SJRES 80: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to "National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision".

SJRES 80 in plain English: This joint resolution nullifies a 2022 Bureau of Land Management rule that closed approximately 48% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska—a roughly 23-million-acre area on the North Slope—to oil and gas leasing. By disapproving that rule, the resolution restores the 2020 plan, which had allowed more of the reserve to be leased for energy development.

Stated purpose

This joint resolution disapproves and nullifies a 2022 Bureau of Land Management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, reverting management of the reserve to the prior 2020 plan.

Key points

• Nullifies the BLM's April 25, 2022 rule governing the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
• Reopens approximately 48% of the reserve that had been closed to oil and gas leasing under the 2022 plan.
• Reverts management of the roughly 23-million-acre reserve to the 2020 plan.
• Removes protections the 2022 plan established for wildlife and subsistence communities.

Arguments supporters make

• Opening more of the reserve to leasing increases domestic energy production, which can lower fuel costs and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
• The National Petroleum Reserve was set aside specifically for energy development, so restricting nearly half of it goes against its original purpose.
• Expanded leasing supports jobs and economic activity in Alaska, including revenue that benefits the state and its residents.

Arguments opponents make

• The 2022 plan's protections for wildlife and subsistence uses safeguarded irreplaceable ecosystems and the livelihoods of Alaska Native communities who depend on the land.
• Reopening the area to leasing increases the risk of environmental damage, including potential harm to caribou, migratory birds, and other species in a sensitive Arctic habitat.
• Congress using the Congressional Review Act to override an agency's detailed land-management plan bypasses the scientific and public input process that informed the 2022 decision.

Tradeoffs

Reopening the land to oil and gas leasing may expand domestic energy supply and economic opportunity but removes environmental and subsistence protections that were established specifically to safeguard wildlife and the communities that rely on the reserve's natural resources.

Current status in Congress: Became law.

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