An appeals court has unanimously ruled that a Biden-era plan to offer three offshore oil and gas lease sales over a five-year period did not violate federal law.
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed claims from environmental groups that the Interior Department failed to adequately consider how continued leasing in the Gulf Coast could harm the endangered Rice’s whale and disadvantaged coastal communities.
The court has found no reason to disturb the Interior program for 2024 to 2029, said Biden-appointed Judge J. Michelle Childs, writing the opinion for the court.
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requires the agency to consider costs and benefits of offshore leasing and other factors under federal law, she continued.
