Six environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the US government to stop the ConocoPhillips Willow oil and gas project in Alaska.
The project was approved by the Biden Administration and is anticipated to produce an estimated 576 million barrels of oil over the next 30 years.
The coalition alleges that the administration approved the project despite knowing the harm posed to Arctic communities, wildlife, and climate.
The groups have accused government agencies of failing to consider the impact on land used by Alaska Natives and on endangered species, such as polar bears.
In greater detail, reports from Reuters and Al Jazeera indicate that the coalition claims the U.S. Interior Department approved the project despite acknowledging and failing to mitigate "known harms" to Arctic communities, public health, wildlife, and climate.
Meanwhile, the New York Post frames the Willow project as a "carbon bomb," while the NY Times takes a higher-level perspective, suggesting that confidence is high in the oil and gas world in general.
Furthermore, the Al Jazeera article reports that President Biden's administration faces heavy criticism from environmental groups for its approval of the project, which they claim conflicts with the President's efforts to fight climate change and transition off fossil fuels.
In a separate development, and according to Reuters, the Biden administration rescinded a land swap deal that would have allowed the construction of a new road through an Alaska wildlife refuge.
The decision comes as environmental groups heavily criticized the administration's approval earlier in the week of the oil and gas project in Alaska's Arctic.
The swap would have provided residents of a native village access to an airstrip for medical or other emergencies, but critics argue it would destroy valuable habitat for birds along Kinzarof Lagoon and set a dangerous precedent for other wildlife refuges.