Groups sue agency to block Shell's Arctic offshore drilling

Source: AP

By DAN JOLING

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Ten environmental groups Tuesday sued a federal agency over its approval of a plan by Royal Dutch Shell PLC for exploratory petroleum drilling off Alaska's northwest coast.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last month signed off on Shell's exploratory drilling plan in the Chukchi Sea, which calls for two drill rigs and a support flotilla that includes spill-response vessels.

Drilling in the Arctic Ocean region is opposed by environmental groups that contend oil companies are not equipped to deal with a major blowout or spill in a part of the world lacking deep-water ports, major airports and other infrastructure routinely present in other drilling areas. They also say drilling will harm wildlife already hurt by the effects of climate warming.

The groups say federal regulators' review of the Shell exploratory drilling plan was cursory.

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FILE - In this July 17, 2012, file photo, adult female walruses rest on an ice flow with young walruses in the Eastern Chukchi Sea, Alaska. Ten environmental groups Tuesday, June 2, 2015, sued a federal agency over its approval of a plan by Royal Dutch Shell PLC for exploratory petroleum drilling off Alaska's northwest coast. (S.A. Sonsthagen/U.S. Geological Survey via AP, File)

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