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Biden permanently bans offshore drilling across 625 million acres

Biden permanently bans offshore drilling across 625 million acres

Rule Changes

A permanent OCSLA withdrawal designed to survive a presidential reversal attempt

January 20th, 2025: Trump takes office, vows reversal

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Four days before leaving office, Joe Biden placed 625 million acres of federal ocean off-limits to new oil and gas drilling. The withdrawal covers the entire U.S. Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, and part of Alaska's Bering Sea.

The protection is structured to last. Biden used the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act's withdrawal power and made it permanent — and a 2019 federal court ruling says only Congress, not a new president, can reverse a permanent withdrawal. The incoming Trump administration promised to undo the ban on day one; that promise has run into that legal wall.

Why it matters

If the ban holds, 625 million acres of U.S. ocean stay closed to new drilling no matter who is president — potentially for decades.

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Key Indicators

2.53 million sq km
Ocean area placed off-limits
The full ban: entire Atlantic coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico, Pacific coasts of three states, and part of Alaska's Bering Sea.
178,000 sq km
Northern Bering Sea portion
Roughly 44 million acres of Alaska's Northern Bering Sea climate resilience area wrapped into the withdrawal.

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People Involved

Joe Biden
Joe Biden
46th U.S. President
Issued the ban January 6, 2025, before leaving office
 Donald Trump
Donald Trump
47th U.S. President
Sitting president; pledged to reverse the ban
 Deb Haaland
Deb Haaland
U.S. Secretary of the Interior at time of the ban
Oversaw the withdrawal as Interior Secretary

Organizations Involved

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
Federal Agency
Issued the withdrawal; holds offshore leasing authority

Federal department that manages public lands and offshore mineral leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Federal Agency (Interior sub-agency)
Would administer drilling leases; constrained by the ban

The Interior sub-agency that sells offshore oil and gas leases and manages existing operations on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Timeline

December 2016 January 2025

5 events Latest: January 20th, 2025 · 2 years ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Trump takes office, vows reversal

    Latest Political

    Trump is inaugurated and promises to undo the drilling ban immediately, citing his leasing authority.

  2. Biden bans drilling on 625 million acres

    Executive Action

    Biden announces a permanent OCSLA withdrawal covering both coasts, the eastern Gulf, and part of Alaska's Bering Sea.

  3. Court rules only Congress can revoke a withdrawal

    Legal

    Alaska federal court holds presidents cannot revoke a predecessor's permanent OCSLA withdrawal without Congress.

  4. Trump orders review of Obama withdrawals

    Executive Action

    Trump signs an executive order directing Interior to review and reopen Obama-era offshore withdrawals.

  5. Obama withdraws Arctic and Atlantic areas

    Executive Action

    Obama permanently withdraws roughly 128 million acres in the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic canyons under OCSLA.

Scenarios

1

Court blocks Trump reversal; ban stands

Likely Resolves by Jan 20, 2027

Discussed by: Legal analysts and environmental groups citing the 2019 Alaska ruling

The Trump administration pushes an executive reversal or begins leasing in withdrawn waters. Environmental groups sue, and courts apply the 2019 precedent that only Congress can revoke a permanent OCSLA withdrawal. New leasing in the banned areas is blocked and the withdrawal holds through the term.

2

Congress votes to lift the drilling ban

Possible Resolves by Jan 20, 2027

Discussed by: Oil industry groups and Republican lawmakers who say the ban chokes domestic supply

Congress passes legislation amending OCSLA to reopen the withdrawn waters. With a Republican-controlled Congress and a supportive president, the legislative route is the one path untouched by the 2019 ruling. Any such bill would need to clear both chambers and be signed into law.

3

Court upholds an executive reversal

Unlikely Resolves by Jan 20, 2027

Discussed by: Administration officials who argue OCSLA gives the president broad leasing discretion

The administration reverses the withdrawal by executive order, and a federal appellate court — overturning or distinguishing the 2019 Alaska ruling — permits leasing to resume. This requires unsettled precedent to shift. Less likely, but a higher court could revisit the question.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 2016

Obama's Arctic and Atlantic withdrawal (2016)

Weeks before leaving office, Barack Obama used OCSLA to permanently withdraw roughly 128 million acres in the Arctic Ocean and a swath of Atlantic canyons from offshore leasing. Environmental groups championed it as a climate legacy move.

Then

Donald Trump tried to reverse the withdrawals with a 2017 executive order, but a federal court in Alaska ruled in 2019 that presidents lack authority to revoke a permanent OCSLA withdrawal.

Now

The 2019 ruling became the legal foundation for the argument that permanent withdrawals can only be undone by Congress. It set the precedent Biden relied on.

Why this matters now

Biden copied Obama's playbook but scaled it to 625 million acres, betting the same 2019 ruling would protect his ban from a Trump reversal.

March 2019

League of Conservation Voters v. Trump (2019)

The U.S. District Court for Alaska ruled that the president cannot revoke a permanent offshore withdrawal without an act of Congress. The case grew out of environmental groups suing to block Trump's rollback of Obama-era protections.

Then

The Interior Department was barred from leasing in the withdrawn Arctic and Atlantic areas, complicating the administration's push to expand offshore leasing.

Now

The decision remains the key precedent for why presidential withdrawal reversals stall in court. Courts have since cited it in related disputes.

Why this matters now

This ruling is the mechanism behind the claim that Biden's ban is hard to reverse — it's why day one reversal promises have not translated into reopened waters.

Sources

(1)
r/energy (Reddit)