Staff report

Homer Independent Press

The comment period ends soon on Jan. 23 for public input on five new proposed offshore oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf in Cook Inlet. 

The previous 5-year plan — which included no leases in Cook Inlet or Alaska — for the Outer Continental Shelf was finalized in 2024, but the President Donald Trump administration now proposes five new leases starting in 2027. The lease area stretches from the southwest to the northern tip of Kodiak and up nearly to the Kenai River.


Alaskans can comment on the plan at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regulation site.

In a press release, Cook Inletkeeper denounced the plan.


“Expanded drilling in Cook Inlet isn’t an abstract risk; it’s a direct threat to our communities,” said Cook Inletkeeper Co-Executive Director Bridget Maryott. “More oil and gas means a higher risk of a catastrophic spill. Alaskans who lived through the Exxon Valdez know exactly how devastating that can be. With the Inlet’s icy waters, powerful tides, and relentless weather, cleanup would be impossible.”

At its meeting Monday night, the Homer City Council in a 5-to-1 vote approved a resolution to submit comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, citing local concerns about planned oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Alaska and Cook Inlet.