Several environmental groups filed to the federal government opening up more than 73 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico to oil drilling.
The lawsuit is over the Department of Interior鈥檚 sale of oil and gas leases in unleased areas of the western and central Gulf of Mexico. The nearest area is more than 200 miles west of peninsular Florida.
The Biden administration has come out against some renewals of oil leases. But an agreement with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was included in the approval of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. The sale is now scheduled for March 28.
The environmental groups say the nation should be moving away from the use of fossil fuels and not enable more drilling. They say it would go against the administration鈥檚 commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to clean energy.
It is estimated that the leased areas could extract over 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 陆 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over the next 50 years.
Earthjustice and Sierra Club filed the lawsuit in federal court in the District of Columbia on behalf of Healthy Gulf, Bayou City Waterkeeper, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and the Center for Biological Diversity. It was filed against Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
alleges the lease sale would jeopardize the survival of endangered marine life. Five of the world鈥檚 seven species of sea turtles inhabit Gulf waters, and the Gulf is the exclusive home of the endangered Gulf of Mexico (Rice鈥檚) whale, whose numbers may have dwindled to fewer than 50 individuals.
鈥淪elling off more of our lands and waters to the fossil fuel industry is the last thing we should do at a time when we need to be rapidly transitioning away from oil and gas to meet our nation鈥檚 climate goals and create a livable planet for all,鈥� said Athan Manuel, Director of the Sierra Club鈥檚 Lands Protection Program. 鈥淥ffshore drilling devastates millions of acres of nature, contributes to an increasing number of climate disasters, and creates a quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions. While the IRA represents a historic step forward in achieving our nation鈥檚 climate goals, we cannot let the bad provisions of the bill, including oil and gas leasing, undercut what we stand to gain.鈥�
鈥淎s steward of the country鈥檚 public lands and waters, Interior has a duty to fully consider the harms offshore leasing can cause, from air pollution to oil spills, and beyond,鈥� said Irene Gutierrez, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. 鈥淭his vast lease sale poses threats to Gulf communities and endangered species鈥攍ike Rice鈥檚 whale鈥攚hile contributing to the climate crisis this region knows far too well. We are holding the agency to its obligation to carefully assess the fallout of this giveaway to Big Oil.鈥�
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