Elizabeth Harball

Six Bristol Bay commercial fishermen are suing a regional seafood association they belong to, challenging over $250,000 in contracts it made with groups that advocate against the proposed Pebble Mine.

The 3-D seismic survey is part of the effort to keep the oil field alive for decades to come.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason, in an opinion released late Friday, said President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by issuing an executive order in 2017 that reopened large parts of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas to offshore oil leasing. Former President Barack Obama had protected those areas from development in his second term.

The plaintiffs say the federal Environmental Protection Agency is shirking its duty to update its rules so they reflect the latest science on how dispersants affect the environment.

Jason Brune's appointment is controversial because he worked as the public affairs and government relations manager for mining company Anglo American when it backed the proposed Pebble Mine.

In a recent order, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a state oil and gas watchdog agency, said BP "has no evidence that permafrost subsidence will not result in sudden catastrophic failure" at other Prudhoe Bay wells.

Along with five environmental groups, the Native Village of Nuiqsut is challenging the Bureau of Land Management's approval of ConocoPhillips' exploratory drilling plans this winter in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

In a letter sent Tuesday, the governor informed Hollis French he is "immediately" being removed from his position as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

The report supports some, but not all, of the governor's charges against the chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Hollis French. French believes the report exonerates him from what he calls "the most serious charges."

At the Anchorage hearing on oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Native voices provided passionate testimony on both sides of the issue.