Fourteen U.S. states, including Alaska, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Biden Administration over its moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal land and waters.
Alaska is part of a 13-state coalition that filed a lawsuit in federal court in Louisiana. The coalition is made up of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia, according to a report from Reuters.
The 14th state, Wyoming, filed its own lawsuit in federal court in that state.
As one of the first acts of his presidency, Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office to stop new leasing on federal property in leasing programs managed by the Department of the Interior.
“We fear that President Biden’s attack on federal oil and gas leasing has only begun, and the State must be involved to protect the interests of all Alaskans in the responsible development of the bountiful natural resources contained within Alaska,” said Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
“As today marks the 32nd anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill at Bligh Reef, we reflect on the ways in which we have incorporated precautions to ensure an event like this will never occur again. The petroleum resources that are so important to Americans and our economy will need to be developed from somewhere in the world. We’re proud of the efforts we make to responsibly develop and transport oil to meet American demand, and we’re only getting better,” he said.
