In this July 16, 2017 photo, ice is broken up by the passing of the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica as it sails through the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska. The Trump administration is reevaluating its controversial plan to sharply expand offshore drilling as it responds to a court ruling that blocked drilling off Alaska. President Donald Trump has pushed to open nearly all U.S. coastlines to offshore oil and gas drilling. But a federal judge last month ruled against Trump’s executive order to open the Arctic and parts of the Atlantic. Coastal states also have opposed the expanded drilling. (David Goldman | Associated Press File)

In this July 16, 2017 photo, ice is broken up by the passing of the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica as it sails through the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska. The Trump administration is reevaluating its controversial plan to sharply expand offshore drilling as it responds to a court ruling that blocked drilling off Alaska. President Donald Trump has pushed to open nearly all U.S. coastlines to offshore oil and gas drilling. But a federal judge last month ruled against Trump’s executive order to open the Arctic and parts of the Atlantic. Coastal states also have opposed the expanded drilling. (David Goldman | Associated Press File)

Trump administration reevaluating offshore drilling plans

Court ruling blocked oil and gas development off Alaska

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Thursday it is reevaluating its controversial plan to sharply expand offshore drilling as it responds to a court ruling that blocked oil and gas development off Alaska and parts of the Atlantic.

Governors and lawmakers from both Republican- and Democratic-led states have strongly opposed the expanded drilling. And a federal judge last month ruled against President Donald Trump’s executive order to open the Arctic and parts of the Atlantic to broader oil and gas development, saying Trump had exceeded his authority.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that the legal challenges may be “discombobulating” to the administration’s overall drilling plans. Bernhardt says the administration may have to wait for the challenges to fully play out in court.

Interior spokeswoman Molly Block said that given the court setback, the agency “is evaluating all of its options.”

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “will carefully consider all public input received, including comments from governors of affected states, before making final decisions” on expanded drilling off the country’s coasts, Block added.

Environmental groups welcomed what they said amounted to a delay in the administration’s coastal drilling expansion plans. Collin O’Mara of the National Wildlife Federation said the administration “needs to go one step further and fully and permanently scrap its plan to open our coasts to unfettered offshore drilling.”

But Randall Luthi, head of the National Ocean Industries Association trade group, urged against a “hard stop” in administration planning on expanded offshore drilling. “What cannot be delayed … is the importance of domestic production to meet the growing demand for affordable, reliable American energy,” he said.

The Trump administration announced a new five-year plan last year that would open up 90 percent of U.S. offshore reserves to development by private companies. Then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said it would promote responsible energy development, boost jobs and pay for coastal conservation efforts.

The plan calls for expanded drilling in the Arctic and off the Atlantic coast and would open up waters off California for the first time in more than three decades. Drilling would be allowed from Florida to Maine in areas that have been blocked for decades.

Industry groups said the plan would encourage economic growth and create thousands of jobs, while environmental groups denounced the plan, saying it would cause severe harm to America’s oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.

The plan drew bipartisan criticism in Congress, as lawmakers in coastal states said oil drilling off the coast could put their economy, environment and marine life at risk.

Governors from coastal states asked to be removed from the plan, but Interior officials said they were pressing forward even as they promised to take local concerns into consideration.

Offshore drilling was a key factor as the Senate confirmed Bernhardt as interior chief this month. Florida Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott voted in favor of Bernhardt after receiving assurances from him and other administration officials that Florida would be excluded from drilling proposals. A moratorium on offshore drilling in Florida expires in 2022.

Rubio said in a statement on the day of the vote that he is “confident that when all is said and done the ban on oil drilling off of Florida’s coasts will remain in place.”

Bernhardt has declined to publicly rule out drilling off any state, including Florida.


• This is an Associated Press report by Matthew Daly and Ellen Knickmeyer.


More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October of 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for t​​he Week of April 22

Here’s what to expect this week.

The exterior of Floyd Dryden Middle School on Tuesday, April 2. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
CBJ seeking proposals for future use of Marie Drake Building, Floyd Dryden Middle School

Applications for use of space in buildings being vacated by school district accepted until May 20.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, April 23, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, and Speaker of the House Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, speak to legislators during a break in the March 12 joint session of the Alaska House and Senate. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Senate plans fast action on correspondence problem, but House is ‘fundamentally divided’

State judge considering delay in ruling striking down program used by more than 22,000 students.

A view of the downtown Juneau waterfront published in Blueprint Downtown, which outlines an extensive range of proposed actions for the area’s future. (Pat McGonagel/City and Borough of Juneau)
Long-term blueprint for downtown Juneau sent to Assembly after six years of work

Plan making broad and detailed proposals about all aspects of area gets OK from Planning Commission.

Public safety officials and supporters hold signs during a protest at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday afternoon calling for the restoration of state employee pensions. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Protest at Capitol by police, firefighters calls for House to pass stalled pension bill for state employees

Advocates say legislation is vital to solving retention and hiring woes in public safety jobs.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, April 22, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, turns to listen to a proposed amendment to the state budget on Monday, April 3, 2023, at the Alaska State Capitol. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House panel removes proposal to raise the state’s age of sexual consent to 18

Rep. Andrew Gray, author of the idea, says he will introduce a revised and updated version.

Most Read