The Biden admin is up to its ears in legal battles. They’ve just been handed a devastating loss.
Because a federal court has given Joe Biden 37 days to reverse his latest bone-headed decision.
On Tuesday, an appeals court rejected a lawsuit filed by four environmental groups to stop the sale of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico, dealing a huge blow to their efforts to slow down American oil output.
The sale was put on hold after a request by the Biden administration to the court to do so.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit instead ruled that the protesters of the sale of the land had no legal basis for their lawsuit and directed an auction of the drilling licenses to be held “within 37 days,” as reported by Reuters.
The initial auction date of September 29 was pushed out to November 8, and then it was placed on hold indefinitely pending the outcome of current litigation.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management remarked at the time, “Until the court rules, BOEM cannot be certain of which areas or stipulations may be included in the sale notice.”
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), a division of the Department of the Interior, reduced the leaseable area by nearly 6 million acres.
After Tuesday’s court ruling, all of that land is once again available for lease.
American Petroleum Institute (API) general counsel Ryan Meyers issued a press release after the court’s decision was handed down, noting, “The U.S. Gulf of Mexico plays a critical role in maintaining affordable, reliable American energy production and today’s decision creates greater certainty for the essential energy workforce and the entire Gulf Coast economy.”
Various environmental groups challenged the API’s efforts to increase the sale of drilling rights because of the possible effects on an endangered whale. Reuters also reported that the Chevron Corporation and the state of Louisiana have joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.
“This disappointing and unjustified ruling could be the death knell for the nearly extinct Rice’s whale,” Earthjustice attorney George Torgun told Reuters via email.
Earthjustice represented several environmental organizations like “Friends of the Earth” in the lawsuit.
After the ruling, a representative for President Joe Biden’s Department of the Interior, which is responsible for drilling lease auctions, declined to comment.
It was reported in September by The New York Times that less federal leases have been sold to private energy corporations during the Biden administration compared to any previous time since the federal government first began leasing property.
Before the federal government can give approval for the construction of wind turbines for the generation of so-called “clean energy,” oil drilling leases must first be put up for public auction in accordance with the law.
The New York Times also noted at the time that oil corporations had warned of rising oil and gas prices due to less oil drilling.
With gas prices becoming more volatile than ever before during Joe Biden’s tenure as president, many Americans have been concerned about the federal government’s approach to energy independence.
Former President Donald Trump has put the Biden administration on blast for neglecting how important non-renewable energy sources are, like fossil fuels.
The Democrat Party also continues to stiff arm the most powerful energy source available to mankind in nuclear energy.
Donald Trump has suggested a 360-degree approach to energy independence in America where the federal government allows private companies to safely utilize all energy sources from wind, to solar, to oil, to nuclear.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
