CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION relating to procurement and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; affirming The City of Seattle’s commitment to avoid procuring goods and services from corporations that purchase leases or develop oil fields in the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain.
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WHEREAS, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (“Arctic Refuge”) is one of America’s last wild places and the nation’s largest National Wildlife Refuge, and the Arctic Refuge coastal plain (“coastal plain”) is its biological heart; and
WHEREAS, the Arctic Refuge supports more than more than 200 species of birds from six continents, 36 species of fish, and 45 species of marine and land mammals, including the Porcupine caribou herd that gathers annually in the coastal plain in one of the world’s most spectacular wildlife migrations to give birth and nurture their young; and
WHEREAS, for thousands of years, the Gwich'in people of northeast Alaska and northwest Canada have relied on Porcupine caribou for food, clothing, shelter, and tools, and these caribou remain essential to meet the nutritional, cultural, and spiritual needs of the Gwich’in and other Alaska Native tribes in the region; and
WHEREAS, a majority of Americans oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge despite long-term political efforts to open the coastal plain for oil and gas drilling; and
WHEREAS, after 50 years of protection, the 1.6 million acre coastal plain was opened to oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, and production by a provision added to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, despite widespread opposition nationwide and unanimous opposition from the Gwich’in Nation to drilling in the coastal plain; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle (“City”) believes that it is irresponsible for a corporation to pursue drilling in one of the last remaining wild places in the United States and to threaten the rights of the Gwich'in people; and
WHERAS, the City wishes to spend its residents' tax dollars in a manner that is socially and environmentally responsible; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE THAT:
Section 1. The City shall avoid purchasing goods or services from corporations that purchase leases or develop oil fields in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, should the United States Department of the Interior hold a sale of oil and gas leases in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2019, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)