State suing over drilling moratorium

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The State of Alaska has filed a law suit against the federal government in reference to the recent offshore drilling moratorium. The moratorium, which has negatively affect the drilling in Alaska's outer continental shelf, was announced in a joint press conference between Governor Sean Parnell and Attorney General Dan Sullivan.

The Governor's office have asked the government to vacate any moratorium involving Alaska because they didn't consult with the state before any such moratorium was put in place, which is required by law. Parnell also claims that the feds didn't consider the economic ramifications of any such ban on the local and state economies.

The mere existence of the drilling moratorium is in question though, and critics of the governor were quick to point out that there is no specific arctic offshore drilling moratorium. They reference a visit two weeks ago when Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, who told reporters at a press conference in Anchorage, that there is no Arctic moratorium.

Nevertheless, his boss U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar felt the need to confuse matters when, last week, he said that in "essence" there was a ban on arctic drilling even though Alaska was not mentioned specifically, and that his office has decided to not issue any new drilling permits until more reviews were completed. The ban only has an effect on deep-water drilling, so shallow arctic drilling should not be effected.

Parnell also stated that he tried to meet last week with the Interior secretary when he was visiting last week, but that he refused. Salazzar held several public events in Barrow and other locations which the Govenor did not attend.

Shell claims that the ban has already cost over 600 jobs and has issued this statement:
"We believe the State of Alaska is fully justified in filing this lawsuit, given the actions of the Department of Interior and the importance of offshore development to Alaska. Unfortunately, our progress in Alaska has been severely compromised by unforeseen events that are not related to our specific program in the Alaska offshore. Our inability to drill is not only costly to Shell, but also to a state that is working hard to create jobs and find new oil supplies for the Trans Alaska Pipeline by promoting responsible offshore development."