A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the Biden administration to restart regular sales of oil and gas leases, forcing the administration to prematurely abandon a central piece of its climate change agenda.
In a preliminary ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty granted the request of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and 12 other Republican-led states, including Georgia, Missouri and Montana, that filed a court challenge, and ordered the administration to hold quarterly lease sales nationally at least until the case is decided.
The order in the Western District of Louisiana is not a final ruling on the case, but does indicate Doughty expects the states to eventually prevail.
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As part of a Jan. 27 executive order meant to address climate change, Biden temporarily paused new oil and gas leases on public lands while the administration reviewed leasing policy, including the contributions to climate change. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated in 2017 that energy development on public lands is responsible for nearly one-quarter of the country’s carbon emissions.
Doughty, whom former President Donald Trump appointed to the federal bench, ruled federal laws compel the administration to hold regular lease sales for oil and gas rights on public lands, and only Congress can change the laws to make a pause legal. The administration overstepped its constitutional powers by ordering the pause, he said.
The public interest weighs in favor of immediately blocking the administration’s pause because of the losses in state funding that would result from the lost bonus payments when lease sales are held, he said.
Source: Iowa Capital Dispatch
