Justice Department concedes Biden-era ANWR leasing program violated federal law, dismisses Alaska lawsuit

By SUZANNE DOWNING

July 9, 2026 – The US Department of Justice has formally acknowledged that the Biden administration’s 2024 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas leasing program violated federal law, ending litigation brought by the State of Alaska and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority while securing changes that reopen the path for expanded leasing on the North Slope.

In a stipulation filed Tuesday, the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division dismissed lawsuits challenging the 2024 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program after reaching a settlement that effectively repudiates key elements of the Biden administration’s approach.

The lawsuits centered on restrictions imposed by the Department of the Interior during the Biden administration that Alaska argued frustrated Congress’ directive in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to establish a competitive oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic Refuge’s 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain.

“The Biden era Alaska oil and gas leasing program violated the law and improperly limited Alaska’s energy potential with unreasonable regulation,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in announcing the settlement. He said the agreement supports the Trump administration’s commitment to American energy independence and national security.

According to the Justice Department, the settlement acknowledges multiple violations of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by the 2024 leasing program.

Among them, the Biden administration was found to have:

• Effectively abandoned its statutory duty to conduct a second lease sale.
• Closed approximately 75% of the Coastal Plain to oil and gas exploration and leasing.
• Imposed what the Justice Department characterized as unreasonable surface-use restrictions on the remaining 25%.
• Limited total surface disturbance to 995 acres across the entire program, despite Congress authorizing “up to 2,000 acres” for development.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the agreement “sets the record straight” by recognizing that the prior administration’s restrictions conflicted with Congress’ intent.

“Today’s correction of the prior administration’s congressional obstruction helps enhance America’s energy dominance and prevents any future repetition of overreaching policies that thwart our Nation’s best interests,” Woodward said.

The settlement also has implications beyond ending the litigation. The Justice Department said it clarifies how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act must be interpreted and prohibits the Department of the Interior from repeating the same legal violations in future decisions governing the leasing program.

Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division, said the Bureau of Land Management will now administer the leasing program according to what he called the plain meaning of the statute.

“That means more oil leasing, more domestic energy, and more independence from foreign sources of energy,” Gustafson said.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain has been the subject of years of legal and political battles. Congress authorized an oil and gas leasing program in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but subsequent administrations have interpreted that mandate very differently. The Biden administration adopted a leasing program in 2024 that significantly limited where development could occur, prompting Alaska and AIDEA to sue.

The settlement represents another significant shift in federal policy under the Trump administration, which has moved to reverse numerous Biden-era restrictions on Alaska resource development. It follows other recent actions expanding access to federal lands and reaffirming support for domestic energy production in Alaska.