Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska.) strongly criticized the Biden administration’s choice to restrict drilling on millions of acres of government-owned lands in Alaska, calling it a “lawless” decision.
Sullivan said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that it's unlawful and against national security, as President Biden lacks the authority to do so.
The Biden administration announced last week it would block off oil and gas drilling on 13 million acres in the Western Arctic that are part of an area known as the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska spans 23 million acres in the state’s North Slope and was established in 1923 by President Harding to provide oil for the Navy in emergencies.
The administration also issued a document signaling it will deny approval for a posed industrial road, known as the Ambler Access Project, which would have spanned more than 200 miles, including federally owned land.
The road would have gone through northwestern Alaska wilderness toward deposits of copper and zinc, disturbing Ambler Metals’s efforts to mine there. The administration pointed to its finding that the road would significantly restrict activities for more than 30 Alaska Native communities.
Sullivan on Sunday argued the move is harmful to his constituents, but also should be concerning on a national level.
Sullivan stated, “National resources, energy-critical minerals, that’s an American strength. This should concern all kinds of Americans.”
While the moves were met with praise from many environmental and tribal advocates, Sullivan argued some were not happy about the decision.
Sullivan said, “When President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that they did this in response to the Alaska Native leaders’ request, the leaders of the North Slope of Alaska were all against it.”
He claimed the indigenous people on the North Slope of Alaska wanted to meet with Haaland, who would not.
The Hill reached out to the Department of the Interior and White House for comment.
The Biden administration has a mixed record on energy and conservation issues in Alaska. Last year, it approved the Willow Project, giving ConocoPhillips permission to drill in the state for around 30 years.
