Coming on the heels of oral arguments last week, a federal judge has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s moratorium on oil leases on public lands, including offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.
The opinion by Judge Terry Doughty in the Western District of Louisiana came in the multi-state lawsuit spearheaded by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. Officials in Landry’s office argued last week that President Biden’s executive order initiating the ban on new leases violated both the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA).
“Since OCSLA does not grant specific authority to a president to ‘pause’ offshore oil and gas leases, the power to ‘pause’ lies solely with Congress,” Doughty said in his opinion, which was issued Tuesday. “Therefore, plaintiff states have made a showing that there is a substantial likelihood that President Biden exceeded his powers in Section 208 of Executive Order 14008.”
The 13 states involved in the lawsuit also outlined the financial losses they would have sustained had the injunction not been issued.
“This court finds the plaintiff states’ alleged injuries are both particularized and concrete,” Doughty wrote. “They have alleged loss of proceeds as a result of the pause for new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, from bonuses, land rents, royalties and other income. Plaintiff states have also alleged loss of jobs and economic damage as a direct result of the pause. These alleged damages are concrete, particularized and imminent.”
The defendants had argued that no leases in the outer continental shelf or elsewhere had been canceled due to the administration’s executive order. But Cory Dennis, Landry’s press secretary, told the Louisiana Record prior to Doughty’s ruling that the argument seemed unconvincing during last week’s oral arguments.
“Judge Doughty was very engaged at the arguments in the leasing ban case,” Dennis said in an email. “He asked the federal (Department of Justice) attorneys several times whether any new leases have been sold or scheduled since Jan. 27, when the president issued his executive order. The answer was no, none. The USDOJ attorneys denied any ‘pause’ was in place, a claim which the judge expressed skepticism.”
Landry said in a prepared statement after the opinion was issued that it represented a win for the Constitution.
“This is a victory not only for the rule of law, but also for the thousands of workers who produce affordable energy for Americans,” he said. “We appreciate that federal courts have recognized President Biden is completely outside his authority in his attempt to shut down oil and gas leases on federal lands."