Alaska's regulatory stranglehold

The oil-rich state has abundant resources waiting to be tapped. “We want to explore more. We have a lot more oil to find,” Mr. Parnell said. “But we have been stymied by the federal government.” In particular, the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are tying his hands. He pointed to the EPA dragging its feet for five years to grant permits for Arctic offshore drilling, while the same permits are routinely granted in a matter of months for the Gulf of Mexico.