Biden expected to permanently ban oil drilling in some federal waters

President Joe Biden is expected to permanently ban new oil and gas drilling in large sections of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as other federal waters, in a way that could be difficult for the Trump administration to unwind, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Biden intends to invoke an obscure provision of a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, that would give him wide latitude to withdraw federal waters from future oil and gas leasing, said the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the policy publicly.

The ban would be a significant victory for environmental advocates who have long argued that new drilling is inconsistent with the need to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil and gas that are dangerously warming the planet. The year that just ended was the hottest in recorded history.

The move would also cement Biden’s legacy on climate change as he prepares to leave the White House after a single term. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to reverse virtually every law and regulation aimed at curbing carbon dioxide emissions, and to make it easier for companies to produce and burn more coal, oil and gas.

While section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act gives a president wide leeway to bar drilling, it does not include language that would allow Trump or any future president to revoke a ban.

That was tested after President Barack Obama banned offshore drilling in parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean. During his first term in office Trump tried to revoke the ban. In 2019, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason in Alaska ruled that Obama’s ban could not be undone without an act of Congress.

The order could box in Trump politically as well. One area Biden intends to permanently protect is a stretch of coastal waters from North Carolina to Florida, according to the two people knowledgeable about the plan. Trump had imposed a 10-year moratorium on oil and gas exploration in that region by using the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. He took that step while he was courting voters in those states during his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 2020.

The White House declined to comment.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, accused the Biden administration of waging a “war on American energy.”

“When he takes office, President Trump will make America energy dominant again, protect our energy jobs, and bring down the cost of living for working families,” Leavitt said in a statement.

The ban was first reported by Bloomberg.

Environmental groups praised the expected move. Activists and congressional Democrats have urged Biden to permanently withdraw all waters that are not under lease from drilling not only because of climate concerns but also because of worries about potential oil spills and other ecological damage.

The order, which could come as early as Monday, is not expected to be as expansive as some lawmakers had hoped. But in addition to sections of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, it also could offer new protections to deep waters in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, according to one person who had been briefed on parts of the plan.

“Restricting offshore drilling is a big win for the climate, marine wildlife, coastal communities and economies, and would be yet another chapter in President Biden’s historic climate legacy,” said Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club.

Joseph Gordon, the campaign director for climate and energy at Oceana, a conservation group, noted that Republican lawmakers in many coastal states have also sought to protect their coastlines from drilling, and held out the possibility that there could be some bipartisan support for Biden’s order.

“Our coastlines are home to millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a healthy coast, abundant wildlife, and thriving fisheries,” he said.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents U.S. oil and gas companies, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House officials began discussing a widespread offshore drilling ban about two years ago amid pressure from activists for Biden to declare a climate emergency, according to one of the people knowledgeable about the plan. Internally, several people argued that while such a declaration would be symbolic, it would be more meaningful to make some federal waters off limits to drilling.

Those talks took on greater urgency after Trump won the presidential election in November.

In his remaining time in office, Biden is shoring up his environmental legacy in other ways as his agencies rush to finalize grants and regulations to spur clean energy development.

This week, the Interior Department took steps to bar oil, gas and geothermal development for 20 years in Nevada’s high alpine Ruby Mountains. The move could protect about 264,000 acres of federal lands in the area from leasing. But because the proposal requires a 90-day public comment period before it can be finalized, the Trump administration would make any final decisions about future development on the land.

Separately, the Interior Department finalized a 20-year ban on mining and geothermal leasing across more than 20,000 acres in the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. The area is the traditional homeland to several Native tribes and the Pactola Reservoir-Rapid Creek Watershed provides a critical source of drinking water for nearby Rapid City.

It also signed a $100 million deal with the state of Wyoming to buy land within Grand Teton National Park and protect it from being turned into luxury condominiums. The land, known as the Kelly parcel, is a migration corridor for pronghorn and elk and has sweeping views of the Teton Range.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., praised his state’s Republican governor for negotiating what he called a “fair deal.” But he criticized other moves by Biden in his final weeks as “malicious and misguided” eleventh-hour regulations.

“The American people decidedly voted against this radical agenda in November,” he said in a statement. “Senate Republicans are ready to work with President Trump to undo these harmful Washington regulations handcuffing hard working Americans across the country.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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