Offshore drilling nonfans flex legal muscle to hinder Trump’s oil & gas exploration zest

The Surfrider Foundation is among the members of a coalition of conservation organizations represented by Earthjustice, which have banded together to take legal action against the Trump administration to prevent the approval of new offshore drilling plays in U.S. waters.

While former President Joe Biden took decisive action to prevent new offshore drilling moves at more than 625 million acres of U.S. waters, including the East Coast, the West Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico/America, and portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, by preventing future oil and gas leasing in these regions, these protections were short-lived.

On January 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that revoked the offshore drilling ban. Since then, the Surfrider Foundation claims to have been working to restore these protections; thus, it filed the first environmental lawsuit against the new Trump administration on February 19 with like-minded groups to challenge the action to revoke the critical drilling prohibitions and restore the offshore drilling ban.

This is not the only legal action Surfrider is participating in, as it is also part of the one to stop new offshore drilling that was taken on March 3, with several other groups represented by Earthjustice, by filing a motion to intervene in a lawsuit led by the State of Louisiana and the American Petroleum Institute, challenging former President Biden’s offshore drilling ban. 

“The lawsuit wrongly claims that Biden abused his authority under federal law in protecting sensitive offshore areas from future oil and gas leasing. However, prior administrations, including both Trump administrations, have invoked the same authority to manage public waters,” underlined Surfrider.

On March 23, the court granted the participants the motion to intervene in the lawsuit, which will allow the groups to contribute legal arguments to defend the offshore drilling ban that covers over 625 million acres of U.S. waters. Surfrider underlines that this case is important to clarify that once a court throws out President Trump’s executive order reopening coastal waters to offshore drilling, all waters should be protected.

“Offshore oil drilling has a well-documented track record of damaging marine ecosystems, disrupting coastal economies, and increasing the risk of devastating oil spills. The industry causes serious environmental harm through every phase of the process — from exploratory seismic blasting that harms marine animals to the routine drilling operations that pollute our ocean,” underlined the group.

Surfrider points out that new oil and gas drilling worsens the effects of climate change, as new offshore drilling could result in billions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere, making the U.S.’ achievement of net-zero emissions by 2050 far less likely.

While highlighting that it will continue the fight to stop new offshore drilling off U.S. coasts, the group elaborates that it is mobilizing a grassroots network to urge the Trump administration and Congress to prevent new offshore oil and gas leasing to restore and expand ocean protections.

“Offshore drilling threatens marine life, coastal economies, and the communities who call these places home. But this fight isn’t just about stopping oil rigs — it’s about standing up to powerful corporate interests and ensuring that our coasts remain healthy, vibrant, and protected for future generations,” emphasized Surfrider.

Aside from environmental and climate-conscious activists, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is also putting pressure on the Trump administration to put an end to further drilling, as confirmed by a recently proposed bill to stop drilling off the coast of New England in the name of ocean protection.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) has backed the Department of the Interior’s announcement regarding a new commingling policy to safely increase production from multiple reservoirs while enhancing resource conservation in the Gulf of America.

Holly Hopkins, API’s Vice President of Upstream Policy, remarked: “We applaud Secretary Burgum’s action to unleash the Gulf of America’s vast energy resources in support of U.S. energy dominance.

“Today’s announcement ensures new technologies and innovation can be fully leveraged to support safe and efficient offshore oil production in the Gulf as a critical source of affordable energy, government revenue and national security.”