oil project on the North Slope of Alaska. But critics stated that the action depends on Biden in addressing climate change.

Kristen Miller, the acting executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, hailed suspension of the Arctic leasing program. She stated that it was the result of a flawed legal process under the Trump administration.

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