The state of Alaska filed a lawsuit last week against the federal government for rejecting Gov. Sean Parnell’s application to explore the geology of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The U.S. Interior Department says the window for such oil and gas exploration in the refuge closed in 1987. The1980 law that created the refuge left it to a future Congress to decide whether to allow petroleum development on the coastal plain, and Congress has repeatedly rejected the idea. Parnell argues the law still allows exploratory activity. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her atlruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Lizhere.
