Federal judge halts Chukchi oil and gas activity

According to Reuters, on Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline ruled on a case brought against oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi Sea by Native and environmental groups. He decided that the Minerals Management Service did not follow federal environmental law when, in 2008, it sold more than $2 billion worth of leases in the Chukchi. The largest leaseholder there is Royal Dutch Shell, but ConocoPhillips, ENI, StatOil and Repsoil are also affected by the decision. Beistline's ruling says that a part of the newly re-named and re-shuffled MMS (now called the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) must conduct a more thorough evaluation of potential impacts in the Chukchi before letting any work continue there. Read much more, here. And, for reports on the matter from Alaska outlets, read KTVA-TV's report, here, and read or listen to APRN's report, here.