Lawsuit Launched to Compel Trump Administration Transparency on Arctic Refuge Drilling

Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) sued the Trump administration today for failing to release public records related to potential exploration, leasing, and drilling for oil and gas resources on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeks emails, planning documents, authorizations and other records from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning fossil fuel development in the refuge. Defenders requested copies of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act, but the Trump administration has failed to comply with statutory deadlines for release, withholding some responsive records for nearly eight months.

The records sought include communications between Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke, oil exploration companies and industry officials, as well as information disclosing the impacts of imminent seismic testing on imperiled polar bears. These documents could expose the administration’s reckless rush to bypass environmental laws and limit public input to drill in these iconic public wildlands, home to hundreds of sensitive species.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former President and CEO for Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement:

“The Trump administration cannot hide its destructive plans to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The administration’s heedless rush to exploit America’s last great wildlands would convert critical denning habitat for imperiled polar bears into an expansive, polluting oilfield. Federal agencies cannot ignore Americans’ strong opposition to desecrating this wildlife reserve, an area sacred to the Gwich’in people, and the legal requirement for transparency in decision-making.

The public has a right to know how the Arctic Refuge is being sold out to the oil industry, and now we will shine a bright light on these misdeeds in federal court.”