Biden to Permanently Ban New Offshore Oil Drilling in Federal Waters
The outgoing president plans to invoke a 1953 law to protect 625 million acres of U.S. coastal waters, complicating efforts by the incoming Trump administration to expand fossil fuel production.
- President Biden is expected to issue an executive order permanently banning new oil and gas drilling in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
- The decision, based on the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, grants the president authority to withdraw federal waters from future leasing, but does not explicitly allow successors to reverse the ban.
- The protected areas include waters critical to marine ecosystems and coastal resilience, with environmental advocates praising the move as a safeguard against oil spills and climate change.
- The Gulf of Mexico's central and western regions, which account for 14% of U.S. oil production, will remain open to leasing under the plan.
- The incoming Trump administration has vowed to challenge the ban, citing its impact on domestic energy production and economic opportunities, though legal precedent may limit their ability to overturn it.
Washington Post 
The Japan Times 
Boston Globe 
Washington Examiner 
CNN 
Breitbart 
The Daily Wire 
The Seattle Times 
Rolling Stone 
Washington Free Beacon 