A group of Republican attorneys general is suing the Biden administration over its pause of oil-and-gas leasing on federal lands.
The 14 GOP attorneys general, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, argue that President Biden’s executive order “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 Biden’s pause 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.
Biden’s order pausing new oil-and-gas leasing does not affect the ability of companies to get permits to drill on existing leases.
In a separate lawsuit on 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, which 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 come 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 phasing down of the leasing program altogether.
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.”
Republican attorneys general have promised to challenge the Biden administration’s climate regulations.
Updated July 2022 to reflect the number of states suing Biden is now 14.
Read rest at Washington Examiner
Biden is run by Politics and loyal to the Greens and OPEC as well as the Globalists the Useless Nations
Can’t the republicans see the sea level rise?
https://wp.me/pTN8Y-am