ANCHORAGE, Alaska - the Federal Government has published a revised environmental review Friday for oil leases, in the sea of the Chukchi to off the northwest coast of Alaska but the environmentalists, said that it always contains critical gaps.
The revised draft environmental review by the Bureau of ocean energy management, regulation and enforcement of the law responds to a federal judge for decision that the Government did not follow the law of the environment before having sold leases.
The review is "woefully incomplete", said Erik Grafe, a spokesman for Earthjustice, which represents 15 Alaska Native and environmental groups in a trial that led to the decision of July 2010. "It still concludes that the Agency does not have to collect a single piece of literally hundreds of instances of missing information on whales, fish, walruses, birds and other species in the sea of the Chukchi deciding to commit the region to oil drilling leases".
Sale 2008 sold leases on more than 4 300 square miles of Arctic Ocean waters for almost $ 2.7 billion, including $ 2.1 billion in bids high by Shell in the Gulf of Mexico Inc.
Spokesman for the Alaska Shell Curtis Smith does not immediately return calls for comment. Shell hopes the year next offshore of the Chukchi and Beaufort drilling.
In the decision of last year, U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline stated that the Minerals Management Service, as the Agency was formerly known, has failed to analyze the environmental effects of the gas natural development despite the interest of the industry and specific lease incentives such a development. The Agency analyzed only the 1 billion barrels of oil field development although it recognizes that the minimum level of development that can occur on the leases.
Beistline prohibits any activity in the sale of lease pending another examination, ordering the Agency to analyse the environmental impact of the exploitation of natural gas and to determine if the missing information were essential.
The management of the ocean Office said it will take the comments of the public on May 27 draft to 11 July.
Director of the Agency Michael Bromwich said that the revised document provides environmental, scientific and technical analyses further.
"Because what is at stake, it is extremely important that we continue to make a transparent process that encourages the maximum amount of the participation of the public," Bromwich said in a statement.
The project has no important data, said environmentalists. For example, it does not incorporate a report soon to be published by the U.S. Geological Survey that identifies missing information on the Arctic Ocean. The analysis also indicates, it was not possible to predict the impact on marine mammals of disturbances caused by development, but he says that "sufficient information is available in support of the scientific judgments solid and principled approach to the decisions of managers at the stage of the sale of lease."
Environmental and Alaska Native groups have long argued that it would be impossible to clean up an oil spill in Arctic waters, especially during periods of broken ice. The nearest coast guard base is Kodiak Island more than 1 000 kilometres. The review includes an analysis of a large hypothetical oil spill which shows the potential of ecological disaster.
"He considers that any drilling in the Arctic Ocean - as one that provides Shell - BOEMRE must insist on adequate oil spill plans and the development of a technology that can clean up oil in icy waters, stormy and remote Arctic Ocean"Grafe said.""
As is the case, the revision "makes a mockery environmental review process,", said attorney Rebecca Noblin of the Center for biological diversity.
"BOEMRE rushed"environmental review"seems to be an early rationalisation of a decision already made, and not more" she said. "" "". The Agency should return to the drawing on the Board. ?
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