The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a stipulation to dismiss lawsuits brought by Alaska and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority challenging the 2024 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

The lawsuits contended that restrictions included in the 2024 leasing program frustrated Congress' directive that the Interior Department establish and administer a competitive oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic refuge's Coastal Plain, according to the Justice Department.

"The Biden era Alaska oil and gas leasing program violated the law and improperly limited Alaska's energy potential with unreasonable regulation," acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

"This settlement supports the Trump Administration's commitment to secure American energy independence and our national security for generations to come."

The settlement conceded that the 2024 leasing program violated the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by failing to carry out a required second lease sale and by closing 75% of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing.

It also acknowledged restrictions the Justice Department said unreasonably limited development in the remaining area, including a 995-acre cap on surface disturbance instead of the up to 2,000 acres allowed under the law.

The Justice Department said the settlement strengthened national and energy security by clarifying the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's requirements, identifying violations of the law, and barring the Interior Department from repeating them in future decisions governing the program.