Earthjustice Applauds White House Withdrawal of American Offshore Territory from Future Oil-and-Gas Development

President Biden invoked his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to withdraw vulnerable areas of the ocean from future oil-and-gas leasing. The withdrawals include 625 million acres of public waters off the Atlantic, Pacific, Alaska, and Gulf coasts — including an area in the Eastern Gulf that President Trump temporarily withdrew until 2032 under the same authority, and that Congress had temporarily protected with the passage of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.

“President Biden just made a powerful investment in the resiliency of communities, regional economies, and marine wildlife across the coastal United States,” said Earthjustice Vice President of Litigation for Lands, Wildlife, and Oceans Drew Caputo. “These protective policies will ensure safer conditions and more room for prosperity for millions of people living along American coasts, for thousands of businesses that rely on undisturbed oceans, and for vulnerable wildlife. Our work ahead is clear: we’ll continue the fight to ensure that Gulf communities in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama can also increasingly live without the threat from offshore drilling on their front doorstep.”

President Biden withdrew the offshore territory under Section 12(a) of OCSLA, a provision with a long history of use by eight Presidents over 73 years, including Presidents Trump, Obama, and George W. Bush. Under OCSLA, development of the outer continental shelf is subject to environmental safeguards and must be managed in a way that balances harm to the marine, coastal, and human environments. Section 12(a) helps accomplish this by allowing the president to withdraw portions of the outer continental shelf from mineral leasing, including leasing to drill for oil and gas, recognizing that some areas are just too risky or too sensitive to drill.

The withdrawn areas include: The entire eastern U.S. Atlantic coast and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, or approximately 334 million acres of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from Canada to the southern tip of Florida, and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico; nearly 250 million acres of Federal waters off the West Coast of the mainland U.S.; and 44 million acres of the Northern Bering Sea in far northwest Alaska.

Last year, nearly 200 organizations from around the country signed a letter calling on President Biden to safeguard endangered marine mammals, valuable fisheries, important habitats, and vulnerable coastal communities who depend on clean waters for their economies. Members of Congress also called on the White House to protect coastal waters from offshore drilling, citing the economic and ecological importance of protecting these waters.