Murkowski seeks withdrawal of Alaska mitigation strategy

A letter written by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was recently sent to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), urging it to withdraw its Draft Regional Mitigation Strategy (DRMS) for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).

“First, the premises of the Draft Regional Mitigation Strategy are deeply flawed,” Murkowski wrote in her letter. “The document seeks to address conditional impacts resulting from hypothetical development and requires advanced compensation for the sustainability and enhancement of environmental conditions.”

According to Murkowski, the DRMS does not take into account ongoing mitigation efforts and lacks sufficient direction related to mitigation measures, as well as sufficient predictability and transparency.

Murkowski serves as Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The DRMS is a product of a Presidential Memorandum from November 2015 that seeks to mitigate the impacts of development on natural resources.

According to a BLM report, oil and gas development could impact the Iñupiat people who live in the region and the ecosystems they depend on for survival. The report identified established mitigation practices that could have residual impacts on the Iñupiat people that cannot be avoided or minimized to acceptable levels.

“The intent of the DRMS is to provide a well-balanced mitigation framework that will increase consistency, predictability, and certainty for future oil and gas development, while providing for environmentally responsible development of resources within the Northeastern NPR-A,” BLM State Director Bud Cribley said. “Once the DRMS is finalized, it will be an important step towards ensuring the sustainability of natural resources in the Arctic, including important subsistence wildlife populations.”

While noting that mitigation can be beneficial for projects in Alaska under proper conditions, Murkowski said that the DRMS does not take into consideration the concerns the public has expressed in opposition.

“The current modifications being made to mitigation policies in Alaska are on the wrong track, will do more harm than good, and should be rescinded,” Murkowski said.