The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Friday issued a 1,000-page draft proposal that could expand oil and natural gas drilling in more than 8 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) in Alaska.

In its Draft Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), BLM proposes four scenarios for the NPR Northwest planning region, which encompasses 8.8 million acres (3.6 million hectares). One proposal would prohibit any drilling, while another goes as far as allowing companies wide access to parts of the reserve. Major questions discussed in the draft are the following:

Public comments on the draft will be taken until March 18. A final EIS then would be prepared for review by the Interior Department by the end of this year. Alaskan officials will hold public meetings Feb. 12 in Fairbanks and Feb. 13 in Anchorage.

The reserve, which totals 23 million acres, is located in Alaska’s northwestern corner. It was established in 1923 to provide energy for U.S. military forces. Some exploration has occurred there since the 1940s, but there has never ben widespread commercial development.

To review the entire report, visit the BLM Alaska web site at www.ak.blm.gov/nwnpra/index.html.

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