For decades, Democrats in Congress had blocked proposals to open the refuge. But in 2017 the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress included a section in a tax bill authorizing the Interior Department to establish a plan to sell leases in the coastal plain. As part of the process, the Department of Interior was required to conduct a review of the potential environmental effects of drilling. Drilling opponents have also said that the Interior Department downplayed the risks of climate change in its review. In comments submitted to the agency, the attorneys general from 15 states, including New York, called this displacement theory “completely unsupported.”

Source: New York Times August 17, 2020 13:54 UTC