North Dakota Sues Biden Administration Over Suspension of Oil, Gas Lease Sales

[Elderberry]

Epoch Times by Zachary Stieber July 8, 2021

North Dakota on July 8 sued President Joe Biden’s administration over its cancellation of a planned auction of oil and gas leases.

Under the Mineral Leasing Act, lease sales must be held at least once a quarter in each state where eligible lands are available. But the lease sale scheduled for March was canceled and a regularly scheduled sale pegged for June was not held.

North Dakota officials said in the lawsuit, filed in federal court, that the illegal cancellations appeared to be in response to a Biden executive order that directed the secretary of the Interior to “pause new oil and natural gas leases” provided doing so was consistent with the law.

“Ignoring the Executive Orders admonition to act consistent with applicable law, the Federal Defendants’ actions violated several Federal statutes and exceeded their limited scope of discretionary authority,” the 30-page suit states.

More: https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/north-dakota-sues-biden-administration-over-suspension-of-oil-gas-lease-sales_3892900.html

[Smokin Joe]

https://energynow.com/2021/07/north-dakota-sues-biden-administration-over-canceled-oil-and-gas-leasing/

NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) – North Dakota is suing the U.S. government on claims the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management illegally canceled oil and gas lease auctions in the state.

The complaint, filed late Wednesday with the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota Western Division, said March and June auctions nixed by the federal agencies cost the state $80 million in lost revenues.

“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,” North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said in a statement.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

The federal government must come to realize that it was created to serve the states, not vice versa.

Just because the feds own land within the borders of a state does not mean it does not have to adhere to the laws of that state or the will of the people within that state.

[Smokin Joe]

The federal government must come to realize that it was created to serve the states, not vice versa.

Just because the feds own land within the borders of a state does not mean it does not have to adhere to the laws of that state or the will of the people within that state.

If we go back to the Constitution, where is the part that says the Federal Government is empowered to conscript land for the purposes of making it into National Parks, or any of the other myriad controlling Federal designations that control land use, from scenic rivers (with 'buffer areas'), to national grasslands, forests, seashores, wildlife management areas/preserves, heritage sites, historical monuments, national monuments, wilderness areas, etc.? A tremendous amount of land has been stripped from productive use and the tax rolls of States by Federal edict.