The Trump administration is trying to sell Arctic refuge drilling rights before Biden takes office

The Trump administration on Tuesday will publish a call for oil and gas firms to pick spots where they want to drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It appears to be part of a last-minute dash to auction off the rights before President-elect Joe Biden, who would likely try to block the controversial drilling authorization, takes office in January, The Washington Post reports.

Ultimately, many firms may choose not to bid at all, considering the lack of infrastructure in the region and the potential public backlash that would come with it, the Post notes, so the effort may prove futile regardless of whether the Trump administration beats the de facto deadline. But even if sales are completed, it often takes several weeks for the Bureau of Land Management to scan the highest bids for ethical and legal issues before granting contracts, Erik Grafe, the deputy managing attorney for the Alaska office of Earthjustice, told the Post, so the Biden administration "may be able to avoid issuing them" if the deals aren't finalized by the inauguration.

If the Biden administration did seek to withdraw already-granted leases on the grounds that they were issued unlawfully or "pose too great a threat to to the environment," Grafe said referring to lawsuits from environmental groups seeking to block drilling in the wilderness area, then the leaseholders would theoretically argue they deserve financial compensation. Read more at The Washington Post.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up