Alex DeMarban

The president said he wanted to reject the project, but lawyers advised him ConocoPhillips had a strong legal argument.

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will issue a report on the leak that could include enforcement measures, but the chair of the commission said there’s no timeline for the report’s release.

The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is said to have multiple oil prospects, and about 10% of the reserve has already been leased to oil companies, experts say.

The groups want road and mining work put on hold in a preliminary court decision, saying the project will cause irreparable harm. The oil company has said it will put gravel mining and road building on hold for now.

Penney worked to protect king salmon habitat and sportfishing on the Kenai River, which often put him at odds with commercial fishermen.

The lawsuit comes just one day after the Biden administration announced approval of the massive project on Alaska’s North Slope.

The Biden administration’s Monday decision to approve the ConocoPhillips Alaska oil project swiftly drew both celebration and condemnation, in the state and Outside.

The decision comes a day after the administration announced restrictions on drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the Beaufort Sea.

Plus an Ethiopian restaurant is back, and two businesses where roofs collapsed have new locations.

City officials have warned owners of commercial buildings built between the mid-1970s and 1980s with wood trusses to clear snow off roofs as soon as possible.

Federal judge Sharon Gleason ruled against the state oil and gas commission, writing that federal disclosure requirements for drilling in the reserve supersede Alaska law.

Wooden trusses in buildings built from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s have failed in three recent roof collapses, an Anchorage official said.

The Interior Department memo shows the administration selected a higher royalty fee on oil and gas development in the Inlet, saying it “constitutes the most reasonable balancing of environmental and economic factors for the American public.”

The Anchorage Assembly has asked the state to review its project. State road planners say it will improve safety and connectivity.

A second section of the building’s roof collapsed Sunday, impacting an aircraft propeller business.