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GOP attorneys general sue Biden over oil and gas leasing pause

By and March 24, 2021 | updated 5 years ago

A group of Republican attorneys general are suing the Biden administration over its pause of oil and gas leasing on federal lands.

The 13 GOP attorneys general, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, argue barring new drilling permits “contravenes congressional commands” that require federal agencies to advance the speedy and safe development of “abundant energy resources” on public lands.

In their lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a federal district court, the attorneys general also say blocking drilling permits would forgo the environmental benefits their states experience from the portion of lease sale revenue that is invested in conservation and restoration projects.

Landry, for example, claimed canceling lease sales would slash his state’s funding under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which uses lease revenues from four Gulf Coast states for coastal restoration projects, by up to $57 million.

“By executive fiat, Joe Biden and his administration have single-handedly driven the price of energy up – costing the American people where it hurts most, in their pocketbooks,” Landry said in a statement on the lawsuit.

In a separate lawsuit Wednesday, Wyoming challenged the Biden administration for a “de facto moratorium” on federal oil and gas lease sales by postponing and canceling individual sales in the state and across the country. The state’s lawsuit argues the actions violate a number of laws, including the Mineral Leasing Act that requires quarterly lease sales and the National Environmental Policy Act for failing to weigh the environmental effects of stopping lease sales before doing so.

“Simple belief that an action is good for the environment does not justify skipping the environmental review required by law,” Wyoming’s lawsuit reads.

The lawsuits from the GOP attorneys general comes just one day before the Interior Department holds a public forum on the future of its federal oil and gas leasing program. Environmentalists and oil industry representatives will speak at the Thursday event.

Democratic lawmakers have argued the Interior Department’s review of the leasing program is an opportunity for targeted reforms, whereas some left-wing environmentalists have argued the review should lead to a phasedown of the leasing program altogether.

President Biden pledged on the campaign trail to block all new fossil fuel leasing on federal lands as part of his aggressive climate agenda. However, Deb Haaland, Biden’s recently confirmed Interior Secretary, said during her nomination hearing that the administration’s leasing pause wouldn’t be a “permanent thing.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Republican attorneys general have promised to fiercely challenge the Biden administration’s climate regulations. Already, a dozen GOP attorneys general have sued over the White House’s update to increase the so-called social cost of carbon, used in regulatory reviews to tally the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Last week, 21 attorneys general, led by Ken Paxton of Texas, challenged Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL oil pipeline, made in a day-one climate executive order.

Original Location: GOP attorneys general sue Biden over oil and gas leasing pause

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