Legal Battle Ensues Over Trump’s Order to Roll Back Oil and Gas Leasing Ban

Conservation and environmentalist groups are taking legal action against US President Donald Trump and his administration for their decision to revoke the ban on future oil and gas leasing. The court battle against Trump involves two main challenges brought forth by several organizations.

The first challenge is against Trump’s order to undo President Biden’s withdrawal of certain ocean areas from future oil and gas leasing. The second challenge seeks to reinstate a federal court ruling that invalidated a previous attempt by the Trump administration to overturn offshore protections implemented by former President Barack Obama.

In a significant move earlier this year, the Biden administration permanently protected vast areas of federal waters, including the entire eastern US Atlantic coast, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, waters off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, as well as an area in the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska. This protection covers over 2.5 million square kilometers of federal waters, equivalent to around a quarter of the total land mass of the United States.

Trump’s recent executive order establishing the National Energy Dominance Council, aimed at enhancing fossil fuel production and export, has faced criticism. The President directed the Council to lift Biden’s ban on future offshore oil drilling, drawing backlash from environmental groups.

Environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club, Oceana, Greenpeace, and the Natural Resources Defense Council accuse Trump of overreaching his authority by revoking these protections. They argue that the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act does not provide for a president to undo withdrawals of this nature.

In a previous legal victory, an Alaska federal court ruled against Trump’s attempt to revoke Obama’s protections, stating that presidents can remove lands from development but cannot reverse their predecessors’ decisions. The same groups involved in that case are now seeking to reinstate this ruling against Trump.

It is argued that only an act of Congress can revoke an executive order, highlighting concerns about the legality of Trump’s actions. The Trump administration is currently facing numerous lawsuits on various fronts, including immigration policies and environmental regulations.

The legal battle over the oil and gas leasing ban underscores the ongoing debate surrounding environmental protection and energy policy in the United States.