Court Blocks Biden's Effort to Protect Endangered Whales from Offshore Drilling

Federal court orders Biden administration to move forward with offshore oil and gas lease auction without protections for endangered whales.
Judge blocked removal of 6 million acres from auction and ship restrictions aimed at protecting Rice's whale population.
Louisiana and oil companies Chevron, Shell and American Petroleum Institute sued after acreage was reduced.
Court ruled groups demonstrated "substantial potential costs" from changes to lease sale.
Environmental advocates expressed concern about oil and gas impacts on the endangered Rice's whale species.

thehill.com

Relevant topic timeline:

9/22/2023

Court Rules Biden Administration Must Proceed with Gulf Oil and Gas Lease Sale

A federal court overturned the Biden administration's restrictions on an offshore oil and gas lease sale, granting a preliminary injunction to block the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's limitations, allowing the lease sale to proceed as planned.

9/27/2023

Judge Upholds California County's Block of Exxon Truck Oil Transport

A US judge has denied Exxon Mobil's bid to overturn a California county's decision to block the use of tanker trucks to transport crude oil while a ruptured pipeline is being fixed, citing safety concerns on state highways.