11.18.16

Grijalva: Reported Withdrawal of Arctic From Drilling Threats in New Five-Year Offshore Plan “A Win Years in the Making”

Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed the announcement that the Obama administration’s five-year lease sale plan for the Outer Continental Shelf will not permit new leasing off the coast of Alaska. Grijalva signed a letter in May to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell urging the administration to withdraw the Arctic from further leasing consideration.

“This decision is an environmental win years in the making,” Grijalva said today. “We’re going to see unprecedented attacks on the Arctic under the next administration, and today’s announcement shows how successful we can be when we work together to protect it. I thank the Obama administration for doing the right thing today and caution the incoming president not to unnecessarily rewrite this plan for purely political reasons.”

The May letter read in part:

The Arctic Ocean should be permanently protected from oil drilling, not used to drill for more fossil fuels that we will not need – and must not bum – if we are serious about powering our future with clean energy. Continued inclusion of the Arctic in the 5-year plan would take our nation backwards in its commitment to address climate change and facilitate the transition to clean energy. [. . .] In contrast, ending oil and gas development in the Arctic would send a powerful International signal that the United States is committed to investing its resources in a climate safe, clean-energy future.

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