Just Days After ConocoPhillips Rig Collapse, Court Allows Conoco to Move Forward with Rushed Exploration Activities in Western Arctic
(Nuiqsut, Alaska / Washington, DC) — The United States District Court for the District of Alaska has sided with the Trump Administration in the lawsuit Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic et al. v. Burgum et al., allowing ConocoPhillips to conduct destructive winter exploration activities in the Western Arctic, including drilling and seismic testing.
The lawsuit claimed that Donald Trump’s Bureau of Land Management fast-tracked its environmental assessment – holding only a seven-day comment period – and failed to fully consider the harms ConocoPhillips’ work would cause to subsistence practices and critical wildlife habitat.
This court decision comes just days after the Doyon 26 oil rig, operated by ConocoPhillips, fell over and caught fire—landing just 50 feet from gas infrastructure—while being moved on a gravel road within the boundaries of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) during uncharacteristically warm Arctic temperatures.
Below is a statement from Grandmothers Growing Goodness’ Executive Director in response:
“It is disappointing to see the Court fail to hold the Trump Administration accountable for violating the law and putting communities like mine in danger. It stings even more knowing this decision to allow Conoco to continue their winter exploration activities comes just days after an oil rig toppled over 50 feet away from gas infrastructure right next door to my community. The reckless permitting of ConocoPhillips’ drilling and seismic plans blatantly bypassed public engagement and limited our ability to voice our concerns over the risks to our environment and health,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Executive Director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness. “Our fights are all interconnected: if the Trump Administration, with the help of the Courts, continues to succeed in ignoring the laws that protect us and advancing catastrophic oil and gas projects– that are getting riskier and riskier in a warming Arctic– we all suffer. We must join together through the power of goodness, and demand better from our leaders.”
These exploration activities will take place near Nuiqsut and within the Colville River and Teshekpuk Lake Special Areas.
The Colville River Special Area encompasses 2.44 million acres and supports habitats for numerous important wildlife species, including peregrine falcons, golden eagles, hawks, and critical subsistence fish species such as whitefish and lake trout, as well as three major caribou herds.
The Teshekpuk Lake Special Area contains the largest lake in Arctic Alaska and the third largest in the state, supporting one of the most productive and unique wetland complexes in the circumpolar Arctic. The area is vital for the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd and other wildlife that are integral to Indigenous subsistence practices, supporting hunting, fishing, and gathering.
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