Environmental Groups Sue to Block Trump’s Offshore Drilling Expansion

On Wednesday, environmental organizations took legal action to prevent President Donald Trump’s administration from allowing offshore oil drilling along extensive stretches of the U.S. coastline. The lawsuits represent the first legal challenges against Trump’s renewed push to expand fossil fuel production and roll back environmental protections implemented by previous administrations.

One of the lawsuits specifically seeks to block Trump from revoking former President Joe Biden’s ban on offshore drilling in designated coastal regions. Another legal filing, tied to a case from Trump’s first term, aims to reinstate protections against drilling across 128 million acres of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. These areas had been safeguarded under previous administrations but are now under threat as Trump moves aggressively to open them up for oil and gas exploration.

Biden initially enacted the offshore drilling bans ahead of Trump’s inauguration, though the restrictions were largely symbolic, as they did not apply to areas where drilling was already underway. The bans primarily covered regions without significant ongoing development, serving more as a preventative measure against future expansion rather than an immediate halt to existing operations. However, within hours of taking office, Trump moved to overturn these restrictions through a series of executive orders designed to boost domestic oil and gas production and dismantle Biden’s climate policies.

The legal challenges, filed in a federal court in Alaska, mark the first court battles against Trump’s environmental policies since he assumed office for his second term. Environmental advocates argue that Trump lacks the legal authority to reverse Biden’s permanent protections against drilling in key areas, including parts of the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico—now renamed by Trump as the "Gulf of America."

Steve Mashuda, an attorney with Earthjustice, one of the advocacy groups involved in the lawsuits, stated, “We defeated Trump the first time he tried to roll back protections and sacrifice more of our waters to the oil industry. We’re bringing this abuse of the law to the courts again.”

Additionally, the League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups have reactivated a previously dormant lawsuit tied to a legal battle from Trump’s first term. That case involved former President Barack Obama’s decision to withdraw large sections of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from future oil leasing, a move that Trump attempted to reverse. The lawsuit had been dismissed after Biden reinstated those protections, but Trump’s second administration has once again taken steps to undo tthem.

“The areas President Obama withdrew from leasing in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans are thus again threatened by offshore oil and gas activities,” the groups argued in their legal filing, urging a judge to enforce a previous court ruling that had found Trump’s initial actions illegal.

These lawsuits add to a growing number of legal battles the Trump administration is facing. More than 70 lawsuits have already been filed against his administration, challenging efforts to restrict immigration, eliminate birthright citizenship, roll back protections for transgender individuals, and significantly reduce the size and scope of the federal government under the guidance of his top adviser, Elon MMusk.

The White House has yet to respond to requests for comment on the lawsuits. However, with the legal battle over offshore drilling heating up, environmental groups remain determined to fight back against what they see as an unlawful and dangerous rollback of critical environmental protections.