Legal Challenges Arise for President Biden's Offshore Drilling Leases Plan

Oil and gas companies and environmental groups have filed legal challenges to the Biden administration's five-year plan to offer drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The petitions have been submitted to a U.S. appeals court, following the Interior Department's unveiling of a congressionally-mandated plan for offshore leasing, which included only three sales, the lowest in over four decades. The American Petroleum Institute is opposing the policy, stating that it puts Americans at risk of relying on foreign energy sources. The petitions were filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Earthjustice, on behalf of eight other environmental organizations, has also filed a petition alleging that the health impacts of the offshore drilling plan on local communities were not adequately considered by the federal agency.

Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Chris Reese