The bill was a top climate priority for the governor this session but critics questioned the cost and whether the state could keep sensitive corporate data safe from hackers.
A federal court judge in Anchorage dismissed two challenges against ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, saying plaintiffs failed to show that the federal government made significant mistakes when it approved the project.
Aubrey Bertram writes, "The amount of public lands available for oil and gas leasing is just one glaring indication among many that the Department of the Interior has, for far too long, favored private interests over the American public."
The Utah rail project could result in a daily procession of trains carrying crude oil through sensitive Colorado River watersheds and the Denver metro area.
Colorado leaders are asking the feds to put the brakes on a proposed Utah railway that could send up to five oil trains per day through central Denver and other sensitive areas along the Colorado River watershed.
The lawsuit alleges that the Bureau of Land Management failed to take a "hard look" at the impact ConocoPhillips' drilling project will have on the environment.
Bending to the economic interest in exploiting Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope, the move undercuts a Biden campaign promise to stop new oil drilling on federal lands.