A federal judge in South Carolina issued an injunction stopping the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s processing of applications for offshore oil and gas seismic permits on the US Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf during the federal government’s partial shutdown.
US District Judge Richard M. Gergel issued his Jan. 18 order after South Carolina Atty. Gen. Alan Wilson brought the situation to his attention following reports that BOEM employees were continuing preparation of the permits while much of the rest of the US Department of the Interior was closed (OGJ Online, Jan. 17, 2019).
Gergel’s order concerned a US Department of Justice request for a stay in Wilson’s request to join a lawsuit that 16 coastal South Carolina communities and several environmental organizations filed to stop the oil and gas seismic tests, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charleston.
If approved, the permits that five offshore geophysical contractors are seeking would be the first surveys for oil and gas on the Mid-Atlantic OCS since the 1980s. Development of 3D seismic technology during that period has improved offshore discovery rates. Opponents say 3D seismic tests endanger whales and other marine life.
The judge granted the request for the stay but added that processing the seismic permit applications could not continue while the court considers Wilson’s motion to join the lawsuit, SELC said. “Practically, that means the case over the seismic permits will be on hold for the duration of the shutdown plus as many as 18 additional days to hear Wilson’s motion to intervene,” it said.
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