The Obama administration asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to reinstate a moratorium on deepwater petroleum drilling, saying it is needed to reduce the chance of a second spill similar to the one now spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico.
The fallout from that spill, the result of an April 20 explosion on a drilling rig leased by BP PLC, was evident in the Gulf region Tuesday, as tar balls lapped onto the Texas coast and oil was sighted in New Orleans's Lake Pontchartrain.
The developments show how the spill continues to invade new areas along the Gulf, harming coastal marshes and endangering fish and wildlife.
In a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Justice Department officials said a six-month suspension of drilling in more than 500 feet of water is in the "long-term public interest of the nation," and is needed to give the Interior Department time to develop and implement new regulations to prevent another spill.
The filing was in response to a federal judge's decision in June to block the moratorium, saying the Interior Department had trivialized the economic impact of the temporary ban.
In the filing, the administration cited not only the "catastrophic impacts" of the accident on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig but also the risk of a second spill, "which industry has shown limited ability to contain."
"Interior had to take immediate action to minimize the risk of another spill, especially while efforts to contain and clean up this one are ongoing," the motion says. "The stakes are even higher now that it is hurricane season."
