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The Center for Biological Diversity filed the lawsuit against
the U.S. Interior Department in federal district court in
Washington D.C. for "its ongoing failure to examine the harms
from offshore oil and gas drilling infrastructure the oil
industry has not decommissioned," the group said in a press
release.
The Interior Department has not examined the harms of unplugged
wells and idle platforms to the environment, the environmental
group said.
When a company signs a lease for offshore oil or gas exploration
or production, that initial agreement includes the process of
decommissioning the well, according to the Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management.
But as of June 2023, more than 2,700 wells and 500 platforms
were overdue for decommissioning in the Gulf of Mexico,
according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The Department of Interior declined to comment.
Old oil and gas infrastructure must be dismantled and disposed
of by plugging wells and removing platforms to prevent damage to
the environment.
The group said the government's current approach violates the
National Environmental Policy Act - which requires federal
agencies to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions
before decision-making - because the government has not
adequately assessed the harm caused by delayed decommissioning.
The lawsuit seeks to force the Interior Department to conduct a
new analysis that would better protect people, wildlife and the
Gulf environment, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a
statement.
Last month, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi sued the U.S.
government to block the Biden administration's proposed rule
that would require the offshore oil and gas industry to provide
nearly $7 billion in financial assurances to cover costs of
dismantling old infrastructure.
The U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for the majority of U.S.
offshore oil production, and produces roughly 1.8 million
barrels per day of oil, according to the last government
figures, about 14% of total U.S. output.
(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Liz
Hampton and Aurora Ellis)
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