The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska State Office has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a rulemaking that would streamline permitting for qualifying oil and gas production sites and associated rights-of-way in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), a roughly 23-million-acre area on the North Slope. The rulemaking would amend 43 CFR part 3160 to establish pre-defined criteria that, when met by an applicant, replace project-by-project NEPA review with a standardized permitting pathway. The action is partly in response to a May 12, 2026, petition from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. The EIS will assess effects on subsistence, wildlife (including caribou and polar bear), wetlands, permafrost, air quality, and cultural resources. Public scoping comments are due by July 6, 2026, and the Final EIS and Record of Decision are expected in late 2026 or early 2027.1