Legal filings and reports from environmental organizations

Before Trump Takes Office, Biden to Ban New Offshore Oil and Gas Development in US Coastal Waters

Jan 2, 2025, 06:05 PM

President Joe Biden is preparing to issue a decree permanently banning new offshore oil and gas development in some US coastal waters. This move aims to lock in difficult-to-revoke protections for sensitive marine areas during his final weeks in the White House. The executive order is expected to complicate President-elect Donald Trump's plans to expand domestic energy production and block his energy agenda. Biden's action is rooted in a 72-year-old law that gives the White House wide discretion to permanently protect US waters from oil and gas leasing, and the decree cannot be easily undone by the incoming administration.