Lease Sale 258 Victory!
Every Oil Spill Started with a Lease Sale
On Tuesday, we celebrated a significant victory as a federal district court judge overturned Lease Sale 258 after we took our case to court!
Thanks to your comments, the Interior Department initially canceled Lease Sale 258 in May 2022. However, it was resurrected with a congressional mandate following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. This decision was extremely disappointing after our coastal communities had stood up repeatedly to say ‘no’ to oil and gas leasing in Lower Cook Inlet.
The area auctioned off in Lease Sale 258 covers critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale, along with other marine life that would be impacted by new oil and gas development and the likelihood of oil spills. According to the government’s own data, offshore drilling in the area comes with a 20 percent chance that a large oil spill would happen. Increased development also exacerbates the climate crisis and increase carbon emissions at a time when there is zero room for new fossil fuel development when the we should be going full speed ahead on renewable technologies.
Although Lease Sale 258 only resulted in one bid, the areas auctioned off to Hilcorp encompassed critical habitat for the federally endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. With Hilcorp’s history of flouting environmental, safety, and regulatory standards, this was not a just call. It is unnecessary and irresponsible to drill in the last bit of habitat that the Cook Inlet Beluga needs to survive.
If we jeopardize local livelihoods in fishing, tourism, and mariculture for another decade of affordable gas, we’d be sacrificing in vain. The gas BOEM expects companies could profitably extract from the Lease Sale 258 area is not enough to meaningfully contribute to local energy security.
As a result of yesterday’s ruling, the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) must conduct a supplementary environmental review and decide, based on this review, whether to add protections or redo the lease sale. The ruling also suspends Hilcorp’s lease during this process.
The federal government should stop wasting taxpayer money on failed lease sales in the middle of a climate crisis. Alaskans know our climate crisis is no joke and are ready to move beyond the fossil fuel era, as well as those who prioritize economic profits over liveable communities. We won’t give up trying to protect Cook Inlet from carbon pollution, oil spill risks, and shortsighted thinking.