Today’s Key Takeaways: Gwich’in “claim” sacred grounds that aren’t theirs? Alaska dominated DOE and EPA issues to watch. Alaska gold project shines. Putting Alaska’s small businesses and workers at risk.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
Federal overreach on North Slope Indigenous lands
Josiah Aullaqsruaq Patkotak, Anchorage Daily News, October 12, 2024
On May 28, the leader of the Native Village of Kaktovik received a letter from Merben Cebrian, the federal refuge manager for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In this letter, Cebrian explained that, based on requests from the Native Village of Venetie and Arctic Village, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering designating a portion of ANWR — specifically 1.5 million acres — as sacred grounds for the Gwich’in under Emergency Order 13007.
As mayor of the North Slope Borough and a proud member of the Iñupiaq people, I feel compelled to address this affront to our people’s ancestral lands.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s attempt to designate land as religious grounds for the Gwich’in people, land that has never been part of their historical territory, is not only misguided but an affront to the sovereignty and history of the Iñupiaq.
For thousands of years, the Iñupiaq people have lived, thrived and stewarded these lands. Our deep connection to the land and its resources is woven into the very fabric of our identity. Yet, today, we find ourselves at the crossroads of a dangerous and paternalistic attempt by the federal government to undermine our rights and history. This is not a simple misunderstanding; it is a naked and transparent effort to advance a political agenda at the expense of our people.
Let me be clear: the land in question is not, and has never been, Gwich’in territory. If there is a claim that their ancestors are buried here, that is a result of territorial wars that occurred in a bygone era; and victors aren’t buried.
OIL & GAS:
3 energy issues to watch at Interior, DOE and EPA
Brian Dabbs, Heather Richards, Carlos Anchondo, E & E News, October 11, 2024
The presidential election could lead to a U-turn in energy policy at federal agencies.
The Biden administration is racing to finalize major regulatory actions that are likely to affect the pace of decarbonization in the U.S. for decades to come.
Coming agency decisions will determine which public lands and waters open up for oil and gas drilling and how the Biden administration cracks down on violators of emissions regulations, like those in place to ensure captured carbon dioxide stays in the ground.
Federal agencies also will soon determine how many greenhouse gas emissions are produced by appliances used by industry and households every day.
Here are three energy issues to watch at federal agencies as the Biden administration pushes to finalize rules by the end of the year:
Interior oil sale
Interior is mandated to hold an oil auction by year’s end in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, continuing a contentious program to explore for hydrocarbons in the nations’ most remote public lands.
But the department has yet to release a final environmental analysis on the potential impacts of drilling, or announce an auction, leaving some Alaskan leaders concerned the agency will buck its commitment.
“They have shown in Alaska that they’re unequivocally not interested in following the law,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) about the Biden administration. Sullivan helped create the ANWR oil program via a rider to the Republicans’ 2017 tax overhaul.
If Biden holds the congressionally mandated oil sale, it could revive criticisms from environmentalists about his climate record. Despite securing historic investments in climate and clean energy, the president approved the $8 billion Willow oil and gas project in the Arctic in 2023 over the protests of climate activists.
Interior declined to answer questions about the ANWR sale. It previously has said it will “follow the law” regarding the auction. Most experts anticipate a sale late in the year, after the presidential election.
“The Department of Interior has a legal obligation under the tax act to hold a lease sale by the end of this year, so that’s what we expect,” said Kristen Miller, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League Action, a political advocacy arm of the environmental group that opposes oil development in the refuge.
ANWR could hold more than 10 billion barrels of crude oil and tapping its resources has been a long-time goal of state leaders. Biden follows a long line of Democratic presidents opposing development — then-President Bill Clinton vetoed a budget bill in 1995, citing the opening of ANWR to drilling as one of the reasons.
The 2017 tax law required at least two oil sales in the refuge, with the second sale occurring no later than Dec. 22, 2024. The Trump administration held the first sale Jan. 6, 2021, but it was a disappointment. Just three bidders won leases, including a state-established public corporation for Alaska.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland later canceled the leases from the Trump-era auction, citing “legal deficiencies” in the environmental analysis. Interior released a new draft “supplemental” environmental review in late 2023. But it has not finalized the analysis, which must take place before the sale.
The Bureau of Land Management is also required to publish a final notice of sale at least 30 days before the ANWR auction.
MINING:
New direction at Freegold’s Golden Summit
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, October 9, 2024
Company discovers a shift in orientation and broader gold veins as drills trace mineralization toward historic Newsboy Mine.
Freegold Resources Ltd. Oct. 8 reported that its resource expansion drilling west of the 25-million-ounce Dolphin-Cleary gold deposit at its Golden Summit in Interior Alaska is cutting multiple higher-grade veins reminiscent of the historic Newsboy Mine about 1,000 meters to the southwest.
According to a calculation completed in September, Dolphin-Cleary hosts 23.8 million ounces of open-pit mineable gold in all resource categories, plus 1.1 million oz of underground mineable gold.
The resources outlined within the deposit are divided into three groups – open-pit mineable oxide resources, open-pit mineable primary resources, and deeper under-pit resources.
POLITICS:
Ballot Measure 1 puts Alaska’s small businesses and workers at risk
Sarah Oates, Kati Capozzi, Jillian Simpson, Rebecca Logan, Thor Stacy and Alicia Maltby
Anchorage Daily News, October 13, 2024
As the debate around Ballot Measure 1 picks up steam, Alaskans from all walks of life should take a closer look at the real consequences this measure would inflict. Despite claims of this initiative supporting working Alaskans, it is clear it will do more harm than good — especially for small businesses and workers who are already struggling just to get by in today’s difficult economic environment.
The first red flag is who is funding this effort. Once again, groups from outside Alaska seek to use our state as a social experiment by passing risky legislation that can then be expanded into other states. As is often the case, these outsiders don’t seem to understand our state’s unique economy. BM1′s supporters have proposed something that will unleash widespread negative consequences. How? It is written with vague language and overly broad definitions that leave too much open to interpretation. This will create confusion for business owners and lead to unnecessary and costly legal battles. Even worse, the measure has been crafted without considering how it will affect our small businesses — the backbone of our economy — nor the workers who rely on them for their livelihoods.
Ballot Measure 1 will force small businesses, already struggling to meet payroll, to absorb the cost of extended mandatory sick leave. This isn’t just a problem for the businesses. When employers are required to provide significantly more paid time off, those costs are passed on to consumers through higher prices on goods and services. With Alaska’s cost of living already soaring, do we really want to make everyday necessities even more expensive? The irony is that these rising costs hurt everyone, including the very workers Ballot Measure 1 claims to protect.