US to reevaluate review of Alaska petroleum reserve

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is expected to reevaluate a Trump-era environmental review that provided a basis for plans to open an additional roughly 6.8 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to oil and gas leasing.

A memo outlining the planned review accompanied government filings in lawsuits brought by conservation and environmental advocacy groups.

Those lawsuits challenged the adequacy of the environmental analysis underpinning the plans that were finalized in the final weeks of the Trump administration.

U.S. Justice Department attorneys have requested stays in the cases pending the new evaluation.