Appeals court to rule next week on US government’s bid to keep drilling moratorium in place

Court to rule next week on drilling moratorium

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court says it will rule by early next week on a Justice Department bid to delay a lower-court decision overturning a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t rule Thursday after hearing from lawyers on both sides of a lawsuit filed by companies that oppose the drilling ban.

The Interior Department said the moratorium was necessary while it studied deepwater drilling risks in the wake of the BP oil spill.

The judges seemed to disagree about who should be shown more deference: District Judge Martin Feldman, who struck down the moratorium, or the authority of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who proclaimed it.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court is set to hear the Justice Department’s bid to delay a judge’s decision to overturn a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday from lawyers on both sides of a lawsuit filed by companies that oppose the Obama administration’s temporary drilling ban.

The Interior Department says it halted new permits for deepwater projects and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells to protect the Gulf of Mexico from another environmental disaster while it studies the risks of deepwater drilling.

The government is asking the 5th Circuit panel for an order that would keep the moratorium in place while they appeal last month’s ruling.