Recognizing the sensitivity of drilling in Alaska, Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said the plan would put off potential lease sales there until later in the 2012-17 period, with sales in the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchie Sea pegged for 2015 and 2016, respectively. Interior wants to allow more time for scientific study and for gathering other data.

Salazar said an advisory committee is looking at current “gaps” in oil-spill response and infrastructure capabilities in offshore Alaska. Hayes says infrastructure issues include a lack of harbors on the North Slope and questions about whether oil would be transported to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

The American Petroleum Institute sees the plan as “a good first step,” said Erik Milito, API’s group director of upstream and industry operations.

But Milito says, "[The Interior proposal] is a missed opportunity to open additional areas that could have helped address rising energy demand, create American jobs and reduce the federal deficit.”

House committee Chairman Hastings also criticized the proposal for being too restrictive. He said, "Since President Obama took office, he has systematically taken steps to re-impose an offshore drilling moratorium, and today he is one step closer to making that a reality for the next five years."

On the anti-drilling side, environmental organizations took aim at the potential Alaska leases. Athan Manuel, the Sierra Club’s director of land protection, said his group “is deeply troubled” by Interior’s proposal. He says, "It could open up the Beaufort and Chukchi seas … to dangerous and dirty offshore drilling and jeopardize one of our nation’s last wild frontiers.”

Interior’s proposal will be open for public comments.