Author: Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Republican-led group of states filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging a ban announced earlier this month by outgoing Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden on new offshore oil and gas development along most of the U.S. coast.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn Biden’s ban with declaratory and injunctive relief, according to a court filing that claims Biden lacked the authority to impose such a ban and that the US Congress has the authority to do so.
Biden’s move, announced on Jan. 6, is seen as largely symbolic, as it will not affect areas where oil and gas development is currently underway and mostly covers zones where drillers have no significant prospects, including the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The ban will affect 625 million hectares (253 million acres) of ocean, and Biden said it was in line with his agenda to fight climate change. The Biden administration, which leaves office Jan. 20 when Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office, had no immediate comment.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, names Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as defendants, and the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia and Mississippi are plaintiffs. Among the plaintiffs are two trade groups – the American Petroleum Institute and the Gulf Energy Alliance.
Trump has said he will quickly lift the ban, but that may be difficult to do.
The 70-year-old Outer Continental Shelf Land Act allows presidents to remove areas from mineral leases and drilling, but does not give them the legal authority to overturn previous bans, according to a 2019 court ruling — meaning a reversal would likely require an act of Congress.
Trump said he would take the matter to court if necessary.
