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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,817 Likes: 15
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,817 Likes: 15 |
Judge overturns Biden moratorium on new federal oil and gas leasing.
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction June 15 requiring the Interior Department to resume leasing of federal onshore and offshore properties for oil and gas exploration.
Alan Kovski Jun 16th, 2021
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction June 15 requiring the Interior Department to resume leasing of federal onshore and offshore properties for oil and gas exploration.
Interior instituted a moratorium on new leasing pursuant to President Biden’s executive order instructing Interior to establish such a “pause.” The court issued its injunction based on evidence that Interior violated three laws in complying with the order.
The legal challenges, and the court’s analysis of them, avoided challenging a presidential executive order and instead focused on whether Interior violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA).
Judge Terry Doughty of the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana concluded Interior appears to have violated all three laws—the procedural requirements of the APA and the leasing schedules and procedures of OCSLA and MLA.
“By pausing the leasing, the agencies are in effect amending two congressional statutes, OCSLA and MLA, which they do not have the authority to do,” the judge wrote. Nor were the agencies exempt from APA obligations, he wrote.
The ruling could make a difference not only to the states and oil and gas companies but to the geophysical and drilling contractors that do much of the exploration and development work after new leases are sold.
13 states object
The preliminary injunction does not determine the outcome of the case but does involve a judgment that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits and have adequately alleged economic harm from the moratorium.
Louisiana led 13 states in arguing that Interior and its agencies must go through regulatory rulemaking procedures, including public notice and comment and reasoned explanations, before altering an offshore 5-year lease schedule or the onshore quarterly lease schedule.
The case is Louisiana v. Biden. The states filed their complaint Mar. 24, about 2 months after Biden issued his Executive Order 14008, in which Section 208 commanded Interior to “pause” new oil and gas leases while the department comprehensively reviews its oil and gas policy. Interior has offered no estimate of when the review will be finished.
One of the arguments made by Biden administration attorneys in the case was that there was no point in issuing such an injunction because the government can “come up with another reason” to postpone sales. It remains to be seen whether Interior will follow that strategy.
“We are reviewing the judge’s opinion and will comply with the decision,” an Interior spokesperson told reporters.
Broader policy questions
Critics of the moratorium have contended it does not accomplish anything useful in terms of limiting greenhouse gases and climate change, a subject that Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and Interior officials cite frequently. Oil and gas will be found and produced elsewhere if blocked on US federal property, the critics say.
By the same token, a resumption of lease sales may make no difference for the climate.
Ed Crooks, vice-chair Americas at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, tweeted June 16, “I’ve seen it argued that the court ruling against the federal moratorium on oil & gas lease sales is a significant blow to President Biden’s climate strategy. That seems entirely wrong. To a first approximation, the impact of the moratorium on US greenhouse gas emissions is zero.”
Another twist of the case is that Judge Doughty, a Trump nominee to the federal bench, cited Obama nominees in his reasoning on a few aspects of the case.
Doughty noted that a 2019 ruling by Judge Sharon Gleason, an Obama nominee in the US District Court for the District of Alaska, concluded President Trump could not use an executive order to reverse an order by President Obama reducing to scope of oil and gas drilling in offshore waters. That was in the case of League of Conservation Voters v. Trump.
Doughty also noted that a 2020 ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, an Obama nominee in the US District Court or the Northern District of California, concluded that an executive order issued by Trump did not exempt Interior from the APA’s requirement for reasoned decision making. That was in California v. Bernhardt.
https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/government/article/14205345/judge-overturns-biden-moratorium-on-new-federal-oil-and-gas-leasing?utm_source=OGJ+Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS210616024&o_eid=4092C7427178D8Y&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C4092C7427178D8Y&oly_enc_id=4092C7427178D8Y
Conduct is the best proof of character.
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 7,306
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 7,306 |
At least there are some judges left with a modicum of common sense.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." **Edmund Burke**
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." **Benjamin Franklin**
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 28,295 Likes: 17
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 28,295 Likes: 17 |
Good stuff EdM. Thanks for the heads up.
It is irrelevant what you think. What matters is the TRUTH.
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 152,368 Likes: 43
Campfire Savant
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Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 152,368 Likes: 43 |
Thanks, wifey works for oilfield service company!
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 67,810 Likes: 11
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 67,810 Likes: 11 |
I am stunned. I thought all of the Federal Judges had been coopted.
Sam......
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 8,109 Likes: 33
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 8,109 Likes: 33 |
Started to get to (stopped going into) someones pocket, nothing more.
Roy
What this world needs is a few more Rednecks.
The Dildō Of Consequence Rarely Arrives Lubed
Waterboarding isn't illegal if you use diesel
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,566 Likes: 4
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,566 Likes: 4 |
Biden admin will say we tried but failed.
It was against the law. They knew it.
Clyde
The liberal mind is an endless black hole of stupidity.
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Posts: 69,469 Likes: 26
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 69,469 Likes: 26 |
Biden admin will say we tried but failed.
It was against the law. They knew it.
Clyde Nope. They’ll just find another way to Fuqk up the USA.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 96,079 Likes: 19
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 96,079 Likes: 19 |
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
I Dindo Nuffin
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,343 Likes: 33
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,343 Likes: 33 |
Is the damage not done anyway?
What outfit will want to lease with the uncertainty of continued operations?
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 30 |
Thanks for the information.
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,825 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,825 Likes: 3 |
I bet our dear idiot Governor Pothead is screaming so loud all of Santa Fe can hear her. I bet if Mark Shubert stuck his head out of his window he could hear her all the way over in Las Vegas!
Ed
"Not in an open forum, where truth has less value than opinions, where all opinions are equally welcome regardless of their origins, rationale, inanity, or truth, where opinions are neither of equal value nor decisive." Ken Howell
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,700 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,700 Likes: 4 |
Another twist of the case is that Judge Doughty, a Trump nominee to the federal bench, cited Obama nominees in his reasoning on a few aspects of the case. Probably the greatest legacy that Trump left us were his judicial appointments.
Z
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 59,269 Likes: 41
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 59,269 Likes: 41 |
Paul
"I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon".... D.A.D.
Trump Won!, Sandmann Won!, Rittenhouse Won!, Suck it Liberal Fuuktards.
molɔ̀ːn labé skýla
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 491 Likes: 1
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 491 Likes: 1 |
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Posts: 1,862 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,862 Likes: 2 |
Good. I’ve got a customer who has had permits to drill twelve wells in limbo since February. Hopefully they come thru now.
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