OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 13 other attorneys general in filing amicus briefs supporting three lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s decision to authorize an oil and gas program that would maximize development of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. In the briefs, the coalition argues that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rushed an incomplete environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and failed to comply with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (Refuge Act) by illegally ignoring more environmentally protective alternatives and disregarding legally required standards for public participation and transparency.

“BLM has a responsibility to maintain these lands for the American people, not damage them to line Big Oil’s pockets,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Trump Administration is showing complete disregard for the serious impacts this action will have on globally-significant wildlife and for the significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions that it will cause. The California Department of Justice won't stand idly by — we urge the court to block BLM’s unlawful efforts.”

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is our nation’s largest refuge. The Coastal Plain is a 1.6-million-acre national treasure at the heart of the refuge that provides habitat to hundreds of species, including threatened polar bears and caribou, as well as numerous bird species that spend the summer nesting in the Refuge before migrating to or through California, where they spend a significant part of the winter. These species would be directly and indirectly harmed by the proposed fossil fuel development. The development of the Coastal Plain’s oil and gas resources would also result in significant greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate impacts.  

In the briefs, the coalition asserts that BLM has failed to: 

• Fully evaluate environmental impacts and consider appropriate alternatives that minimize the scope of and damage to the impacted area.
• Rationally analyze the impacts expanded oil and gas development would have on the Coastal Plain’s local and migratory wildlife.
• Provide opportunity for comment to allow informed decision-making and informed public participation, as required by law. 

In filing these amicus briefs, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

A copy of the brief filed in each case is available here:

Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, et al., v. Doug Burgum, et al.

Natural Resources Defense Council, et al., v. Doug Burgum, et al.

Gwich’in Steering Committee, et al., v. Doug Burgum, et al.