On June 5th, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to a court-ordered prohibition on offshore fracking in federal waters off the California coast.
The Supreme Court’s decision leaves in place last year’s ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the federal government violated the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Coastal Zone Management Act when it allowed fracking and acidizing extraction practices at all offshore oil and gas wells in leased federal waters in the Pacific Ocean.
The appeals court decision also forbids the Interior Department from issuing fracking permits until it completes an Endangered Species Act consultation and an Environmental Impact Statement that analyzes “the environmental impacts of extensive offshore fracking” and “fully and fairly evaluate[s] all reasonable alternatives.”
The ruling was the result of three separate lawsuits filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Wishtoyo Foundation, Environmental Defense Center and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, and the State of California.
“Today’s decision affirms the importance of assessing the impacts of offshore fracking on California’s marine wildlife, fisheries, and coastal communities,” said Ted Morton, Channelkeeper’s executive director. “With ever-mounting threats to ocean ecosystems from climate change, it is essential that federal agencies adequately evaluate the risks of oil and gas development on marine resources.”
Read more about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision here.