A federal court this month ruled in favor of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s motion to intervene in a case that pits environmental groups against the Biden administration’s effort to move forward with an offshore oil and gas lease sale.
Last month, plaintiffs Friends of the Earth, Healthy Gulf and other groups opposed to Lease Sale 257 in the Gulf of Mexico filed suit against Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland and other defendants. The complaint argues that the administration’s decision violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Landry’s office sought to intervene because the relief sought by the plaintiffs would have clashed with a previous Western District of Louisiana court order green-lighting the lease sale, according to the Sept. 22 decision by Judge Randolph Moss.
“Louisiana has also demonstrated that it has a legally protected interest in the lease-sale revenues and that the plaintiffs’ claims threaten to impair that interest,” Moss said in the order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Louisiana Solicitor General Elizabeth Murrill said moving ahead with the oil lease sale would help to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign energy sources and would be in sync with congressional directives.
“We are glad to see the Biden administration moving forward with Lease 257 and expect additional sales,” Murrill told the Louisiana Record in an email. “We joined this lawsuit to ensure the administration follows the law, so we are pleased with the judge’s decision.”
Louisiana previously filed suit to block the administration’s initial efforts to pause land-based and offshore oil and gas leases in order to fight climate change.
“Joe Biden’s unlawful attempt to halt leasing punishes hard-working Americans with higher gasoline and electric bills, and forces the nation to rely on foreign energy,” she said.
The environmental groups argue that bold actions, such as abandoning Lease Sale 257, are needed to reduce global emissions and address what they said was a climate crisis.
“The sale will offer over 80 million acres of public waters to the oil and gas industry,” the complaint against the Department of Interior states. “The lease sale will allow for new fossil fuel extraction over the next 50 years and will magnify greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.”