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In mid-June, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who sits in the western district of Louisiana, granted an injunction to temporarily prevent President Joe Biden's plans to suspend new oil and gas leases on federally owned lands and water. The courts will hear further arguments before ruling on the plan more permanently.
We know from our own experiences as Pennsylvanians that leasing public lands for oil and gas exploration can be effectively managed. We know concerns for preservation of nature and the environment can be balanced with the positive economic impact of drilling.
So we are grateful for the judge's sensible injunction, just as we are concerned that the Biden administration pursued the suspension in the first place.
A blanket suspension on all new leases does not balance the energy needs of Americans and the positive economic impact of the energy sector with environmental concerns.
It's a one-size-fits-all approach and needlessly hostile to the industry.
A staff member for the Biden administration's Interior Department told CBS News that the department "continues to work on an interim report that will include initial findings on the state of the federal conventional energy programs, as well as outline next steps and recommendations for the Department and Congress to improve stewardship of public lands and waters, create jobs, and build a just and equitable energy future."
The Biden administration announced its suspension of drilling leases on public land in January. Numerous state Attorneys General filed litigation against the plan in March. And yet, when a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in mid-June, the administration had to acknowledge that the report justifying the limit on drilling -- a limit more than four months old when Doughty ruled -- isn't even completed yet.
The suspension, if allowed to proceed, will lead to job losses and less revenue for state governments. Louisiana specifically uses its share of oil and gas revenues to fund coast restoration projects.
The Americans who provide for their families with such jobs and the Americans who fervently wish to see environmental damage to Louisiana's coasts turned around deserve policies that can be defended today, not some future date when the Department of the Interior gets around to finishing an interim report.