Posted on February 23, 2020
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that some of the claims raised by South Carolina in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over seismic tests for oil and gas deposits in Atlantic waters may proceed, but dismissed four others.
Coastal states and environmental groups have taken legal steps to try to block Trump administration efforts to open up the U.S. East Coast to offshore oil and gas exploration.
The United States is still processing permit applications for companies to conduct seismic testing – a precursor to drilling and the subject of the lawsuit – despite shelving its plan to vastly expand offshore drilling.
U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel in South Carolina ruled that the state’s claim that President Donald Trump lacked the power to extend offshore oil and gas drilling to areas that had been placed off limits by his predecessor, Barack Obama, may move forward.
Source: coastalnewstoday.com
