Well, Well: DOJ Memo Shows No Legally Compelling Reason For Biden Admin To Sell GOM Oil Leases

[hatrack]

The Biden administration admitted that a court decision did not compel it to lease vast tracts of the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling, shortly before claiming it was legally obliged to do so when announcing the sell-off, the Guardian can reveal. Last month, the US government held the largest-ever auction of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico’s history, offering up more than 80m acres of the gulf’s seabed for fossil fuel extraction.

The enormous sale, which took place just four days after crucial UN climate talks in Scotland, represented a spectacular about-turn from Joe Biden’s previous promise to halt offshore drilling and was denounced by outraged environmental groups as a “huge carbon bomb”. The president’s administration insisted it was obliged to hold the lease sale due to a court ruling in favor of a dozen states that sued to lift a blanket pause placed on new drilling permits by Biden. But a memo filed by the US Department of Justice before the lease sale acknowledges that this judgement does not force the government to auction off drilling rights to the gulf.

“While the order enjoins and restrains (the department of) interior from implementing the pause, it does not compel interior to take the actions specified by plaintiffs, let alone on the urgent timeline specified in plaintiffs’ contempt motion,” wrote government lawyers to the federal court in Louisiana in August. The issuance of new drilling permits would require further steps under federal laws, the memo states, adding that “the court’s order does not compel the agency to act in contravention of these other authorities”.

EDIT

The Biden administration’s apparent reluctance to aggressively wield this authority may cost it politically, as well as worsen the climate crisis, ahead of midterm elections next year. “This is not going to help with Democratic turnout next year,” said Meyer. “There is a core constituency of young people and people who care about climate change who are upset and feeling betrayed by the Biden administration.” Some commentators have pointed to Biden’s need to appease senator Joe Manchin, a fossil fuel-friendly centrist Democrat who is a crucial vote for the president’s Build Back Better spending bill, as a reason for the ongoing drilling. “If it is political, that is unfortunate because the climate doesn’t really care about politics,” said Hardy. “Climate change will continue to cause problems for the whole nation if we don’t address it.”

EDIT/END

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/13/revealed-biden-administration-was-not-legally-bound-to-auction-gulf-drilling-rights

[mopinko]

1. would like to know what's going on here, exactly.

biden is steering a huge ship, and doesnt have full access to the controls.
he's gonna be fighting embeds, for a long time, and doe most certainly has more than it's fair share.
i want names.

[hatrack]

2. It's Interior, not DOE

https://www.boem.gov/frequently-asked-questions

[2naSalit]

3. Imbeds, the point that should not be forgotten...

We still have some from W's regime.

[hatrack]

5. True - I'm sure some remain, sleazing up this or that agency

.

[ShazamIam]

4. Conflicting stories about the leases and all, this article says the sales proceeded because of a

Court order.
https://www.marketplace.org/2021/11/19/biden-administration-auctions-oil-and-gas-leases-on-1-7-million-acres-of-the-gulf-of-mexico/

[2naSalit]

6. Yes, they are.

I think the leases require further approval and EIS studies prior to activation, those may not be forthcoming regardless of the required resumption of lease sales which would essentially render them useless.

[ShazamIam]

7. Anything can and will be turned into an anti-Biden/anti-Democratic attack, the national news

media content, not just political advertisement and voter suppression will be used to manipulate the election outcome.