US judge denies effort to stop drilling auction in Arctic refuge
Reuters
January 6, 2021 11:29 MYT
January 6, 2021 11:29 MYT
A polar bear sow and two cubs are seen on the Beaufort Sea coast within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Image Library on December 21, 2005. U.S.
WASHINGTON: A federal judge in Alaska on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration's planned auction of oil drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could proceed as planned on Wednesday.
The order by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason comes after environmental groups and indigenous people of northeastern Alaska sought a preliminary injunction to block the sale in the ecologically sensitive area.