Biden Administration Appeals Court Decision to Block Pause on Oil Gas Leasing

Matt Brown

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US administration appealed a federal court decision to block a pause on oil and gas leasing on public land, a court filing revealed.

"All Defendants give notice that they appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Memorandum Ruling and Order on Plaintiff States’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction," the notice read on Monday.

US Judge Terry Doughty of the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled in June that Louisiana and several other states that sued the Biden administration would face significant problems because of the government’s decision to pause oil and gas leases on public land.

"The appeal of the preliminary injunction is important and necessary. Together, federal onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing programs are responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions and growing climate and community impacts," the Department of Interior (DOI) said in a statement after filing an appeal. Several US major energy trade groups, including the American Petroleum Institute, sued the administration in a separate case for imposing an ‘indefinite pause’ on hydrocarbons leasing on federal lands.

In January 2021, the Biden administration issued an order that mandated a pause on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, onshore and offshore. The government directed the DOI to conduct a comprehensive review, but did not establish a specific timeframe for when this work should be done.

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