Obama Administration Will Appeal Judge’s Order On Drilling Permits

The Obama administration will appeal a ruling from a federal judge who has ordered it to act on pending permits for oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a cabinet official said Wednesday. The administration has said it will comply with the judge’s order to act on five pending applications by the end of next week. But it will dispute the court’s authority to make such decisions in the future, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday. “We will be taking an appeal of the judge’s decision,” Salazar said at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. The appeal will target “what I consider to be an overreach into administrative authority,” Salazar said...more