Obama loses drilling moratorium appeal
The motion was denied because the government failed to show “a likelihood of irreparable injury if the stay is not granted,” the appeals panel judges wrote in a 2-1 ruling. The government also “made no showing that there is any likelihood that drilling activities will be resumed pending appeal.” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said he will soon issue a new order to block deepwater drilling regardless of how the court ruled and oil companies have not resumed drilling due to the legal uncertainties.
Breitbart.com
The Obama administration lost its court bid to maintain a six-month moratorium on offshore deepwater drilling which a federal judge ordered lifted last month.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government’s emergency request to stay that judge’s order pending appeal.
The motion was denied because the government failed to show “a likelihood of irreparable injury if the stay is not granted,” the appeals panel judges wrote in a 2-1 ruling.
The government also “made no showing that there is any likelihood that drilling activities will be resumed pending appeal.”
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said he will soon issue a new order to block deepwater drilling regardless of how the court ruled and oil companies have not resumed drilling due to the legal uncertainties.
The court noted that the Salazar “has the right to apply for emergency relief if he can show that drilling activity by deepwater rigs has commenced or is about to commence.”
It also ordered that the appeal be expedited so the case can be argued on its merits during the week of August 30.
The moratorium was imposed after the deadly April 20 explosion on a BP-leased drilling rig sparked the worst environmental disaster in US history.
President Barack Obama acknowledged the moratorium would cause economic harm, but said it was necessary to give investigators adequate time to understand what caused the accident and create new safety regulations.
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