Salazar

In these expedited petitions for review, we consider the allegations of Native Village of Point Hope et al. and Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (collectively, “petitioners”) that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) failed to discharge its obligations under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) in approving Shell Offshore Inc.’s plan for exploratory oil drilling in the Beaufort Sea. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 43 U.S.C. § 1349 (c), and we deny the petitions.

I

This case is the latest chapter in a long-running saga beginning back in April 2002, when the Minerals Management Service (MMS) established a five-year lease sale schedule for the outer continental shelf of Alaska. Alaska Wilderness League v. Kempthorne, 548 F.3d 815, 817-18 (9th Cir.2008), vacated, 559 F.3d 916 (9th Cir.2009), dismissed as moot sub nom., Alaska Wilderness League v. Salazar, 571 F.3d 859 (9th Cir.2009). Indeed, this is the third time the government has appeared before us to defend its approval of Shell’s exploration plan against challenges by many of these same petitioners. We begin by describing the legal framework and factual background for these challenges.

A

In…