The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. to clarify its April ruling that put offshore oil and gas leasing and exploration in Alaska on
hold.

Clarification is being sought from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that its ruling on offshore drilling does not invalidate existing leases issued under the 2007-2012 five-year program for the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

In urging federal government lawyers to pursue clarification, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar noted that the court’s action in vacating the five-year program came two years after leasing began.

The Interior Department’s interpretation of the decision is that the problems the court says it found with the Bush administration’s scientific and environmental analysis can be addressed going forward, rather than forcing the department to invalidate leases already granted and to develop an entirely new program.

Governor Sarah Palin said this could mean good news for Alaska, which is facing a freeze on the federal leasing program in the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering seas.

“The action suggests that Secretary Salazar is attempting to eliminate confusion and uncertainty in the oil and gas industry, and this gives us hope,” said Palin.

Following the initial court ruling, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich sent a letter to Interior requesting clarification of the court.

“The court’s overly broad decision puts too many leases in jeopardy,” Begich said. “We need to get the leasing program back on track to ensure Alaska projects move forward, give clear expectations to our oil and gas industry and continue meeting America’s energy needs.”

The April ruling on the 2007-2012 program puts billions of barrels of oil and nearly $11 billion in leases from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska in limbo. That program included the February 2008 Chukchi Sea lease sale that attracted a record $2.6 billion in high bonus bids. Other Alaska lease sales under the program have not yet been held.

The decision does not affect leases in the Beaufort Sea issued by Interior in an earlier five-year program.

The appeals court ordered a new evaluation of the five-year program after finding that Interior did not consider the“relative environmental sensitivity” of different OCS areas. The department only ranked the sensitivity of various shoreline areas to oil spills. The court said this was inadequate because the OCS extends far beyond shoreline areas.

The court said Interior must conduct a new comparative analysis of different OCS areas using a broader lens, and then reassess the timing and location of lease sales.

Opponents of drilling claimed the plan violated federal laws by failing to consider the effects of climate change on OCS regions and how the plan would affect climate change. Litigants claimed that Interior did not do enough biological research in Alaska waters and that it violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service about potential harm to polar bears and other species. The court dismissed all of these claims, saying some were not yet ripe for review while others lacked merit.

Governor Palin strongly objected to the appeals court ruling, warning that even a stepped-up effort toward energy conservation will not avert the need for increased production of conventional fuel sources

“Ironically, putting the brakes on domestic energy production does not prevent global warming or threats to species, but actually increases the problem by shifting resource
extraction to less environmentally-preferred fuels and locations,” Palin said.

Senator Murkowski said she was “troubled that the groups behind this litigation are engaging in the too-familiar tactic of suing on every possible issue, no matter the legal merits.”

Before the court’s ruling, Secretary Salazar put on a slower track a draft 2010-2015 program prepared by the Bush administration. Public comments on that draft program have
been extended to September 21.

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