AG Ferguson leads federal lawsuit to block oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Trump administration plans to open a section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, unless it’s blocked by a new federal lawsuit from 15 states, including Washington.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson is leading a coalition of 15 states to “protect America’s pristine and undeveloped” Coastal Plain of the wildlife refuge from oil and gas development. The plain is 1.6 million acres and home to lots of wildlife, including caribou, polar bears, and millions of migratory birds. The area is also sacred to the indigenous Gwich’in people, and has already been vulnerable to environmental stressors, including climate change, which has led to thinning sea ice and thawing permafrost in the region.

“The part of the refuge where this will take place is the most biologically diverse area of the refuge,” Ferguson said. “It is a treasure, to put it very mildly.”

“For states like Washington, it’s also hugely impactful for migratory birds, which come through Washington state and move on up to the arctic refuge,” he added.

Ferguson says drilling in that area would cause irreparable damage.

“Our lawsuit seeks two things: Number one, to hold the administration accountable and make them play by the rules just like everybody else,” Ferguson said. “And number two, to block this unlawful drilling plan for the arctic refuge.”

The Coastal Plain has been off limits to drilling for more than four decades until a provision in the 2017 Republican tax bill opened the door for development. The administration plans to make the entire region available for leases to energy companies by the end of the year.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, asserts that the drilling plan violates multiple laws. A release from Ferguson’s office also says the administration “conducted a flawed environmental review that failed to take a hard look at the drilling plan’s impacts on migratory birds, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change.”

Ferguson says the action would harm Washington state in three ways: increasing greenhouse gas emissions that would exacerbate the impacts of climate change on the state’s environment and economy; a devastating impact on migratory birds; and likely impacts of refining oil extracted from the plain.

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“The plan to open up the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling is the latest strike against the environment and common sense,” Gov. Jay Inslee said. “Hard to say what’s worse — destroying the nation’s largest wildlife refuge, or further inflaming the climate crisis with new oil and gas drilling so a few fossil fuel companies can profit at the people’s expense. This is a moral, environmental and economic disaster.”

Ferguson is joined by 14 attorneys general, and the lawsuit is co-led by Massachusetts. The Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, Arctic Village Council, and Venetie Village Council also filed a lawsuit to protect a place the Gwich’in people hold sacred.

The KIRO Radio Newsdesk contributed to this report.