Alaska Natives File Lawsuit Challenging Federal Overreach in Wake of SCOTUS ‘Chevron’ Ruling

Oil Drilling

Alaska Natives are fighting back against the Biden administration’s decision to shut down oil and gas development in northern Alaska, which they say is vital to the prosperity and well being of their communities. 

The Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE), a nonprofit advocacy group for Native-American communities living on the state’s North Slope, filed a lawsuit Monday against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland over the final BLM’s final rule blocking 13 million acres in their region to oil and gas development.

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Department of Interior Shuts Down Millions of Acres of Alaska to All Oil, Gas and Mining Activity

Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

The Interior Department last Friday blocked 28 million acres of federal land in the state of Alaska from any mining or oil and gas development.

Rick Whitbeck, Alaska state director for Power The Future, said the decision on D-1 lands removes an area the size of the state of Pennsylvania from resource development, which will have severe energy impact to the nation and the state of Alaska.

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Taxpayers in Georgia Are at Risk of Being Latest Victims of Electric Vehicle Gambles

Rivian showroom in Atlanta

Taxpayers could be on the hook if electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian fails to resume progress on its multi-billion dollar Georgia plant.

Rivian announced on March 7 that it would be pausing construction on its $5 billion manufacturing plant that is supposed to be built just east of Atlanta, Georgia, worrying lawmakers and taxpayers in the state that the plant may never be built. However, local authorities had given the company up to $1.5 billion in subsidies and tax incentives with the expectation that Rivian would bring in jobs and tax revenue.

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