Offshore oil leases to be auctioned despite legal uncertainty

[IDemo]

A federal court had thrown out a Bush-era leasing plan on environmental grounds. But it's not clear whether the ruling applies to tracts in the Gulf of Mexico.

By Jim Tankersley
July 17, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration will auction off a new batch of oil-drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico next month, in spite of a court ruling earlier this year that threw out the nation's offshore leasing plan.

Officials from the Minerals Management Service, an arm of the Interior Department, gave notice Thursday that they would take bids for drilling on 18 million acres off the coast of Texas. The leasing tracts are as close as 9 miles from shore and as far as 250.

The decision comes three months after the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the 2007-2012 offshore leasing program, developed under the George W. Bush administration. The plan included drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska.

The court said Bush officials had not adequately studied the environmental impact of Alaskan drilling. It was silent on whether the effects on the gulf were properly considered. Two months ago, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asked the court to clarify whether that meant the new administration could proceed with gulf leasing under the plan.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-offshore-leases17-2009jul17,0,975090.story

[Hydra]

1. "Legal Uncertainty"

I like that. Is it a "Legal Uncertainty" if you kill someone and no one winds up prosecuting you?

[babylonsister]

2. I have to wait for this admin to comment.

And I will look up what the TX admin requested. I wouldn't be surprised if they were gung-ho.

I think the idea stinks.