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".
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This joint resolution disapproves a Bureau of Land Management rule that had closed about 48% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to oil and gas leasing, using the Congressional Review Act to nullify it.
Because the rule has no force or effect, land-use protections adopted in 2022 are voided and management reverts to the more leasing-friendly 2020 plan for the roughly 23-million-acre reserve on Alaska's North Slope.
What this law does
What it does
This joint resolution disapproves, under the Congressional Review Act, a Bureau of Land Management rule titled the "National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision," issued April 25, 2022. That rule had replaced an earlier 2020 management plan and closed about 48% of the roughly 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to oil and gas leasing to protect wildlife, subsistence uses, and other surface resources. Because Congress has disapproved the rule, it now has no force or effect, and management of the reserve reverts to the 2020 plan that the 2022 rule had replaced. The resolution does not itself write a new management plan; it simply nullifies the 2022 one and relies on the prior plan taking its place.
Key provisions
- 1Disapproves the Bureau of Land Management's 2022 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision under the Congressional Review Act.
- 2Declares that the disapproved 2022 rule shall have no force or effect, reverting management to the prior 2020 plan.
Who is affected
Communities and Alaska Native residents who rely on subsistence hunting and fishing within the National Petroleum Reserve, wildlife and habitat that the 2022 plan had protected, oil and gas companies interested in leasing reserve lands, and the Bureau of Land Management, which administers the reserve.
Why it matters
With the 2022 protections voided, areas of the reserve previously closed to leasing become available again under the 2020 plan, opening the door to new oil and gas development. Communities and conservation advocates who relied on the 2022 plan's surface-resource protections lose those safeguards, while energy developers gain expanded access to reserve lands.
What changed
Changes to existing law
Repeals National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision (2022 BLM rule)
Nullifies the 2022 rule that closed about 48% of the reserve to oil and gas leasing, reverting to the 2020 plan.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The disapproval and nullification of the 2022 rule
How it works
The resolution takes effect upon enactment and operates automatically: the disapproved 2022 record of decision has no force or effect, and the Bureau of Land Management must administer the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska according to the previously superseded 2020 Integrated Activity Plan. Under the Congressional Review Act, the agency is also barred from reissuing a substantially similar rule without new statutory authority.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Became Public Law No: 119-47.
Official CRS summary
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This joint resolution reopens portions of the National Petroleum Reserve for oil and gas leasing. (The reserve is an approximately 23-million-acre area on Alaska’s North Slope.)
Specifically, the joint resolution nullifies a plan submitted by the Bureau of Land Management in a rule titled National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision and issued on April 25, 2022. The 2022 plan replaced the 2020 plan and closed approximately 48% of the reserve to oil and gas leasing in order to protect certain surface resources and uses, such as protecting wildlife and providing subsistence for communities. Thus, the joint resolution removes the protections provided under the 2022 plan and reverts to the 2020 plan.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Alaska; Congressional oversight; Department of the Interior; Energy; Mining; Oil and gas