President Joe Biden is reportedly set to permanently ban new oil and gas drilling in some federal waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a late executive order that would limit the incoming Trump administration’s anticipated support for the fossil fuel industry.
Two people familiar with the plans confirmed to the New York Times that the president plans to issue the executive order as early as Monday, invoking the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Passed in 1953, the law controls developments for offshore oil and gas drilling. A provision of the law gives the executive office the authority to permanently protect federal waters from future leasing. At the same time, the provision does not explicitly detail whether future presidents can undo those protections.
President-elect Donald Trump could face difficulty reversing the projected order, as he failed to do so during his first term.
Before leaving office, former President Barack Obama invoked the law to ban offshore drilling in some regions of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Trump attempted to reverse this decision but was barred by a 2019 U.S. district court ruling in Alaska. At the time, the judge ruled only Congress would be able to revoke the ban.
The exact details of Biden’s possible offshore drilling ban remain unclear. However, people familiar with the plans told Bloomberg it would likely include protections for federal waters that are considered to be critical for coastal resilience.
It is not expected to have any effects on drilling operations or existing leases.
The last-minute executive order would come as the Biden administration has sought to leave a number of hurdles for the incoming president, as Trump indicated his energy agenda would involve more oil and gas drilling as well as new leasing.
The Biden administration has rushed to finalize funding for clean and renewable projects, issue final guidelines for green tax credits, and even taken steps to block oil and gas leasing in a large Nevada mountain range.
While the incoming administration has pushed for more oil and gas production to better secure domestic energy dominance, the Democratic Party and activists have sought to limit drilling and exports of fossil fuels for environmental reasons.
Any ban on new drilling in federal waters would be considered a significant win for environmentalists, who have called for an increased phase-out of fossil fuels in an attempt to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
While Biden has yet to issue the order, climate activists have already begun to praise the plans.
“President Biden has a historic opportunity to build on the legacy of former Democratic and Republican presidents who protected our coasts from new offshore drilling,” Joseph Gordon, campaign director for Oceana, told Bloomberg. “Our coastlines are home to millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a healthy coast, abundant wildlife, and thriving fisheries.”
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Meanwhile, oil and gas industry groups, such as the American Petroleum Institute and Trump’s team, have lambasted the possible executive order.
“When he takes office, President Trump will make America energy dominant again, protect our energy jobs, and bring down the cost of living for working families,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the New York Times.