Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON D.C. -- This month, the Department of the Interior approved a final five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing. The plan schedules three oil-and-gas auctions, scheduled to be held in 2025, 2027, and 2029. The plan had originally considered up to 10 offshore sales in the Gulf of Mexico, eventually settling on three.
The oil industry has previously gone to court seeking to overturn the plan and greatly expand offshore drilling. In August, the American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, Shell, and the State of Louisiana sued to remove baseline protections for the critically endangered Rice’s whale in a December Gulf oil auction. The lawsuit was followed in November by a major oil spill, where one million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmental and Gulf groups are also considering legal options over the Five-Year Program on its impact on the public health and safety of frontline Gulf communities.
In response, Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program director Athan Manuel released the following statement:
“We need to rapidly move away from fossil fuels. Big Oil has made it clear that they will sacrifice anything – Gulf communities, wildlife, and the climate – if it means lining their pockets a bit more. The Biden Administration finalized a five year plan for offshore fossil fuel development that proposes three additional lease sales, but even that new leasing isn’t enough for these corporations. We will continue to fight to protect our communities and climate from the dangers of offshore drilling.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.