ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Interior Department has asked a federal court to let the agency suspend its right-of-way decision for a controversial, state-promoted mining road in Northwest Alaska.
The department is conducting a further review of its original decision issued under the Trump administration. The agency signed the right-of-way permit in the final days before President Joe Biden took office.
Federal officials filed the request Feb. 22 with the U.S. District Court for Alaska, seeking to fix what it called “significant deficiencies” in the original project review, the department said in a statement.
The agency wants to “reconsider the analyses related to National Environmental Protection Act, National Historic Preservation Act and Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.” During the review, the road’s right-of-way permit would be suspended, the department said.
The 211-mile road to the Ambler Mining District in Northwest Alaska would cross the Koyukon, Tanana Athabascans and Iñupiat Native lands. It would also cross Bureau of Land Management land as well as parts of Gates of the Arctic National Preserve.
The state is helping to pay for initial design and engineering of the road in an effort to open up the lands to mining. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is leading the road-building effort, which would cost several hundred million dollars.
Native tribes in the region oppose the road, which would cross lands they rely on for subsistence hunting and fishing.
The Tanana Chiefs Conference, a consortium of the 42 villages of Interior Alaska, voiced support for the department’s decision to conduct further review, and urged the state to drop the project.
“The 200+ mile Ambler road represents a fundamental threat to our people, our subsistence way of life and our cultural resources,” Brian Ridley, the conference’s president, said in a statement.
Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan as well as Rep. Don Young all condemned the move under the Biden administration.
“This decision will harm Alaska, including the Alaska Natives who support and will benefit from this project,” Murkowski said.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy also criticized the suspension request, saying it ignores extensive environmental studies.
Environmental law firm Trustees for Alaska has sued over the project, and said in a statement that the government should throw out the permits entirely. The nonprofit group represents Native villages as well as hunting and fishing groups, among others.
“This project never should have been authorized in the first place, and the agencies can’t fix their broken analysis by papering over their mistakes after the fact,” said Suzanne Bostrom, senior staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska. “This administration should be prioritizing the health of communities and the Arctic, not politics and profits for outside corporations.”
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