ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Biden administration is moving to review a Trump-era decision supporting development of a controversial, 200-mile industrial road in Northwest Alaska, a setback for the effort to access deposits of valuable minerals in the region.
The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Interior Department, filed documents on Tuesday in a federal court case asking Alaska District Court Judge Sharon Gleason to allow the agency to revisit a study conducted during the Trump administration that allowed the road to advance.
In a statement, the Interior Department also said it intends to suspend right-of-way for the road during the review, “to ensure that no ground-disturbing activity takes place that could potentially impact the resources in question.”
The Biden administration is raising concerns about the analysis that led to the issuance of a federal right-of-way permit for the road to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency.
The state agency is leading the effort to build the road, which is expected to cost at least $350 million and would stretch from the Dalton Highway to deposits of zinc and critical minerals such as copper in the Ambler Mining District.
It would link Alaska’s skeletal road system north of Fairbanks to the district, ending near Ambler and other villages. It would cut through caribou habitat and many rivers and streams. A portion would cross the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.
Conservation and tribal groups sued the Trump administration to stop the road, asserting that federal agencies failed to follow federal laws and regulations in the environmental review process. They assert the gravel road will pollute the land and water and harm wildlife and people in the region.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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