Residents in Nuiqsut, Alaska can’t seem to catch a break from the Interior Department when it comes to pushing back against a proposed oil and gas project that has the potential to harm the community. The city is located just 35 miles from ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow project which, if approved, would add dozens of wells to Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve along with infrastructure meant to support the production of “nearly 600 million barrels of oil from 2024 to 2050,” according to the Alaska Wilderness League.
Given the fact that the Biden administration is hoping to reach net-zero by 2050, it makes absolutely no sense to pump 287 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from this project. Many Nuiqsut residents agree and were hoping to have additional opportunities to voice those concerns through an extended comment period for the project’s most recent draft supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Grist reports that the Interior Department initially agreed to take comments until the end of September but soon walked back its plans, making Aug. 29 the last day for comments. The news comes during one of Nuiqsut’s busiest subsistence harvest season, too.
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Prior subsistence monitoring programs documenting the Nuiqsut community’s harvest efforts shows that the summer months are particularly demanding when it comes to both fishing and hunting. It’s understandable that community leaders and the Interior Department would agree to extend the typical 45-day comment period in order to accommodate those most impacted by the Willow project while also giving them time to read up on the 442-page report. A city council meeting concerning the EIS was even moved to next month to account for Nuiqsut’s initial agreement with the Interior Department.
Alaska Wilderness League Conservation Director Kristen Miller told Grist that she found the decision “disheartening.” It may also be a political move. One source told Grist that the agency’s backtracking may have to do with “political consideration” for the Inflation Reduction Act and more conservative lawmakers’ hopes that the legislation includes support for oil and gas projects like Willow. It’s unclear how many people have already submitted comments about the project and its impact, though a prior scoping period saw thousands rail against ConocoPhillips’ oil and gas aspirations.
