States file motion to compel Biden to comply with court order

Offshore staff

WASHINGTON, DC – The attorneys general of Louisiana, Alabama, and Alaska have filed a motion to compel President Biden to comply with a preliminary injunction order issued by the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. On June 15, that court granted a preliminary injunction against US Interior Department’s pause on federal oil and gas leasing.

As reported by NOIA, in the motion, the states argue that:

"Defendants have acted as if this Court’s findings, conclusions of law, and compulsory order do not exist. They have taken no actions to reinstitute Lease Sale 257; they have not, for instance, revoked the Rescission of the Record of Decision or published the Final Notice of Sale. Neither step would require vast work or resources—both documents already exist. Once these steps were taken, BOEM would need to hold the Lease Sale—an action it is more than capable of executing. It has not done so and thus has violated this Court’s clear order, and remains in violation of OCSLA and the Administrative Procedure Act. See NASCO, Inc., 583 F. Supp. at 120 (party must be “reasonably diligent and energetic in attempting to accomplish what was ordered”); see also Calvillo Manriquez v. Devos, 411 F. Supp. 3d 535, 539 (N.D. Cal. 2019) (finding contempt because “Defendants’ attempt to comply with the preliminary injunction consisted of a single email to each service provider and partial confirmation of receipt of those emails” rather than “the normal actions one would expect from an entity facing a binding court order: multiple in-person meetings or telephone calls to explain the preliminary injunction and to confirm that the contractors were complying with the preliminary injunction”)." 

Accordingly, the states have made the following request of the court:

"[T]he Court should order Defendants to do the following. First, revoke the Rescission of the Lease Sale 257 Record of Decision. Second, publish the Final Notice of Sale within seven days. Third, hold Lease Sale 257 within forty-five days after publication of the Final Notice of Sale. Fourth, provide weekly status reports affirming their compliance with these deadlines." 

In its note, NOIA points out that there is still no information from Interior on the department’s plans for (1) the report on federal oil and gas leasing; (2) lease sales under the 2017-2022 OCS Leasing Program; or (3) the development of the 2022-2027 OCS Leasing Program.

08/10/2021