Appeals court cancels plans for offshore drilling

[usregimechange]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Bush administration did not properly study the environmental impact of expanding oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast and canceled a program to find new reserves.

A three-judge panel in Washington found that the Bush-era Interior Department failed to consider the effect on the environment and marine life before it began the process in August 2005 to expand an oil and gas leasing program in the Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi seas.

It wasn't entirely clear whether the decision applies to other areas of the same expanded offshore drilling program, including tracks in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Coast. Attorneys for the environmentalists and the industry said they think it would cancel the entire program, not just the Arctic region.

The appeals court ordered the department, now run by President Barack Obama's appointee Ken Salazar, to analyze the areas to determine environmental risks and potential damage before moving ahead with the program.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OFFSHORE_DRILLING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[polichick]

1. GREAT news!!!

[Cha]

2. REc'd~ Wow..this is

fantastic:bounce: Just in time for Earth Day, 2009~

[Adelante]

3. Excellent

:toast:

[FrenchieCat]

4. Losta great news this Friday!

[usregimechange]

5. Any M$M covering this?

[Kdillard]

6. Excellent news.

[ClarkUSA]

7. CHANGE feels good.

[Laelth]

8. Good. Most of the judiciary remains fair and impartial. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[Kaleko]

9. Ah, another victory for common sense. Whoopee!!!