Environmentalists challenge Alaska drilling plan ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Eight environmental groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington Monday to block oil leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The plaintiff groups claimed that the U.S. Interior Department's decision to allow oil exploration in part of the far-north reserve was based on an inadequate impact study that failed to meet requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The impact study fell short in its examination of development's effects on wildlife and neglected to consider alternatives for providing more protection to the region, said Allen Smith, head of the Alaska office of the Wilderness Society, one of the plaintiff groups. See full story <http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2556444426-1ae>
