Court Rules Gulf Drilling Auction Must Proceed Without Whale Protections

Biden Administration Given 37 Days to Carry Out Auction Amid Environmental Concerns

A federal appeals court has dismissed an effort from environmental groups to prevent an oil rights drilling auction from proceeding without protections for an endangered species of whale.
The Biden administration will have 37 days to carry out the auction for rights to drill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The litigation stems from action by the Biden administration that would have put stipulations on an upcoming oil and gas lease sale auction in the Gulf as part of an effort to protect the Rice’s Whale.
Chevron, the state of Louisiana and an oil and gas lobbying group sued over that action, and a lower court ruled in their favor, saying that the Biden administration needed to move ahead with the sale in just a few days.
Environmental groups and the Biden administration appealed the lower court’s move, with the Biden administration asking for more time while environmentalists wanted the restrictions that aimed to protect the whale.