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FEBRUARY 5, 2001

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton on Saturday said the Bush administration's proposal to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be made soon but that there is no "specific timetable."

"ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is something that can only be used for oil and gas exploration if Congress is convinced and if the president is convinced that that can be done in a responsible environmental way." said Norton. "It cannot be done until Congress approves it. But we're going to be looking at the options for being sure that's done in an environmentally responsible way."

Norton said drilling could be done in the "dead of winter" or only on ice roads in order to ensure little damage to the environment.

Norton made the remarks on the CNN program Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields. Relevant Links:
Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields- www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/evans.novak/index.html