Tuesday, a federal New Orleans judge blocked a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico which President Obama put into place several months ago; the White House they would immediately appeal.
The ban halted all off shore oil drilling that took place in 500 feet of water or more, and it prevented new permits from being issued during the six month time frame. A safety review was being conducted during the suspension.
Tuesday, US District Judge Martin Feldman of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction against the ban. President Obama ordered the ban himself after the BP oil rig exploded and 11 people died in the explosion, and the largest oil spill in the history of the US began.
Justice Department lawyer, Brian Collins said that the 6 month ban necessary while the safety investigation is underway.
A lawsuit was filed from a group of companies that state the government has no evidence that the existing operations pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico, and asked that the ban be removed. The companies provide boats and equipment to the drilling industry.
Judge Feldman said, "an invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of over 500
feet simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country."
Tuesday Judge Feldman said, "the court is unable to divine or fathom a relationship between the findings (of the government) and the immense scope of the moratorium. The plaintiffs assert that they have suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm as a result of the moratorium. The court agrees."
The White House immediately said that they will immediately appeal the ruling.
"The president strongly believes, as the Department of Interior and Department of Justice argued yesterday, that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday. The drilling "puts the safety of those involved, potentially puts safety of those on the rigs and the safety of the environment and the Gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now."
Sunday, a BP document was released by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts that gave the worst case scenario of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; the report stated that an estimated 100,000 barrels (or 4.2 million gallons) could leak into the ocean per day. The report was created after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and was submitted in May. For more on that story, click here.
BP shareholder class action lawsuit was filed last week in the Eastern District of Louisiana and the organizers of the suit hope to bring angry people all over the world together. The case alleges that BP was not conducting a safe operation in oil drilling, but misled the public by acting as though they were. For more information on that story, click here.
Actor Kevin Costner has invested about $26 million into his Ocean Therapy Solutions machine, and six of the machines were sent to the Gulf for testing. BP has ordered 32 more machines that recycle water to separate the oil. For more information on this story, click here.
To see incredible photos of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, click here.
To see photos taken recently of the oil spill that hit the Louisiana coastline and the wildlife it has affected, click here.
Recently, a new video of the gushing oil had many of the investigative teams calling BP untrustworthy because more oil was leaking from the well then they originally claimed. For more on that story, click here.
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