WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, a last-minute effort to block possible action by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.
Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska's Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs," Biden said in a statement Monday.
“As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren," he said.
Biden's orders would not affect large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore drilling occurs, but it would protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.
Biden's actions, which protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters, could be difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to unwind, since they would likely require an act of Congress to repeal. The 72-year-old law that Biden cited allows the president to withdraw portions of the outer continental shelf from mineral leasing, including leasing to drill for oil and gas, if the areas are deemed too sensitive to drill.
Trump himself has a complicated history on offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 directing the Interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.
Earlier in his term, Trump had initially moved to vastly expand offshore drilling, before retreating amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.
Trump on Monday declared that, after he's inaugurated on Jan. 20, Biden's drilling ban will “be changed on day one."
“I will unban it immediately” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I have the right to unban it."
He said the U.S. has “oil and gas at a level that nobody else has and we're gonna take advantage of it. It's really our greatest economic asset."
Trump has vowed to establish what he calls American "energy dominance" around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Biden's focus on climate change.
Environmental advocates hailed Biden's action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply curtailed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest in recorded history.
“This is an epic ocean victory!" said Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the environmental group Oceana.
Gordon thanked Biden “for listening to the voices from coastal communities" that oppose drilling and “contributing to the bipartisan tradition of protecting our coasts.”
Biden's actions build on the legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal water from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that U.S. coastlines are home to tens of millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a clean environment, abundant wildlife and thriving fisheries.
In balancing multiple uses of America’s oceans, Biden said it was clear that the areas he is withdrawing from fossil fuel use show “relatively minimal potential" that does not justify possible environmental, public health and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.
The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore drillers, called Biden's decision "a strategic error, driven not by science or voter mandate, but by political motives.''
“This move directly undermines American energy consumers and jeopardizes the vast benefits tied to a thriving domestic energy sector,” said Erik Milito, the group's president.
Even if there’s no immediate interest in drilling in some offshore areas, “it’s crucial for the federal government to maintain the flexibility to adapt" to unexpected global events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he said. “Blanket bans only serve to transfer energy production and economic opportunities abroad, inadvertently bolstering countries like Russia at the expense of U.S. interests."
Biden has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking greater oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to shut down new offshore drilling in the fight against climate change.
A five-year drilling plan approved in 2023 includes proposed offshore sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development.
Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres (24.2 million hectares) of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.
Biden, whose decision to approve the huge Willow oil project in Alaska drew strong condemnation from environmental groups, has previously limited offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
Sandra Bundy, president of the Florida-based Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast, said she was “thrilled and thankful” for Biden's actions, which she said will protect the Eastern seaboard for generations to come.
“Opening all federal waters to offshore exploration and drilling posed serious threats to coastal economies and ecosystems that are critical to millions along the coast," Bundy said. “Cities and towns large and small oppose the industrialization of the Atlantic and are increasingly seeing stronger storms and flooding and face serious threats from rising sea levels. Those threats would increase in magnitude if offshore drilling was added to the mix."
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