Trump Admin Plans Greatly Expanded Drilling In Alaska

The Hill reports:

The Trump administration wants to open up 82 percent of an Alaska reserve for oil and gas leasing, it announced on Thursday. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unveiled its plan for oil and gas leasing at the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

The plan would allow for 18.7 million acres of the approximately 23 million acre area to be leased to oil and gas companies. It would open to drilling all of the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, which is currently protected and is home to a variety of animals like caribou and migratory birds.

“President Trump has committed to expand access to our Nation’s great energy potential,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in a statement “Today’s action is one more significant step in the process of delivering on his promise.”

Earlier this month Bernhardt unveiled a plan to allow drilling off Florida’s Gulf coast, but only after the November election. Before joining the Trump administration, Interior Sec. David Bernhardt was a lobbyist for Haliburton, Cobalt Energy, the Independent Petroleum Association, and similarly dastardly outfits.