Virginia Cramer, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org, 804-519-8449
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today is holding a hearing to explore drilling in the sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As part of the budget process, the committee has been tasked with raising $1 billion over 10 years-- a feat that would only be possible through Arctic Refuge drilling if companies paid exorbitant lease prices.
In response Athan Manuel, Sierra Club director of public lands protection issued the following statement.
“The failure of the committee to even consider any revenue source other than drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is telling. This is not about a budget need, but a desire to gift one of our last wild places to the fossil fuel industry. There is no safe drilling. And there is no way to drill without causing irreversible harm to the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, it’s wildlife, and the people it supports. Congress must abandon any plans to use the budget process as a backdoor into the Arctic.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.