An expanse of Gulf Coast federal waters larger than the state of Colorado was unlawfully opened up for offshore drilling leases, according to a ruling by a federal judge, who said the Department of Interior did not adequately account for the offshore drilling leases’ impacts on planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and an endangered whale species. The future of one of the most recent offshore drilling lease sales authorized under the Biden administration is in jeopardy after District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amit Mehta’s finding that the federal agency violated bedrock environmental regulations when it allowed bidding on 109,375 square miles of Gulf Coast waters. The leases in the Gulf Coast were expected to produce up to 1.1 billion barrels of oil and more than 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over 50 years, according to a government analysis.
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