Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined with his counterparts in 12 other states in filing a lawsuit asking a federal judge to end President Joe Biden’s ban on new federal oil and gas drilling.
Biden on January 27 signed an executive order placing a halt on all new permits to drill for oil and gas on federal lands and waters.
Marshall views the moratorium as a “direct affront to American families’ livelihoods and our national security.”
Alabama’s top law enforcement official is signing on to a legal action that states, in Marshall’s words, that Biden’s order “violates both the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA).”
Language in the lawsuit argues that Biden’s order violates “specific statutory duties requiring executive agencies to further the expeditious and safe development of the abundant energy.”
Marshall’s office noted in a release that many states, including Alabama, are entitled by law to some amount of the proceeds from permits and leases for oil and gas mining on federal land in their jurisdiction.
“Proceeds are invested into vital State environmental defense and restoration projects,” the attorney general’s office relayed.
Marshall’s team is arguing that the “Biden Ban purports to protect the environment, but instead it constitutes what is likely the single-largest divestment of revenue for environmental protection projects in American history.”
The full lawsuit can be read here. It is being led by Louisana Attorney General Jeff Landry and filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Lousiana.
Marshall further criticized on Wednesday what he views as Biden’s destruction of “a major component of America’s strategy for energy independence.”
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
