We urge you to not go forward with a new oil and gas lease sale in the Chukchi Sea. Instead of opening up new areas of the Arctic to risky drilling, the Department of the Interior should focus on protecting important ecological and subsistence areas and improving offshore drilling policies and regulations in the Arctic Ocean.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimates a 75% chance of a large spill if drilling occurs in this area. Further, if there was a spill this area only has 7 weeks of ice-free access and would have a very difficult time getting in to clean up. Also, there is no current technology to separate oil from ice.