Judges reject Alaska offshore drilling plan

Court orders U.S. to re-examine potential impacts on natives, wildlife

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Federal regulators improperly granted Shell Oil permission for exploratory drilling in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Minerals Management Service to reconsider how exploratory drilling would affect wildlife and Inupiat Eskimo subsistence hunting and fishing.

The ruling was hailed by conservation groups.

MSNBC