The Secretary of Interior will issue a Record of Decision on Chukchi Lease Sale 193 by the end of March. It will determine if Shell can proceed with its drilling plans for the region this summer. Their leases have been suspended since 2014 pending the release of the new Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that came out in February.
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement director Brian Salerno says he thinks the SEIS will be accepted, and Shell will be able to submit an exploration plan.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her at ahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Anne here.
