Gwich’in Steering Committee v. Bernhardt

Two lawsuits were filed in the federal district court for the District of Alaska challenging the federal review and approval of an oil and gas leasing program for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in 2017 authorized an oil and gas leasing program; the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a record of decision authorizing a program on August 17, 2020. Together, the plaintiffs asserted violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, the Wilderness Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Their claims included that BLM and the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to consider the leasing program’s impacts on climate change, as well as resulting impacts on polar bears. They also contended that the environmental impact statement failed to provide “a reasonably thorough discussion of the effectiveness of mitigation measures,” including lease stipulations or operating procedures, that could limit impacts, including impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.