Akpik v. State, Office of Management & Budget

OPINION

BRYNER, Chief Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

Joseph Akpik, Lydia Sovalik, Joeb Woods, and Abraham Woods (collectively “Akpik”) are landowners on the North Slope, near the village of Nuiqsut. Phillips Alaska requested that the Alaska Division of Governmental Coordination determine whether a proposed exploratory drilling project near Nuiqsut was consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management Program. The division gave public notice that it would accept comments regarding Phillips’s proposed drilling project. Akpik attempted to submit comments after the deadline for comments passed; the division…