Court decision blocking fossil fuel activity in swaths of the Arctic complicated administration plans to ramp up fossil fuel extraction

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Trump administration has shelved plans to vastly expand offshore oil and gas drilling in the wake of a recent court decision that blocked fossil fuel activity in swaths of the Arctic.

The administration had opened up almost all US waters to companies seeking to drill oil or gas deposits but this expansion has been halted due to a legal setback, according to David Bernhardt, the interior secretary.

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Bernhardt told the Wall Street Journal that a federal court decision to support president Barack Obama’s ban on Arctic drilling had complicated the Trump administration’s attempts to ramp up fossil fuel extraction off America’s coastline.

“By the time the court rules, that may be discombobulating to our plan,” Bernhardt told the WSJ. “What if you guess wrong? … I’m not sure that’s a very satisfactory and responsible use of resources.”

Last month, Sharon Gleason, a federal judge in Alaska, ruled in agreement with environmental groups that a US president could remove waters from drilling but could not overturn a prior president’s ban on drilling in a certain area.

These developments mean that Obama’s blanket ban on drilling in almost all of the Arctic, as well as the Atlantic seaboard, will likely remain in place unless Congress decides to overturn it.

The Trump administration’s zeal to expand oil and gas drilling has been cheered by industry groups but opposed by numerous shoreline communities and governors of coastal states who raised concerns over potential oil spills, damage to tourism and climate change consequences.

Diane Hoskins, campaign director at marine conservation group Oceana, said the drilling plan should be permanently scrapped.

“Anything short of all new areas being protected would be a major problem for the communities and coastal economies who have the most to lose from dirty and dangerous offshore drilling,” she said.

“Considering every east and west coast governor opposes drilling off their coast, president Trump and secretary Bernhardt should fulfill their duty to represent the people, not stand with special interests.”