It’s Friday, April 26, and offshore drilling’s future is even more uncertain.
Great news in the fight to stop offshore drilling! It’s not happening anytime soon. The Trump administration’s plans to expand the controversial practice have been sidelined indefinitely.
First, the backstory. In March, a judge shot down the administration’s attempt to overturn an Obama-era drilling ban, finding that President Trump exceeded his constitutional authority by trying to reopen large swaths of the Arctic and Atlantic to drilling. The Trump administration is expected to appeal, but in an interview with the Wall Street Journal this week, the former oil lobbyist and newly confirmed Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, said he wasn’t sure what will happen next.
The Hill reports that the appeals process will likely be lengthy. “By the time the court rules, that may be discombobulating to our plan,” Bernhardt said.
This news comes after more than a year of public outcry from coastal communities and environmental groups calling for the Department of the Interior to ditch its offshore drilling plan. “We hope this pause becomes permanent and we can start phasing out offshore drilling instead of trying to expand this dirty and dangerous practice,” said Miyoko Sakashita, ocean program director with the Center for Biological Diversity.
The Smog
Need-to-know basis
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