ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A federal judge in Anchorage has ruled in favor of Alaska’s state-owned investment bank in a lawsuit that could clear the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to James Brooks with the Alaska Beacon.
In an order published Tuesday, Judge Sharon Gleason wrote that the U.S. Department of the Interior acted illegally when it canceled oil and gas leases held by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority on land within the refuge.
“Having reviewed the parties’ arguments, the court concludes that DOI was required to obtain a court order before canceling AIDEA’s leases,” Gleason said in her 22-page decision…