Gardner, pro-energy coalition keeps pressure on Obama Administration to OK drilling in Chukchi and Beaufort Seas
WASHINGTON D.C. – Despite the Obama Administration’s feet dragging on drilling permits in Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and a diverse group of elected officials, business owners, community leaders and Alaskan residents are not giving up their efforts to see that the nation’s energy resources are not held hostage by frivolous legal challenges.
“Developing all of our energy resources is critical to our national security and our national economy,” Gardner said. “Once these permits are approved, it will create over 54,000 jobs and produce 1 million barrels of oil a day – enough to replace our imports from Saudi Arabia. I’d like to thank the Consumer Energy Alliance and its coalition for joining my efforts to keep pressure on the Obama Administration to move these permits forward.”
In June, Gardner passed a bill out of the House, H.R. 2021 [1], which would force the EPA to make a final decision on all drilling permits in the OCS within 6 months of an application being submitted. Currently, permits that have been approved by the EPA are caught up in the appeals process and facing a series of legal challenges from opposition groups.
The Consumer Energy Alliance recently sent a letter to the President that is signed by the Alaska delegation, over a dozen state legislators and hundreds of Alaskan business owners, community leaders and workers asking the Commander in Chief to ensure that exploration off the Alaskan coast in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas proceeds as scheduled.
To read the letter, click HERE. [2]