WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2019) The Trump administration appealed a court ruling that is preventing the US government from re-opening areas in the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore drilling, a court document revealed.
A US Federal judge in March ruled that current legislation does not allow a president to re-introduce areas for offshore drilling banned by previous administrations.
"Defendants President Donald j. Trump, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from the judgement in a civil case entered on April 1, 2019, the order on motion and cross motion for summary judgment, filed on March 29, 2019, and the order on motions to dismiss, filed on March 19, 2018," the document said on Tuesday.
On March 29, US District Judge Sharon Gleason in Alaska declared that the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which authorized presidents to withdraw offshore drilling areas from the national oil and gas leasing program, did not grant authority to remove areas withdrawn.
The Trump administration has been trying to roll back many of former President Barack Obama's climate policies, including those on air pollution, drilling and public planning.
