Shell Game - Domestic Lawsuits Make U.S. Dependent on Foreign Oil

Featured Editorial, Wall Street Journal: Just about everyone claims the U.S. must urgently become "energy independent," yet at the same time just about every policy that may actually serve that goal is met with environmentalist opposition. That contradiction has impeded the Bush Administration's attempts to increase domestic energy production. And even the modest progress so far may be blocked because litigation is driving the conflict out of politics and into the courts. To see this trend at work, look north to Alaska, where lawsuits are blocking an offshore drilling program. Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay that will suspend all operations until at least September, when the court will hear full arguments. . . . This is bad news for Shell, whose three-year exploration program in the Beaufort Sea was green-lighted by the Department of the Interior in February. The company planned to sink up to four temporary wells this summer to determine the available resources. But there's a limited open-water window before the winter ice moves back in, so the Ninth Circuit could delay work for a year, even if it decides in Shell's favor. The worst ramifications, however, could hit environmental and regulatory law.

. . . Congress and the executive are charged with determining what areas should be opened to development, balancing the public interest with environmental concerns. The law then provides for "maximum protection" within that context, which MMS has clearly done here. The public interest in this case is domestic energy. The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that chooses to lock up its natural resources. Since 2003, the Administration and Congress have lifted the federal moratoria on a few select areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. The Beaufort basin, which is estimated to hold 27.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 8.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil, was one of those. A successful exploratory program could open a new frontier of energy. That public purpose is what drives the greens bonkers, so they're trying to create a legal backstop to prevent any Administration from doing what President Bush has done. The Shell case shows that even a long and expensive effort to address every conceivable concern can still be undone by lawsuits. If anyone wants to know why we're still "dependent on foreign oil," this is it. . . . [Read More]

ARRA News Editorial Comment: This editorial identifies the extreme efforts by a few who seek to make America continually dependent on foreign oil and gas. Even when all necessary reasonable protections are established, they still oppose our being able to use our own natural resources. Congress has the authority to abolish the 9th Circuit Court - the wackiest court in history having been overturned on a significant majority of its decisions appealed to the Supreme Court. Regardless, Congress could immediately resolve the problems hampering energy independence by redefining the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit Court and removing and assigning all cases related to the review of Federal Energy oversight of agencies like the Minerals Management Service to a special Appellate level court or by establishing a special court to expedite the review such policies and actions. A special court already exist for government contracting disputes. American energy policies need to be freed from being taken hostage of environments and the 9th Circuit Court.

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Tags: ARRA News, Beaufort basin, Department of Interior, energy, foreign oil, Minerals Management Service, MMS, natural gas, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court, oil, Shell To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!