As of Tuesday, March 7th, we are still waiting for a final decision from the Biden administration on the Willow Project. The stakes are high on both sides of this and I have never seen the pressure build so fast to stop an oil project. In a matter of weeks, #stopwillow took over the internet on all platforms. On TikTok #protectthearctic was trending as countless videos popped up from creators big and small. On Friday, March 3rd our call echoed through the House and Senate with several house democrats and senators calling on Biden to Stop Willow, citing the threat to progress on climate issues.
Democrats on the House committee and several influential Democrat senators, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, wrote to President Joe Biden on Friday, asking him to kill the permits for the Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska .
Nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers signed the letter calling Willow “ill-conceived and misguided.”
“No version of the Willow [Master Development Plan (MDP)] is consistent with your commitments to combat the climate crisis and promote environmental justice, especially as reflected in the Inflation Reduction Act, historic legislation on which we all collaborated to achieve these crucial goals,” the letter states.
If allowed to proceed, the project “would pose a significant threat to U.S. progress on climate issues,” the Democrat lawmakers said, adding that the project could result in $19.8 billion in climate-related damages.
On Saturday, March 4th, NDNcollective sent a letter to Secretary Deb Haaland. (Read the full letter at NDNcollective.org)
I. THE CONSULTATION PROCESS HAS BEEN DEEPLY DISAPPOINTING AND CONTRARY TO THE ADMINISTRATION’S OBLIGATIONS FOR TRIBAL CONSULTATION AND TO CONSIDER INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
The City and Native Village of Nuiqsut have provided input to BLM throughout the cooperating agency process which BLM has completely failed to acknowledge. As BLM states, during the cooperating agency process we met for many days to discuss our concerns with BLM about the impacts of the project. BLM presented the City and Native Village of Nuiqsut with a list of “cooperating agency suggested mitigation measures,” but none of these were measures Nuiqsut suggested. The City and Native Village explained extensively why the measures would be ineffective and would not achieve their intended purpose. Yet, the draft SEIS did not mention the information provided. Instead, the draft SEIS simply listed the mitigation measures in an appendix, without any discussion whatsoever.
When the City and Native Village of Nuiqsut received a copy of the preliminary final SEIS, they noticed that BLM again characterized this list as “cooperating agency suggested mitigation measures,” and again failed to acknowledge their input. They again pointed out this omission to BLM. However, when the final SEIS was released, we once more discovered that nowhere in the SEIS does BLM acknowledge our extensive input about why the mitigation measures are inadequate. The only mention of our input at all is from the Native Village of Nuiqsut’s comments on the first EIS. Nothing the City and Native Village provided during the supplemental EIS process is mentioned.
This administration has committed to support and help advance the priorities of Alaska Native leaders, including those related to sustainable land management and the conservation of natural, cultural, and historical resources. The White House has also committed to elevating indigenous traditional and ecological knowledge in federal scientific and policy processes. It is essential that BLM consider the information the City and Native Village of Nuiqsut provided about why the mitigation measures designed to protect the caribou migrations, as well as other mitigation measures, will not be effective. It is a matter of our survival.
The disclosure of this information is also required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires that the agency make every effort to disclose and discuss in the draft EIS all major points of view on the environmental impacts of the alternatives, including the proposed action.
BLM must also respond to the critiques the City and Native Village of Nuiqsut provided. The agency must disclose all comments and discuss “any responsible opposing view which was not adequately disclosed in the draft [EIS) and shall indicate the agency’s response to the issues raised.” As the Memorandum on Uniform Standards for Tribal Consultation (Nov. 30, 2022) explains, “consultation requires that information obtained from Tribes be given meaningful consideration.” The memo also requires federal agencies to maintain a record of tribal input received and an explanation of how Tribal input influenced or was incorporated into the agency action. The SEIS reflects none of these obligations. We participated in the cooperating agency process with good will and exhaustive effort. Unfortunately, we now find it necessary to write publicly, outside of the process, so that you can hear our views directly.
Mayor of Nuiqsut talks about the public health impact of oil and gas drilling:
While we wait for a decision…
I want you all to remember this, you did this, all of us working together. This would not have been possible without so many people raising their voices and amplifying the content. And regardless of the decision, lawsuits are being prepared on both sides. Even if it’s not the news we are hoping for it’s not over. We have brought together a massive community that is ready for Climate Action. No matter the challenge, I am confident we can face it together.