Alaska federal judge rejects 2022 Cook Inlet lease sale for further environmental review

A federal judge on Tuesday overturned a 2022 lease sale held in Cook Inlet’s federal waters southwest of Anchorage.

The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason sides with conservation groups who had argued that the environmental review leading to the sale was inadequate. The groups argued that the government did not fully analyze the impacts of potential oil and gas activity from the lease sale to Cook Inlet’s endangered beluga whales, among other shortcomings.

Gleason also suspended the single lease acquired by an oil company in the sale until the deficiencies are fixed, according to the 49-page decision released Tuesday.

The Interior Department held the lease sale in December 2022, offering nearly 1 million acres of federal waters in Cook Inlet to companies for potential oil and gas drilling.

Hilcorp acquired the lone tract in the auction for $64,000, out of 193 tracts offered. Though natural gas from Cook Inlet is the primary source of heat and electricity in Southcentral Alaska, lease sales in state and federal waters over many years have generally sparked little to no interest.

The lease sale was mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, after the Biden administration had initially canceled the auction, citing a lack of industry interest. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a former Democrat who registered as an independent this spring, had insisted that the provision be included in the act.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Natural Resources Defense Council filed the lawsuit in 2022 with Earthjustice, on behalf of Cook Inletkeeper, Kachemak Bay Conservation Society, and Alaska Community Action on Toxics. The state of Alaska intervened in the case on the side of the federal government.

Gleason ruled that the environmental review did not fully analyze the cumulative impacts on belugas, including problems caused by vessel noise.

The whales emit rapid clicking sounds to use echolocation, rather than sight, to communicate and hunt. The noise from tugs or other activities can disrupt them.

[Study tracks calls used by endangered Cook Inlet belugas, and human-made noise in their habitat]

The Interior agency also violated federal environmental law when it failed to consider “any alternative that would offer for lease a reduced number of blocks that would meaningfully reduce overall impacts,” and would better allow for informed decision-making and public participation, the judge wrote.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management must conduct a supplemental environmental review and “as warranted” modify the decision that allowed the 2022 sale, Gleason wrote.

A spokesperson with the Interior Department said the agency has no comment on the ruling. A Hilcorp representative could not immediately be reached for comment.

The ruling recognizes the importance of protecting habitat needed “to ensure the continued survival of the iconic Cook Inlet beluga whale,” said Loren Barrett, co-executive director at Cook Inletkeeper, in a statement.

“This is the time for restoration and renewal, and for a swift transition to renewable energy, not more offshore oil and gas lease sales which will only perpetuate harm,” said Pamela Miller, executive director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics.

[Oil and gas watchdog again fines Hilcorp for Cook Inlet violation]