A pair of oil and gas industry trade groups and several coastal states filed suit seeking to overturn the Biden administration's recent action restricting oil and natural-gas drilling in millions of acres of federal offshore waters.
While President-elect Donald Trump has already vowed to quickly reverse the restrictions once taking office Monday, it is unclear if he has the authority to do so or if it will require action by a closely divided Congress. A successful lawsuit could further cement any repeal of Biden's actions.
"As we move forward with a legal challenge, we continue to urge Congress and the incoming administration to use every tool at their disposal to restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing," American Petroleum Institute Senior Vice President Ryan Meyers said Friday in an announcement about the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Louisiana.
In addition to API, the states of Alaska, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi as well as the Gulf Energy Alliance are plaintiffs in the suit, which claims Biden's action is unconstitutional and exceeds the president's authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953.
Last week, Biden used a provision of the act to withdraw more than 625 million acres of waters along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska's Northern Bering Sea from oil and natural-gas leasing.
Biden said he was acting to combat climate change and protect the environment in the areas.
Environmental groups had urged Biden to use the OCSL act to protect the lands because of a previous court ruling that said while the act grants presidents the authority to block drilling on certain lands, it doesn't allow them to reinstate it.
With narrow majorities in both branches of Congress, Republicans could have difficulty securing sufficient votes to restore the area for potential leasing.
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