Court orders U.S. to re-examine potential impacts on natives, wildlife
 Bowhead whales like this mother and calf migrate through the Beaufort Sea off northern Alaska in summer. |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Federal regulators improperly granted Shell Oil permission for exploratory drilling in Alaska's Beaufort Sea, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Minerals Management Service to reconsider how exploratory drilling would affect wildlife and Inupiat Eskimo subsistence hunting and fishing.
The ruling was hailed by conservation groups.
"This decision confirms that the Bush administration rushed to approve Shell's drilling program in the Arctic Ocean without a full review of impacts to whales and the subsistence way of life for people in the region," said Eric Jorgensen, an attorney for EarthJustice, which represented some clients in the case.
Sierra Club Alaska spokeswoman Trish Rolfe said the Bush administration fast-tracked oil drilling at the expense of communities, wildlife and clean water.
"It's time to bring the science back into decision-making on oil drilling," she said.
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