Northern Minnesota is under a new alert until Friday at 7 p.m.

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday
blocked a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects
imposed in response to the massive Gulf oil spill.

      The White House promised an immediate appeal. President Barack
Obama's administration had halted approval of any new permits for
deepwater drilling and suspended drilling of 33 exploratory wells
in the Gulf.


      Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama believes strongly that
drilling at such depths does not make any sense and puts the safety
of workers "at a danger that the president does not believe we can
afford."


      Several companies that ferry people and supplies and provide
other services to offshore drilling rigs asked U.S. District Judge
Martin Feldman in New Orleans to overturn the moratorium, arguing
it was arbitrarily imposed.


      Feldman agreed, saying in his ruling the Interior Department
seemed to assume that because one rig failed, all companies and
rigs doing deepwater drilling pose an imminent danger.


      "An invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in
depths of over 500 feet simply cannot justify the immeasurable
effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and
the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic
energy in this country," Feldman wrote.


      The moratorium was imposed after the April 20 explosion on the
Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers and blew out
the well that has spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.


      The Interior Department said it needed time to study the risks
of deepwater drilling. But the lawsuit filed by Hornbeck Offshore
Services of Covington, La., claimed there was no proof the other
operations posed a threat.


      Company CEO Todd Hornbeck said after the ruling that he is
looking forward to getting back to work.


      "It's the right thing for not only the industry but the
country," he said.


      The moratorium was declared May 6 and originally was to last
only through the month. Obama announced May 27 that he was
extending it for six months.


      In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal and corporate leaders have said
the moratorium will force drilling rigs leaving the Gulf of Mexico
for lucrative business in foreign waters.


      They say the loss of business will cost the area thousands of
lucrative jobs, most paying more than $50,000 a year. The state's
other major economic sector, tourism, is a largely low-wage
industry.


      In its response to the lawsuit, the Interior Department said the
moratorium is necessary as attempts to stop the leak and clean the
Gulf continue and new safety standards are developed.


      "A second deepwater blowout could overwhelm the efforts to
respond to the current disaster," the Interior Department said.


      The government also challenged contentions the moratorium will
lead to long-term economic harm. Although 33 deepwater drilling
sites were affected, there are still 3,600 oil and natural gas
production platforms in the Gulf.


      Catherine Wannamaker, a lawyer for environmental groups that
intervened in the case and supported the moratorium, called the
ruling "a step in the wrong direction."


      "We think it overlooks the ongoing harm in the Gulf, the
devastation it has had on people's lives," she said. "The harm at
issue with the Deepwater Horizon spill is bigger than just the
Louisiana economy. It affects all of the Gulf."
      

Gallery

La. companies ask judge to end drilling moratorium

Science of cleaning oil from ocean marshes

Texas lawmaker accuses White House of BP 'shakedown'

After blasting BP, Obama now faces its leaders

Photo timeline of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis

A judge said the Interior Department had failed to provide adequate reasons for it. The White House promised an immediate appeal.

Judge blocks Gulf offshore drilling moratorium

Go Deeper.

Like this?