 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
A federal judge Thursday placed a permanent injunction on President Joe Biden’s pause on federal oil and gas leasing in 13 states, the Washington Examiner reports.
U.S.
District Judge Terry Doughty in a ruling said the federal government may not
stop issuing leases to federal lands and waters in accordance with the pause
ordered by Biden during his first week in office, according to the Washington
Examiner.
The ruling
says federal law requires the interior Department to carry out lease sales,
pointing to various statues, including one requiring the department to hold
sales “where eligible lands are available” and to do so at “least quarterly,”
according to the Washington Examiner. Last summer, a temporary injunction was
issued on the Biden leasing pause.
In June
Doughty placed a preliminary injunction on the leasing pause which the Biden
administration implemented by carrying out one offshore lease sale and another
series of onshore lease sales across various states.
On Wednesday
the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Doughty’s preliminary injunction but
did not deal with the merits of the case, according to Washington Examiner.
The order
remanded the decision to Doughty’s court, the U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Louisiana, for further proceedings on the grounds that he
did not define the word “pause” when enjoining the government from pausing
leasing, according to Washington Examiner.
The new
injunction enjoins the government from “implementing a stop” on new leasing.
The preliminary
injunction was effective in all states but the permanent injunction covers only
the 13 states that filed the initial suit against Biden’s leasing pause.