Alaska natives sue to stop offshore drilling

Alaska natives sue to stop offshore drilling
Whales, subsistence culture cited in case against Bush administration

Updated: 19 minutes ago
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Two Alaska native groups have sued the Interior Department to block an offshore oil and gas lease sale that residents say threatens Arctic marine wildlife and the traditional Inupiat Eskimo way of life.

The North Slope Borough and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage on Tuesday, claim the federal Minerals Management Service did a sloppy job in preparing for the Beaufort Sea lease sale scheduled on April 18.

The lawsuit claims the MMS pre-sale studies used outdated information and underestimated likely impacts of development to the environment and the Inupiat culture.

The borough and the whalers, longtime opponents of offshore oil development, fear spills, industrial noise and other disturbances could harm marine mammals.
(snip/...)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17401100/