Defenders' Experts
Chukchi Sea
Date Filed: 01/31/2008
Case Status: Active
Native Village of Point Hope v. Kempthorne
Litigation filed with Alaskan Native villages and environmental organizations against the Minerals Management Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding MMS’s decision to offer approximately 29.4 million acres of public lands on the outer continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea for oil and gas leasing. This area is the latest battleground over global warming, inhabited by numerous species protected by the ESA including the polar bear, endangered bowhead, humpback fin, and right whales and threatened Steller’s and spectacled eiders.
Updates:
04/17/2009
On April 17, 2009, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated the 2007-2012 outer continental shelf drilling plan, of which the Chukchi Lease Sale 193 was a part. In this separate lawsuit, the D.C. Circuit found that the 2007-12 plan was based on a flawed analysis of the environmental sensitivity of arctic waters. The status of sales already issued under the 2007-12 plan is in question following the ruling, and the parties have requested clarification of the court’s ruling. In light of these developments, the Chukchi litigation is stayed until the D.C. Circuit responds to the request for clarification.
