The overlap between lawsuits filed by states and industry groups over the Biden administration’s pause on oil and gas leasing isn’t complete enough to justify consolidating the disputes, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled.
A group of 13 states including Louisiana and Texas sued President Joe Biden and multiple agencies over an executive order imposing a “moratorium” on oil and gas leasing activities. The order was outside the scope of Biden’s authority, the states argue, and it violated the Mineral Leasing Act and five-year leasing program in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Industry groups led by the American Petroleum ...