The Surfrider Foundation is taking legal action to prevent the Trump administration from approving new offshore drilling off our coasts.
Earlier this year, outgoing President Biden took decisive action to protect our nation’s coasts from new offshore drilling. His historic move protected more than 625 million acres of U.S. waters, including the East Coast, the West Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska from future oil and gas leasing. Sadly, these protections were to be short-lived. On January 20, newly inaugurated President Trump signed an executive order that revoked the offshore drilling ban.
Since then, Surfrider Foundation has been flexing its legal muscle to restore these critical protections. On February 19, Surfrider filed the first environmental lawsuit against the new Trump administration alongside a coalition of conservation organizations represented by Earthjustice. The lawsuit challenges the illegal action to revoke the critical drilling prohibitions. If successful, the suit will restore the offshore drilling ban that was hard-fought and is overwhelmingly supported by communities, businesses, Tribes, and the public.
Surfrider is also taking other legal action to stop new offshore drilling. On March 3, Surfrider and several other groups represented by Earthjustice filed a Motion to Intervene in a lawsuit led by the State of Louisiana and the American Petroleum Institute, challenging former President Biden’s offshore drilling ban. The lawsuit wrongly claims that Biden abused his authority under federal law in protecting sensitive offshore areas from future oil and gas leasing. However, prior administrations, including both Trump administrations, have invoked the same authority to manage public waters.
On March 23, the Court granted Surfrider and our partners’ Motion to Intervene in the lawsuit, which will allow the groups to contribute legal arguments to defend the Biden offshore drilling ban that protects over 625 million acres of U.S. waters. This case is also important to clarify that once a court throws out President Trump’s executive order reopening coastal waters to offshore drilling, all waters should be protected.
Surfrider is fighting to reinstate protections for regions highlighted in yellow.
Offshore oil drilling has a well-documented track record of damaging marine ecosystems, disrupting coastal economies, and increasing the risk of devastating oil spills. The industry causes serious environmental harm through every phase of the process — from exploratory seismic blasting that harms marine animals to the routine drilling operations that pollute our ocean. On land, offshore drilling causes damage through oil refineries that release toxic pollutants and disproportionately impact lower-income and communities of color.
New oil and gas drilling also worsens the effects of climate change as our nation and world struggle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The effects of climate change are being felt across the globe, with increasing heat, hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, rising seas, and ocean acidification affecting us all. New offshore drilling could result in billions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere, making the U.S.’s achievement of net-zero emissions by 2050 far less likely.
Oil spills cause devastating impacts to both marine ecosytems and coastal communities
Make Your Voice Heard
Surfrider will continue our fight to stop new offshore drilling off U.S. coasts. In addition to filing litigation, Surfrider is mobilizing our grassroots network to urge the Trump administration and Congress to prevent new offshore oil and gas leasing. Please take a moment to contact your federal representatives and let them know that you oppose new offshore oil drilling! You can also support Surfrider’s Drilling is Killing campaign by becoming a member or monthly donor.