{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/alaska-delegation-commends-president-trumps-re-approval-of-the-ambler-access-project", "Alaska Delegation Commends President Trump\u2019s Re-Approval of the Ambler Access Project", "2025-10-06", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "AK", "Lisa Murkowski", "M001153", "www.murkowski.senate.gov", "murkowski", "https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/press-releases?PageNum_rs=5", "scraper", "Washington, DC\u2014U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Nick Begich, all R-Alaska, today released the following statements after President Donald J. Trump issued a determination re-approving the Ambler Access Project in Alaska. President Trump made his decision in accordance with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which allows the project\u2019s applicant, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), to appeal its federal disapproval directly to the President.\n\nIn addition to the President\u2019s ANILCA determination, the Department of Defense (War) announced a strategic partnership with Ambler Metals today that will provide a $35.6 million investment to advance mining exploration in the world-class Ambler Mining District in exchange for an equity stake in Trilogy Metals, which is part of the Ambler Metals joint venture.\n\n\u201cI thank President Trump for issuing this determination and getting the Ambler project back on track after it was derailed by politics at the end of the Biden administration. Congress enshrined this project\u2019s approval into federal law in 1980 as part of a \u2018grand bargain\u2019 to conserve more than 100 million acres of land in Alaska, and it has more national significance now than ever,\u201d Senator Murkowski said. \u201cThe President\u2019s re-approval will unlock a world-class mining district, deliver quality-of-life benefits for communities in the region, and help grow Alaska\u2019s economy. It will also improve our national security by strengthening our mineral security and enabling us to produce more of our most important resources here at home. I look forward to federal agencies promptly re-issuing permits and authorizations so that the Ambler access project can finally proceed, and to working with the local people and Alaska Native Corporations to ensure a successful project.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want to thank President Trump and his team, especially Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, for granting this appeal under Section 1106 of ANILCA, rolling back the Biden administration\u2019s egregious and lawless denial of a right-of-way for the Ambler Access Project,\u201d said Senator Sullivan. \u201cThis appeal is great news for Alaska, for jobs for our workers, for American national security, for reducing our country\u2019s critical mineral dependence on China, and for the incredible Alaskans of the region. I just spoke by phone with the President about this important announcement, and he reiterated his strong commitment to advancing the Ambler Access Project, and so many other important projects for our state, including the King Cove Road and the Alaska LNG Project. I\u2019ve always said the Ambler Access Project has to be done right, with close consultation with Alaska Native and community leaders and with respect for our environment and subsistence way of life. We were able to make great progress on these fronts under the first Trump administration, but the Biden administration came in and killed this project and the thousands of good-paying jobs, economic opportunity, and improved cost of living across the region that would come with it, subverting the clear intent of ANILCA. I\u2019m glad to see another critically important project for our state\u2019s economy and working families being put back on track.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Ambler Mining District is a strategic asset for Alaska and an important pathway to critical mineral development in the United States,\u201d said Congressman Begich. \u201cBy advancing this access, we are creating new opportunities for Alaskans while strengthening America\u2019s supply chain and reducing dependence on foreign adversaries for our critical mineral needs. I applaud the President\u2019s decision to support this appeal, and I look forward to working with the Administration, state leaders, and Alaska Native communities to ensure this project moves forward in a way that benefits all Alaskans.\u201d\n\nThe Ambler Access Project will provide surface transportation access to the Ambler Mining District and enable the domestic development of critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, gallium, and germanium. The U.S. heavily depends on foreign nations for many of the minerals within the Ambler District, including several for which China has threatened to cut off U.S. supplies.\n\nANILCA established a right-of-way (ROW) and ensured access across federal lands by stating that the Secretary of the Interior \u201cshall permit\u201d a road \u201cfrom the Ambler Mining District to the Alaska Pipeline Haul Road.\u201d That provision was included in ANILCA to ensure balance between conservation\u2014the creation of the surrounding 8.4-million-acre Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve\u2014and responsible resource development to benefit Alaska and the nation.\n\nFederal permitting for Ambler began a full decade ago, in 2015. The project was fully approved, and ROW permits were issued, in 2020. In 2022, however, the Biden administration sought a voluntary court remand to conduct a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). Last June, the Biden administration stunningly rejected the project in its entirety, ignoring the law and greatly exaggerating its potential impacts to justify its selection of the \u201cno action\u201d alternative.\n\nWhen a federal agency rejects a transportation or utility system project on non-federal-wilderness land in Alaska, Section 1106 of ANILCA allows the project sponsor to directly appeal that decision to the President. AIDEA submitted an application appealing the Biden administration\u2019s decision on Ambler earlier this year, starting a 120-day clock for a presidential determination. The President\u2019s determination is based on factors listed in the statute, including the need for the transportation system and the national security interests of the United States.\n\nNow that President Trump has approved AIDEA\u2019s Section 1106 application for the Ambler project, ANILCA requires all relevant federal agencies to \u201cpromptly issue, in accordance with applicable law, such rights-of-way, permits, licenses, leases, certificates, or other authorizations as are necessary with respect to the establishment of the system.\u201d\n\nTo read the President\u2019s determination, click here.\n\nTo access the full text of ANILCA, including Section 1106, click here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/alaska-delegation-commends-president-trumps-re-approval-of-the-ambler-access-project"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7052770126610994, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}