North Dakota Hits Biden with a Lawsuit Over Suspension of Oil, Gas Lease Sales
North Dakota is suing the Biden administration over its decision to halt new federal oil and gas lease sales to combat climate change.
According to state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, the state may have already lost $80 million to the Inauguration Day executive order.
“I have taken this action to protect North Dakota’s economy, the jobs of our hard-working citizens, and North Dakota’s rights to control its own natural resources,” Stenehjem said in a news release.
“Without following the legally required procedures, [the Bureau of Land Management] arbitrarily canceled the March and June lease auctions and shows every sign of continuing to violate its statutory duties,” the release continued.
“Stenehjem says that the cancellation of the March and June auctions will cost the State over $80 million in lost revenues, a number that could grow to into billions in the coming months unless BLM’s illegal cancellations are stopped.”
Thankfully, a Louisiana federal judge last month ordered a nationwide injunction blocking the ban on new leases.
North Dakota’s economy relies heavily on the fossil fuel industry.
“Oil and gas production are central to North Dakota’s economy and the welfare of its citizens, responsible for 54% of the value of the State’s economy, generating approximately 76% of the State’s tax revenue and creating approximately 66,000 good-paying jobs in the State,” the complaint states.
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By abruptly stopping new leases, the Biden administration gave the bureaucratic middle finger to blue-collar North Dakotans.
Heartland America is not a dollhouse where the federal government can play around with people’s lives without consequences, as the current White House seems to think.
The push for “green” energy gives the Biden administration an excuse to steamroll states and take reckless unilateral actions with no regard for the everyday Americans who need to put food on the table.
Any attack on the fossil fuel sector needs to be directly matched with alternative opportunities for workers.
Sounds difficult and unrealistic? Yes — so are most of the Democrats’ climate change “solutions.”
North Dakota is not alone in its fight against President Joe Biden’s radical energy agenda.
TC Energy is seeking $15 billion in damages for the cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline project, which provided jobs in both the U.S. and Canada.
During his campaign, Biden said he would be a president for all Americans. Unfortunately, he has consistently bent the knee to the environmental interests of climate change alarmists on the left.
When you come after jobs, you come after the American people. North Dakota has every right to sue over our president’s carelessness.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
