Murkowski gets her 30 pieces of silver
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/27/biden-administration-alaska-oil-gas-drilling-project
Joe Biden’s administration is facing an onslaught of criticism from environmentalists after opting to defend the approval of a massive oil and gas drilling project in the frigid northern reaches of Alaska.
In a briefing filed in federal court on Wednesday, the US Department of Justice said the Trump-era decision to allow the project in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska’s north slope was “reasonable and consistent” with the law and should be allowed to go ahead.
This stance means the Biden administration is contesting a lawsuit brought by environmental groups aimed at halting the drilling due to concerns over the impact upon wildlife and planet-heating emissions. The US president has paused all new drilling leases on public land but is allowing this Alaska lease, approved under Trump, to go ahead.
https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/article/conocophillips-plan-for-willow-master-development-project-in-npr-a-approved
“Willow could put hundreds of Alaskans back to work, boost state revenues, and generate more than 160,000 barrels of daily throughput for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System,” Murkowski, who also is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in her statement.