Trump exempts oil exploration in Arctic petroleum reserve from environmental reviews

The Trump administration Thursday announced it would exempt some Arctic oil and gas exploration activities from environmental reviews.

The Interior Department issued a notice exempting wintertime oil and gas exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from the reviews.

The exemption will apply to seismic surveys to assess where oil is located, construction of temporary roads and drilling of exploration wells. These activities are often pursued in preparation for broader-scale oil production.

The administration says that its action could ultimately help oil companies access fuel more quickly. It also said that in the past, it has found that such activities would not have a significant environmental impact.

Kevin Pendergast, the Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska state director, said in a written statement that it would “allow developers to more nimbly locate energy resources in the Petroleum Reserve, ultimately increasing domestic energy supply, leading to stable energy costs and more revenue for Alaskan communities and the American public.”

However, environmental activists criticized the maneuver.

“In issuing this categorical exclusion, this administration is seeking to fast track large scale oil drilling and seismic exploration without any further environmental analysis or public input,” Earthjustice attorney Janet Bering said in a written statement. “It is cutting the public out of this decision and future decisions.”

The move comes after the administration also recently proposed to fast-track oil production in the reserve.

In 1923, then-President Harding set aside the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska as an emergency oil supply for the Navy. Since that time, drilling projects have been approved there , but environmental advocates have also raised concerns about impacts to wildlife .

The Alaska Oil and Gas Association cheered the move, saying in a written statement “We … thank the Department of the Interior and the administration for moving this common-sense action forward.”