Biden Ready to Block New Drilling Projects

Joe Biden has less than three weeks left in office, but next week, he is expected to hand the environmental lobbyists a significant win.

Biden is expected to use a decades-old law to block new drilling projects along the outer continental shelf.

Blocking Offshore Drilling

Donald Trump used this legislation to protect the coastline of Florida and South Carolina when he was in office.

Trump ordered a 10-year moratorium on drilling in these areas beginning in July 2022 via the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

At the time, Trump stated, “This protects your beautiful gulf and your beautiful ocean, and it will for a long time to come.”

Trump also tried to undo an Obama order when he was in office regarding areas that had been protected in the Arctic Ocean, but when it was litigated, the judge ruled that since Obama used the OCSLA, the only way the order could be undone was via an act of Congress.

Dems Pass Legislation During Biden Administration

There were more projects up for being banned via an act of Congress when the Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act of 2019 was presented.

The bills, however, faced resistance in the Senate, with the encouragement of Donald Trump to block it.

At the time, the White House stated, “Prohibiting energy development in new federal areas would hinder future administrations’ efforts to make up for revenue lost as production declines from leases in aging energy fields.

“Such restrictions will tie the hands of future administrations and reduce their ability to enhance energy security through strong domestic energy production and to ensure affordable energy for American families.”

Biden Taking Over

It now appears that Biden is going to take up that ban on his own, and he is expected to announce the order on Monday, an order that, based on the precedent set, can only be done by an act of Congress.

While the full details of Biden’s ban are unknown, the reports said that Biden is expected to ban drilling in these areas permanently, which will be a crushing blow to Trump’s plan for American energy independence.

I would expect Trump to fight the order as soon as he takes office, but as we stated earlier, the law had been litigated before, and there is a precedent in place, so the only way Trump would get any relief would be to win before the Supreme Court, and I don’t think that is likely in this particular case.

This will be one final shot by Biden to hurt Trump’s presidency, and believe me, Biden has several land mines in place already that will block Trump from enacting certain policies. This is why I am trying to warn everyone to keep their expectations low because Trump was overpromising during his campaign and I would be surprised if he is able to deliver on even half the promises he made.