This bill would overturn a 2022 federal management plan for Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve and go back to an older 2020 plan. Here's what that means in practical terms: The National Petroleum Reserve is a massive 23-million-acre area in northern Alaska owned by the federal government. In 2022, the Bureau of Land Management created a new plan that closed about half of this reserve to oil and gas drilling. They did this to protect wildlife and preserve areas where Alaska Native communities hunt and fish for food. This bill would undo those protections and reopen that land to oil and gas leasing. So if this passes, energy companies would have access to drill in areas that were previously off-limits, which could increase oil and gas development in Alaska but would reduce protections for wildlife and traditional hunting and fishing grounds. Environmental groups would likely oppose this because it removes environmental safeguards, while oil and gas companies and some Alaska officials would likely support it because it opens up more land for energy development and potential economic activity.

A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to "National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision".

Sullivan, Dan

<p>This joint resolution nullifies the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) titled <em>National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision&nbsp;</em>and issued on April 25, 2022. BLM's plan provides for the management of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, which is an approximately 23-million-acre area on Alaska’s North Slope. The&nbsp;2022 plan replaced the 2020 plan and closed approximately 48% of the reserve to oil and gas leasing&nbsp;in order to protect certain surface resources and uses, such as protecting wildlife and providing subsistence&nbsp;for communities. Thus, the joint resolution removes the protections provided under the 2022 plan and reverts to the 2020 plan.</p>