ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20126
No(s). 3:21-cv-00245-SLG (D. Alaska Aug 7, 2023) (Gleason, J.)

A district court denied summary judgment for oil and gas leasing proponents and the state of Alaska in a challenge to President Biden's Executive Order No. 13990 and actions DOI took to implement the order's directive to place a temporary moratorium on implementation of a leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge-Alaska. Plaintiffs argued the moratorium violated the APA because it was put in place without an opportunity for public comment, was contrary to law, unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed agency action, and was arbitrary and capricious. They also argued the Executive Order was an ultra vires act that exceeded the president's authority. The court found the moratorium constituted an adjudication, and was not a "rule" subject to APA notice and comment, and that DOI provided a reasoned explanation for changing its position to pausing the program by stating that the suspension was due to identification of deficiencies in the program's NEPA review, interpretation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Tax Act), and compliance with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. It further found that, viewed in conjunction with the broad discretion the Tax Act accorded DOI, the president acted in accordance with his powers by ordering the agency to implement the moratorium while it conducted a supplemental environmental review of the program to correct "alleged legal deficiencies" in its analysis. It denied the motion for summary judgment, and granted DOI's cross-motion.