Interior abruptly pauses offshore drilling action following legal setbacks and bipartisan uproar

[babylonsister]

Interior abruptly pauses offshore drilling action following legal setbacks and bipartisan uproar
Coastal communities have united across party lines to oppose the Trump administration's plans.
E.A. Crunden
Apr 25, 2019, 4:28 pm



Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the agency has abruptly paused its controversial plans to open virtually all U.S. waters to offshore drilling, a stunning reversal following more than a year of bipartisan uproar from coastal communities.

The news comes as some Democratic presidential candidates have started to speak out on the issue. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently took a strong stand against offshore drilling in South Carolina, a key primary state that has largely revolted against President Donald Trump’s coastal fossil fuel ambitions. Several others have since joined in calls against the expansion of offshore drilling.

In an interview Thursday with the Wall Street Journal, Bernhardt said the administration’s long-anticipated five-year leasing plan targeting the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) has been sidelined following a federal court decision in Alaska earlier this month. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason blocked Trump administration efforts to reverse the Obama-era ban on oil and gas leasing in both the Arctic Ocean and parts of the Atlantic Ocean, determining that Trump had “exceeded” his authority in challenging the limits on drilling.

The decision left DOI officials unsure of how to proceed on broader offshore drilling efforts. “By the time the court rules, that may be discombobulating to our plan,” Bernhardt said, pointing to the limits of any future efforts to expand offshore drilling in the area.

more...

https://thinkprogress.org/bernhardt-offshore-drilling-warren-2020-trump-ee4b88afdb1d/

[Miigwech]

1. Haha, over reach much.

[gratuitous]

2. Trump exceeded his authority?

Mercy!