President Joe Biden is set to invoke a provision in a 1953 law, aiming to impose a permanent ban on new offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in significant areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as other federal waters. This move is designed to make it difficult for the incoming Trump administration to reverse the decision.
According to a report in The New York Times on Thursday, Biden is expected to invoke a little-known section of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act as early as Monday. This would grant him broad authority to prohibit future oil and gas leasing in federal waters. The report, which cites two anonymous sources familiar with the plan, states that these individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the policy publicly.
President-elect Donald J. Trump has vowed to overturn nearly all laws and regulations aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. His administration is also focused on facilitating the production of more coal, oil, and natural gas. Reports indicate that Trump’s transition team is preparing an extensive energy plan to present soon after he assumes office on January 20. This package could include approvals for new liquefied natural gas export projects and expanded oil drilling on both the U.S. coastline and federal lands.
While Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act grants the president considerable power to block offshore drilling, it does not contain any language allowing a future president, like Trump, to reverse such a ban. The Times highlighted a 2019 court ruling in which U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason of Alaska determined that the Obama administration’s 2016 ban on offshore drilling in parts of the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean could not be undone without congressional action.
Biden is expected to seek permanent protection for coastal waters stretching from North Carolina to Florida. During Trump’s first term, he used the same legal authority to implement a decade-long ban on oil and gas exploration in the region.
Karoline Leavitt, who is set to be Trump’s White House press secretary, criticized the Biden administration, accusing it of waging a “war on American energy.” She emphasized that once Trump takes office, he plans to make America “energy-dominant again, protect our energy jobs, and bring down the cost of living for working families,” according to her statement to the Times.
Joseph Gordon, who directs the climate and energy campaign at Oceana, a progressive environmental group, pointed out that many Republican lawmakers in coastal states have supported measures to protect their coastlines from drilling. He also suggested there could be bipartisan backing for Biden’s order. “Our coastlines are home to millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a healthy coast, abundant wildlife, and thriving fisheries,” he told the Times.
Dustin Myers, the senior vice president of policy at the American Petroleum Institute, which represents U.S. oil and gas companies, responded to the Times by claiming that the November elections demonstrated voters’ clear rejection of what he described as “this misguided approach.” He added that oil and gas companies are eager to collaborate with the incoming administration to unlock the benefits of offshore oil and gas production, which he said would include jobs, investment, and improved domestic energy security.
{Matzav.com}