It’s Tuesday, April 2, and Trump’s offshore drilling plan has hit a major legal snag.
An Alaska federal court ruled Friday that Obama-era protections to the Arctic and Atlantic oceans should be restored immediately. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason blocks President Trump’s plan to dismantle the previous administration’s ban on oil and gas leases in parts of both oceans — momentarily sparing 128 million acres of water from fossil fuel exploration.
Obama’s ban on offshore oil leases “will remain in full force and effect unless and until revoked by Congress,” Gleason wrote in her ruling.
The decision throws a wrench in the administration’s plans to auction off six offshore drilling leases for the Arctic Ocean, a process that would have commenced as soon as this year. New Jersey, one of the multiple states that have vocally opposed offshore drilling, is pretty thrilled about the news. A spokesperson for Governor Phil Murphy told the Washington Post that the governor “will continue to do everything in his power to stop any drilling off of New Jersey’s precious coastline.”
Unsurprisingly, industry groups aren’t as enthused. “Anything done by administrative action can be undone by administrative action,” said a spokesperson for the oil and gas lobby Alaska Support Industry Alliance.
Whether or not industry groups appeal Gleason’s decision, this ruling is more evidence that the courts are one of the most effective methods of slowing Trump’s plan to develop the nation’s undeveloped areas. Gleason also determined on Friday that former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke made some “serious errors” when he scrapped an Obama-era commitment blocking a plan to carve a road through a major Alaskan wildlife refuge.
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