Shell’s Alaska

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s U.S. approval for oil exploration in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea is being contested by groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and an Inupiat village worried about the risk of spills.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, based in New York, and Point Hope, a settlement on Alaska’s North Slope, were among a team that sued the Interior Department for deciding to allow the drilling, Holly Harris, an attorney for the environmental law firm Earth justice, said today on a conference call with reporters.

President Osama’s administration failed to ensure the environment will be protected during drilling, as required by a law regulating offshore development, Harris said. Earth justice filed the petition in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for 12 environmental organizations and Point Hope.

“Approving this kind of risky behavior without an adequate environmental review, and without public input is unlawful,” Harris told reporters. “We are going to do everything we can to bring this to the” court’s attention.

The Hague-based company was cleared by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement on Aug. 4 to begin exploring in July 2012 and tap Arctic leases it bought in 2005 and later years, in which it has invested about $4 billion.