The Environmental Protection Agency issued an air quality permit allowing Shell Oil to begin exploratory drilling on the outer continental shelf (OCS). Last week the agency gave permission for drilling in the Chukchi Sea.
Native people and conservation groups have mounted legal challenges to the proposed drilling. According to Rick Albright, director of EPA’s Air, Waste & Toxics office in Seattle, the permits are a response to President Obama’s goal of looking for ways to reduce dependence on foreign oil while not harming the environment.
The permits will limit emissions from the oil company’s ships.
“This permit ensures that exploration and drilling will occur in a way that protects air quality. We’ve listened closely to the Arctic communities of Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, and Barrow in our effort to craft a permit that is both effective and enforceable,” Albright said in a news release.
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