Live from the Gulf: Government Attorney on Moratorium: The Environment Trumps Jobs

Ernest Istook / July 12, 2010

Despite fears of how President Obama’s moratorium on deepwater drilling will devastate the Gulf Coast economy, the Administration’s lawyers claim that the damage to the economy must be disregarded:  Protecting the environment is the only issue that matters.

Although the courts have lifted the moratorium, the fears that it will be reinstated are suppressing any new deepwater drilling, with or without the moratorium.

Appearing before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for the State of Louisiana argued (PDF), “Should the Court extend the drilling moratorium for even a day longer, the State’s economic problems will only get worse, effectively turning an environmental disaster into an economic catastrophe for the State.”  Also, “Each day it is in place, millions of dollars of income are lost to the citizens of Louisiana, and by the State.” (more…)