`Jeremy Lieb
`Erik Grafe
`EARTHJUSTICE
`441 W 5th Avenue, Suite 301
`Anchorage, AK 99501
`T: 907.277.2500
`E: idooley@earthjustice.org
`E: jlieb@earthjustice.org
`E: egrafe@earthjustice.org
`
`Attorneys for Plaintiffs Sierra Club et al.
`
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA
`
`SIERRA CLUB; FRIENDS OF THE EARTH; and
`GREENPEACE, INC.,
`
`Plaintiffs,
`
` v.
`
`BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT; UNITED
`STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR;
`DEB HAALAND, in her official capacity as
`Secretary of the United States Department of the
`Interior; and STEVE COHN, in his official capacity
`as Alaska State Director of the Bureau of Land
`Management,
`
`Defendants.
`
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`
`
`
`
`
` Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
`(5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706; 42 U.S.C. § 4332)
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 1 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`1.
`
`This action arises from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) approval
`
`of Emerald House’s Peregrine oil and gas exploration program in the National Petroleum
`
`Reserve-Alaska (Reserve).1 The environmental assessments (EA) prepared by BLM for
`
`the program do not meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
`
`(NEPA). Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment finding that BLM’s approval of the
`
`exploration program was unlawful, vacatur of the initial Decision Record approving the
`
`program, vacatur of the subsequent Decision Record approving an amendment to the
`
`right-of-way for the program and an additional application for a permit to drill (APD), and
`
`enjoinment of further exploration activities until BLM has complied with NEPA.
`
`2.
`
`This is a case about BLM’s decision to approve an oil and gas exploration
`
`program in furtherance of future oil development, a major source of climate pollution,
`
`without adequate discussion or analysis of the exploration program’s impacts on climate
`
`change.
`
`3. We are rapidly approaching a “point of no return” where the worst effects
`
`of climate change will wreak havoc across the Earth. See Juliana v. United States,
`
`947 F.3d 1159, 1166 (9th Cir. 2020).
`
`4.
`
`Temperatures across the globe are rising at an unprecedented rate.
`
`
`1 Emerald House is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian-owned 88 Energy.
`Accumulative Energy Alaska, Inc., is also a wholly owned subsidiary of 88 Energy.
`These 88 Energy subsidiaries are referenced in the applications, environmental analyses,
`and decision documents for the exploration program.
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 2 of 36
`
`
`
`1
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`5.
`
`Nowhere are these impacts more observable than in Alaska’s Arctic region.
`
`The Arctic is experiencing temperature increases four times that of the global rate. This is
`
`resulting in, among many other impacts, rapid degradation of the sea-ice and snow cover
`
`extents, the greening of tundra and unprecedented increases in the soil active layer, and a
`
`predicted three-fold increase in the incidence of wildfire in Alaska by the end of the
`
`century. These impacts are being experienced most acutely by the people and wildlife that
`
`depend on Alaska’s Arctic.
`
`6.
`
`The unprecedented increase in temperatures is caused by the production
`
`and combustion of fossil fuels. The most significant risks and impacts from climate
`
`change would be avoided if we limit the global increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees
`
`Celsius (°C) above pre-industrial levels. To limit temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-
`
`industrial levels, industrialized nations like the United States must rapidly transition away
`
`from producing and consuming fossil fuels.
`
`7.
`
`The Peregrine exploration program itself requires the annual combustion of
`
`hundreds of thousands of gallons of fossil fuels to power construction, exploration, camp,
`
`and cleanup activities, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions in the Reserve.
`
`8.
`
`The program’s ultimate objective is to explore, delineate, and appraise the
`
`oil and gas prospect for potential future development, production, and consumption. The
`
`result of that consumption would be climate pollution.
`
`9.
`
`Despite the program’s direct and indirect climate consequences, BLM
`
`approved the program without assessing the greenhouse gas emissions that would result
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 3 of 36
`
`
`
`2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`from oil and gas produced and consumed if exploration results in discovery, development,
`
`and production. BLM later assessed only a fraction of the direct emissions that would
`
`result from on-the-ground operations to conduct the exploration.
`
`10. BLM’s failure to analyze these reasonably foreseeable greenhouse gas
`
`emissions consequences from approving the Peregrine exploration program violates
`
`NEPA.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`11.
`
`The Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331
`
`and may issue a declaratory judgment and further relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201-
`
`02. Judicial review is available under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C.
`
`§§ 701-706. Venue is appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e).
`
`PLAINTIFFS
`
`12.
`
`Plaintiff Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots
`
`environmental organization. The Sierra Club is a national nonprofit organization of
`
`approximately 800,000 members dedicated to exploring, enjoying, and protecting the
`
`wild places of the Earth; to practicing and promoting the responsible use of the Earth’s
`
`ecosystems and resources; to educating and enlisting humanity to protect and restore the
`
`quality of the natural and human environment; and to using all lawful means to carry out
`
`these objectives. The Alaska Chapter of the Sierra Club has approximately 1,600
`
`members. The Sierra Club’s concerns encompass a variety of environmental issues in
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 4 of 36
`
`
`
`3
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Alaska and beyond, and the organization has long been active on issues related to oil and
`
`gas activities in America’s Arctic, including in the Reserve, such as polar bear
`
`conservation. Sierra Club members use the public lands in the Arctic, including the
`
`Reserve, for quiet recreation, aesthetic pursuits, and spiritual renewal.
`
`13.
`
`Plaintiff Friends of the Earth is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization and a
`
`not-for-profit corporation with a headquarters in Washington, DC, an office in Berkeley,
`
`California, and staff located across the U.S., including in Alaska. Friends of the Earth is
`
`a membership organization consisting of nearly 294,000 members, including more than
`
`650 members who live in Alaska, and more than 4.9 million activists nationwide.
`
`Friends of the Earth is also a member of Friends of the Earth-International, which is a
`
`network of grassroots groups in 74 countries worldwide. Friends of the Earth’s mission
`
`is to protect our natural environment, including air, water, and land, and to create a more
`
`healthy and just world. Friends of the Earth utilizes public education, advocacy,
`
`legislative processes, and litigation to achieve its organizational goals. Friends of the
`
`Earth is concerned about the potential adverse impacts that fossil fuel exploration and
`
`development activities in Alaska’s Arctic, including in the Reserve, have on the climate
`
`and people, fish, birds, and other species that depend on this region. Therefore, on behalf
`
`of its members and activists, Friends of the Earth actively engages in advocacy to
`
`influence U.S. energy and environmental policies affecting Alaska’s Arctic.
`
`14.
`
`Plaintiff Greenpeace, Inc. (Greenpeace) is a non-profit corporation
`
`organized under the laws of the State of California, with its principal place of business in
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 5 of 36
`
`
`
`4
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Washington, D.C. Its mission is to promote the protection and preservation of the
`
`environment. Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organization that uses
`
`peaceful, creative action to expose global environmental problems and to force solutions
`
`that are essential for a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace has over 780,000 active
`
`supporters in the United States. For more than a decade, Greenpeace has been a lead
`
`advocacy organization working to raise awareness of global warming and the protection
`
`of wildlife, and to press for serious cuts in greenhouse gas emissions through local,
`
`national, and global action. In the United States, Greenpeace has run a campaign aimed
`
`at stopping global warming by phasing out fossil fuel use and promoting renewable
`
`energy systems. As a part of these efforts, Greenpeace has actively worked to protect the
`
`Arctic from the harmful effects of oil and gas activities.
`
`15.
`
`Plaintiff organizations have members and supporters who visit, or
`
`otherwise use and enjoy the Reserve. For example, one member has used and plans to
`
`continue to use areas affected by the Peregrine program for rafting and hiking. Another
`
`member relies on the areas affected by the Peregrine program for hunting and for cultural
`
`and traditional purposes. Members use these areas for recreation, wildlife viewing,
`
`photography, subsistence, professional livelihood, education, aesthetic, and traditional
`
`and cultural purposes. Plaintiffs and their members derive scientific, recreational,
`
`aesthetic, conservation, spiritual, cultural, nourishment, and other benefits and enjoyment
`
`from their use of the area and from wildlife that depend on the Reserve, including areas
`
`affected by the Peregrine program. The activities authorized by defendants will injure
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 6 of 36
`
`
`
`5
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`these interests.
`
`16.
`
`The plaintiff organizations monitor the use of Reserve ecosystems and
`
`compliance with the laws respecting these ecosystems, educate their members and the
`
`public concerning management of the ecosystems, and advocate policies and practices
`
`that conserve the natural values of the ecosystems. Plaintiffs cannot achieve these
`
`organizational purposes fully without adequate information and public participation in the
`
`processes required by law. Plaintiffs’ interests and organizational purposes are directly
`
`and irreparably injured by defendants’ violations of the laws as described in this
`
`complaint.
`
`17.
`
`Plaintiffs participate actively in the administrative processes regarding
`
`management of the Reserve and did so for the Peregrine program. Plaintiffs Sierra Club
`
`and Friends of the Earth submitted comments on December 29, 2020, detailing the many
`
`ways in which BLM’s approval of the Peregrine program was unlawful. Plaintiffs
`
`submitted letters to BLM and the United States Department of the Interior on September
`
`17, 2021, November 30, 2021, and February 4, 2022, explaining how the agency had
`
`failed to consider the climate impacts of its actions and again urging reconsideration of
`
`the Peregrine program. Plaintiffs have exhausted administrative remedies for the
`
`decisions challenged in this complaint.
`
`
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 7 of 36
`
`
`
`6
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`DEFENDANTS
`
`18. Defendant BLM is the agency of the United States Department of the
`
`Interior entrusted with the conservation and management of resources within the Reserve
`
`and that issued the EAs and decisions challenged in this action.
`
`19. Defendant United States Department of the Interior is an agency of the
`
`United States responsible for oversight of BLM.
`
`20. Defendant Deb Haaland is sued in her official capacity as Secretary of the
`
`United States Department of the Interior (Secretary). The Secretary is the highest
`
`position within the Department of the Interior, has ultimate responsibility for overseeing
`
`the Department and its agencies and ensuring their compliance with all applicable federal
`
`laws, and has specific responsibilities related to the administration of the Reserve.
`
`21. Defendant Steve Cohn is sued in his official capacity as Alaska State
`
`Director of BLM.
`
`STATEMENT OF FACTS
`
`I.
`
`The climate crisis.
`
`22.
`
`The rate of climate change is rapidly increasing.
`
`23. Overwhelming evidence shows that the unprecedented increase in Earth’s
`
`temperatures is caused by fossil fuel combustion.
`
`24.
`
`If left unchecked, climate change will “wreak havoc on Earth’s climate.”
`
`Juliana, 947 F.3d at 1166.
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 8 of 36
`
`
`
`7
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`25. Without “some action, the destabilizing climate will bury cities, spawn life-
`
`threatening natural disasters, and jeopardize critical food and water supplies.” Id. We
`
`are “approaching ‘the point of no return.’” Id.
`
`26.
`
`Several scientific studies show there is a “tipping point” or threshold at
`
`which the most dangerous effects of climate change could occur abruptly and
`
`irreversibly.
`
`27.
`
`There is international consensus that limiting the global increase in
`
`temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels would significantly reduce the risks and
`
`impacts from climate change.
`
`28.
`
`Each ton of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere contributes to
`
`global warming.
`
`29. As recent scientific information demonstrates, any additional increase in
`
`greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel consumption increases the likelihood of failing
`
`to limit warming to 1.5°C.
`
`30.
`
`The federal government plays an important role in addressing the climate
`
`crisis and in ensuring the U.S. does not exhaust its share of the global carbon budget.
`
`31.
`
`In 2018, it was estimated that carbon emissions released from extraction
`
`and end-use combustion of fossil fuels produced on federal lands alone accounted for
`
`approximately one quarter of total U.S. carbon emissions during the period between 2005
`
`and 2014.
`
`32. Analysis shows that the potential carbon emissions from already leased
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 9 of 36
`
`
`
`8
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`fossil fuel resources on federal lands could exhaust the remaining U.S. carbon budget
`
`consistent with the 1.5°C target.
`
`33.
`
`Indeed, to meet the 1.5°C target, the U.S. must not only phase out
`
`production in some existing fields and mines before their reserves are fully depleted but
`
`also limit new development on undeveloped fossil fuel leases.
`
`34. While avoiding reaching the 1.5°C target could halt the most catastrophic
`
`consequences of climate change, severe impacts from the climate crisis are occurring
`
`right now.
`
`35.
`
`The harms caused by climate change “are serious and well recognized,” and
`
`“have already inflicted significant harms” to many resources around the globe.
`
`Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497, 521 (2007).
`
`36.
`
`There is high confidence among scientists that climate change has already
`
`caused substantial damage and irreversible loss among terrestrial, freshwater, and oceanic
`
`ecosystems.
`
`37.
`
`There is agreement that climate change has caused widespread deterioration
`
`of ecosystem structure and function.
`
`38.
`
`The increase in magnitude of extreme heat has caused mass mortality
`
`events on land and in the ocean.
`
`39. Hundreds of local losses of species are attributable to increases in
`
`magnitude in extreme heat.
`
`40. Climate change is causing shifts in seasonal timing and forcing thousands
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 10 of 36
`
`
`
`9
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`of species to shift polewards or to higher elevations. This strategy is unlikely to be
`
`successful for some populations, leading to extirpation or extinction.
`
`41. Climate change is also having a profound effect on human health and
`
`wellbeing.
`
`42. Climate change is among the top threats to global health in the 21st century.
`
`43.
`
`Increased temperatures from climate change have been linked to an
`
`increase in adverse mental and physical health outcomes.
`
`44.
`
`Increases in disasters caused by climate change have also been
`
`demonstrated to cause higher incidences of interpersonal and domestic violence,
`
`including intimate partner violence, particularly towards women.
`
`45.
`
`Extreme weather events and higher temperatures associated with climate
`
`change contribute to increased rates of anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and
`
`suicide.
`
`46.
`
`Indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable to harmful climate
`
`change related impacts on mental and physical health.
`
`II.
`
`The Reserve.
`
`47.
`
`The 23-million-acre Reserve is an extraordinary and ecologically important
`
`landscape of lakes, ponds, rivers, floodplains, wetlands, upland areas, and sensitive
`
`coastal resources. It is home to a diversity of species, including polar bears, brown bears,
`
`muskoxen, caribou, moose, and millions of migratory birds, among many other species.
`
`
`
`
`
`10
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 11 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`48.
`
`The Reserve landscape and wildlife are central to the livelihood and
`
`traditional practices of Iñupiaq people living in the region. The Reserve also provides
`
`habitat for three of Alaska’s four Arctic caribou herds, which provide vital subsistence
`
`resources for more than 40 communities in northern and western Alaska.
`
`49. Within the Reserve, the Colville River watershed provides historical
`
`overwintering and migration areas for members of the 56,000 caribou of the Teshekpuk
`
`Caribou Herd.
`
`50.
`
`The Colville River is the largest river in Arctic Alaska, supporting
`
`populations of pink and chum salmon, burbot, broad whitefish, arctic cisco, and other fish
`
`species, and providing habitat for peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, golden eagles, and
`
`rough-legged hawks.
`
`51.
`
`The Secretary designated the 2.44-million-acre area along the Colville
`
`River and two of its larger tributaries, the Kogosukruk and Kikiakrorak rivers, as a
`
`Special Area within the Reserve. The Colville River Special Area was designated to
`
`assure maximum protection of its subsistence, fish and wildlife, recreational, and other
`
`identified values, such as the unique bluff and riparian habitats associated with the
`
`Colville River and its tributaries.
`
`III. Climate change in the Reserve.
`52.
`
`The effects of climate change are especially observable in Alaska’s Arctic.
`
`53. During the latter half of the 20th century, the Arctic region experienced
`
`
`
`
`
`11
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 12 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`temperature increases two to three times the global rate of increase.
`
`54. Now, during the first two decades of the 21st century, the Arctic region is
`
`experiencing temperature increases four times that of the global rate of increase.
`
`55.
`
`The Arctic’s average winter temperature has increased by 6 degrees
`
`Fahrenheit (°F) over the past 60 years, and the Arctic is expected to warm by an
`
`additional 10°F to 12°F this century.
`
`56.
`
`This rapid warming presents myriad disruptions to Arctic ecosystems,
`
`including in the Reserve.
`
`57.
`
`In the Arctic, climate change is causing, and will continue to cause, sea-
`
`level rise, sea-ice melt, river flow changes, and permafrost thaw.
`
`58.
`
`There is nowhere in the country or the world where global warming is
`
`causing greater increases in mean air temperatures. The effects of climate change are
`
`directly observable in the Arctic.
`
`59.
`
`The extent of spring snow cover has been decreasing over the Arctic region
`
`since 2005. This, combined with shorter snow cover duration, is causing a reinforcing
`
`feedback effect, leaving more land surface uncovered, which in turn absorbs more of the
`
`sun’s energy and causes further depletion of existing snow cover.
`
`60.
`
`The sea-ice extent has dramatically decreased in the Arctic. The region
`
`experienced the lowest coverage of winter sea-ice on record in 2017, and measurements
`
`show the sea-ice extent to be approximately half of what it was in 1979.
`
`61.
`
`Like the loss in snow cover, the loss in the sea-ice extent also creates a
`
`
`
`12
`
`
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 13 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`feedback effect on climate, causing an increased amount of the sun’s energy to be
`
`absorbed by the ocean, which in turn increases the rate of sea-ice melt.
`
`62.
`
`It is expected that summertime sea ice will be completely lost by 2050 or
`
`earlier.
`
`63.
`
`The increases in air temperatures are also having pronounced effects on the
`
`permafrost and the plants and specialized ecosystems in the Arctic.
`
`64.
`
`The Arctic’s permafrost layer is expected to decrease significantly by the
`
`end of the century, releasing carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere and
`
`accelerating climate feedback effects.
`
`65. Alaska’s Arctic is experiencing substantial increases in tundra greenness,
`
`contributing to increasingly limited opportunities for tundra travel by local communities.
`
`66.
`
`Permafrost on Alaska’s Arctic coast has warmed substantially, causing
`
`profound changes in the soil active layer temperatures.
`
`67. As a result of climate change, the annual area burned by wildfire in Alaska
`
`is expected to double by 2050 and to triple by the end of the century.
`
`68.
`
`The expected increase in wildfire will in turn release commensurate
`
`amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, illustrating yet one more climate
`
`feedback system.
`
`IV.
`
`BLM’s management of oil and gas activities in the Reserve.
`
`69.
`
`In 1976, Congress passed, and subsequently amended in 1980, the Naval
`
`
`
`
`
`13
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 14 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Petroleum Reserves Production Act (Reserves Act), which transferred jurisdiction over
`
`the Reserve from the Navy to the Secretary, in recognition of the area’s significant
`
`ecological value and the need to protect it. Pub. L. 94-258, Title I §§ 102-03, 90 Stat.
`
`303-04 (codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 6502-6503). The Reserves Act created a management
`
`structure for the Reserve. 42 U.S.C. § 6502.
`
`70. Because of the world-class wildlife and subsistence values of the Reserve,
`
`the Reserves Act requires the Secretary to protect and conserve these other resources and
`
`uses in the Reserve any time the Secretary authorizes oil and gas leasing, exploration, and
`
`development. Id. §§ 6504(a), 6506a(b).
`
`71.
`
`The Reserves Act requires the Secretary to impose “conditions, restrictions,
`
`and prohibitions” on any activities undertaken pursuant to the Act “as the Secretary
`
`deems necessary or appropriate to mitigate reasonably foreseeable and significantly
`
`adverse effects on the surface resources” of the Reserve. Id. § 6506a(b).
`
`72.
`
`Surface values of the Reserve may be protected by limiting, restricting, or
`
`prohibiting the use of and access to lands within the Reserve, including within Special
`
`Areas. 43 C.F.R. § 2361.1(e)(1). This includes the authority to require a suspension of
`
`operations and production if BLM determines that it is in the interest of conservation or
`
`“mitigates reasonably foreseeable and significantly adverse effects on surface resources.”
`
`43 C.F.R. §§ 3135.2(a)(1), (3).
`
`73.
`
`The Reserves Act further requires the Secretary to provide “maximum
`
`protection” to areas containing “significant subsistence, recreational, fish and wildlife, or
`
`
`
`14
`
`
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 15 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`historical or scenic value.” 42 U.S.C. § 6504(a). “Special [A]reas” are “areas within the
`
`[R]eserve identified by the Secretary of the Interior as having significant subsistence,
`
`recreational, fish and wildlife, or historical or scenic value and, therefore, warranting
`
`maximum protection of such values to the extent consistent with the requirements of the
`
`Act for the exploration of the Reserve.” 43 C.F.R. § 2361.0-5(f).
`
`74. BLM manages oil and gas activities in the Reserve pursuant to a multi-
`
`stage process.
`
`75. BLM first promulgates activity plans. The Reserve activity plans are
`
`programmatic management plans that zone areas of the Reserve as open or closed to oil
`
`and gas activities.
`
`76.
`
`In the second stage, BLM determines whether, when, and where to hold
`
`lease sales in any portions of areas that the activity plans have designated as open for
`
`leasing.
`
`77.
`
`In the third stage, BLM reviews exploration plans submitted by lessees.
`
`78. BLM retains the authority to approve, modify, or deny approval of
`
`exploration plans submitted by lessees. 42 U.S.C. §§ 6506a(b), (k); 43 C.F.R.
`
`§§ 3135.2(a)(1), (3); id. § 3162.3-1(h).
`
`79.
`
`In the fourth stage, BLM reviews plans for developing and producing fossil
`
`fuels.
`
`80.
`
`In 2013, BLM issued its first-ever comprehensive management plan, called
`
`an integrated activity plan, covering the entire Reserve (2013 IAP). Consistent with its
`
`
`
`15
`
`
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 16 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`programmatic nature, the environmental impact statement (EIS) BLM prepared for the
`
`2013 IAP generally described the potential impacts from all stages of oil and gas
`
`exploration and development across the 11.8 million acres open to leasing under the plan.
`
`81.
`
`The 2013 IAP explicitly deferred the more specific and detailed analysis
`
`necessary to assess impacts of on-the-ground actions such as exploration programs until
`
`such actions were proposed, stating “[f]uture actions requiring BLM approval, including
`
`a proposed exploratory drilling plan . . . would require further NEPA analysis based on
`
`specific and detailed information about where and what kind of activity is proposed.”
`
`BLM, National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, Final Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental
`
`Impact Statement, Vol. I at 9 (Nov. 2012).
`
`82.
`
`In 2020, BLM published a final EIS for the revised 2020 integrated activity
`
`plan (2020 IAP). As with the 2013 IAP, the EIS for the 2020 IAP again generally
`
`described the potential impacts from all stages of oil and gas exploration and
`
`development and explicitly deferred site-specific analysis necessary for on-the-ground
`
`actions until such actions are proposed: “Future on-the-ground actions requiring BLM
`
`approval, including potential exploration and development proposals, would require
`
`further NEPA analysis based on the site-specific proposal.” BLM, National Petroleum
`
`Reserve-Alaska, Final Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement,
`
`Vol. I at 1-6 (June 2020).
`
`83.
`
`In April 2022, after determining the 2020 IAP Record of Decision (ROD)
`
`was inconsistent with the administration’s climate policies, BLM published a new ROD
`
`
`
`16
`
`
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 17 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`for the IAP for the Reserve. In the 2022 ROD, BLM selected the no-action alternative,
`
`reverting Reserve management to the 2013 IAP while continuing to rely on the EIS for
`
`the 2020 IAP.
`
`V. Greenhouse gas emitting activity in the Reserve.
`84. Recent years have seen a significant increase in industrial activity in the
`
`Reserve.
`
`85.
`
`In 2015, BLM approved ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.’s (ConocoPhillips)
`
`Greater Mooses Tooth 1 (GMT-1) development, which extended oil and gas
`
`infrastructure west from the existing Alpine development.
`
`86.
`
`In 2018, BLM approved ConocoPhillips’ Greater Mooses Tooth 2 (GMT-2)
`
`development, extending the road and pipeline network further west into the Reserve.
`
`87.
`
`In 2020, BLM approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Plan
`
`(Willow), which authorized the furthest westward development in the Reserve to date.
`
`Although BLM’s approval of Willow was vacated by the U.S. District Court for the
`
`District of Alaska in August 2021, BLM, on July 8, 2022, released a draft supplemental
`
`EIS, again moving the permitting process forward for Willow.
`
`88. Oil and gas development projects and plans in the Reserve are in addition
`
`to the other seismic, snow and ice road construction, and drilling projects that have
`
`occurred, are occurring, or are expected to occur in the Reserve each year.
`
`89.
`
`There are thousands of helicopter takeoffs, landings, and flights occurring
`
`
`
`
`
`17
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 18 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`in the Reserve each year, in support of oil and gas activities.
`
`90.
`
`There are other winter travel and support activities that occur in the Reserve
`
`each year, in furtherance of past, ongoing, and planned oil and gas activities.
`
`91. Oil and gas activities in the Reserve and surrounding areas have resulted in
`
`greenhouse gas emissions.
`
`92. Oil and gas activities in the Reserve and surrounding areas are releasing
`
`greenhouse gas emissions.
`
`93. Oil and gas activities in the Reserve and surrounding areas are foreseeable
`
`to result in future greenhouse gas emissions.
`
`VI. The Peregrine program.
`94.
`
`Peregrine is a five-year exploration program.
`
`95.
`
`The objective of the program is to explore, delineate, and appraise oil and
`
`gas for potential future development.
`
`96.
`
`97.
`
`The exploration program involves nearly year‐round activity.
`
`In the winter, snow road construction and drilling equipment is hauled
`
`overland via the Community Winter Access Trail, across the Colville River at Ocean
`
`Point, and then south to where the Peregrine Snow Road is to be built annually.
`
`98. Winter activities include the use of fossil fuels to power the annual
`
`construction, use, and deconstruction of more than 80 miles of snow road and drill sites.
`
`99.
`
`Fossil fuels power the annual mobilization and demobilization of personnel,
`
`
`
`
`
`18
`
`Sierra Club et al. v. BLM et al.,
`Case No. 3:22-cv-00189-JMK
`
`
`
`
`Case 3:22-cv-00189-JMK Document 1 Filed 08/25/22 Page 19 of 36
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`personnel camps, and construction and drilling equipment.
`
`100. Emissions sources from the program include the use of and traffic from
`
`pickups, heavy equipment, a fuel truck, a crew bus, an 80-ton crane, a drilling rig, and the
`
`daily use of other combustion-powered vehicles, generators, and heaters.
`
`101. Winter program activities also require almost daily aircraft traffic.
`
`102. Summer activities include hundreds of helicopter flights, takeoffs, and
`
`landings.
`
`103. Program activities include the annual use of hundreds of thousands of
`
`gallons of fuel and the flaring of any produced gas.
`
`104. Program activities are occurring in the southeast region of the Reserve,
`
`within the Colville River watershed, crossing the mainstem of the river and two of its
`
`larger tributaries, the Kikiakrorak and Kogosukruk rivers.
`
`105. Activities are occurring within or very near the Colville River Special Area.
`
`106. This part of the Reserve is free from oil and gas development, situated
`
`between multiple Alaska Native communities that rely on caribou, moose, wolves,
`
`wolverine, and other resources in the Reserve. The Peregrine program area is also home
`
`to the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd, providing critical overwintering habitat and spring and
`
`fall migration grounds.
`
`107. Exploration activities are occurring within 15 miles of Umiat, near a prior
`
`Umiat test well site.
`