Federal judge throws out oil lease sale in Gulf of Mexico
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court has rejected a plan to lease millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico for offshore oil drilling, saying the Biden administration did not adequately take into account its effect on greenhouse gas emissions. Thursday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sends the proposed lease sale back to the Interior Department to decide next steps. The ruling said it was up to Interior to decide whether to go forward with the sale after a revised review, scrap it or take other steps. Environmental groups say the ruling gives President Joe Biden a chance to follow through on a campaign promise to stop offshore leasing in federal waters.
