Alaska Employment Law

The Native Village of Point Hope challenged Shell and BP’s permits to conduct seismic surveys off the North Slope of Alaska.   On July 2nd, U. S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline denied the Village’s request for an injunction.

Beistline first held that the federal agencies were not required to conduct an EIS before issuing the permits (the agencies had earlier issued a finding of “no significant impact”).

 He then held that the agencies hadn’t violated either NEPA or MMPA:

As the Court previously found in related cases, the balance of hardships weighs in favor of Defendants, who have invested significant time and expense in preparing for the scheduled activities.  Moreover, the public interest in energy development favors upholding the permits.  To conclude otherwise would require the Court to engage in multiple levels of speculation regarding animal migration and economics, and to conclude that existing federal regulations would not effectively address plaintiffs’ environmental concerns.

(Footnote omitted)

Native Village of Point Hope v. Mineral Management Service, 2008 WL 2651403 (D.Alaska July 2, 2008).