Environmental and Alaska Native groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to keep the ban on offshore oil drilling in Arctic and Atlantic waters. They feared the latest executive order from President Trump will lift the ban.
The aforementioned executive order was signed by President Trump last week on April 28. The order allowed million of acres in federal waters to be eligible for offshore oil and gas exploration, as reported by Washington Post. President Trump instructed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review of the ban on offshore oil drilling in Arctic sea and Atlantic continental shelf, in order to create jobs in the energy exploration field.
Environmental groups fear this executive order will allow offshore oil drilling in Arctic sea and Atlantic water, that will endanger the natural wildlife. Currently, the exploration of oil and gas in the Chukchi, Beaufort Seas, Alaska and canyons from Massachusetts to Virginia are banned according to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
In response to the executive orders, ten environmental groups and Alaska native groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, May 3 to maintain the ban on offshore oil drilling in Arctic and Atlantic waters, according to report from ABC News. The groups filed a federal lawsuit in Anchorage, stating the executive orders put the oceans at risk of the oil spill with the oil and gas exploration.
The Arctic sea is a natural habitat of polar bears, walrus and ice seals. While the Atlantic continental shelf is a home for whales, swordfish, bluefin tuna, sea turtles and other sea creatures. Offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic is feared to endanger the nature, and also the risk of oil spill.
President Trump is considered careless to sign the executive order, according to the attorney of one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit, Kristen Monsell. The plaintiff argued President Trump has exceeded his constitutional authority and violated federal law. Watch the signing of the executive order to review the offshore oil drilling restriction in Arctic and Atlantic waters below:
