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Environmentalists said that the Biden government has the right to cancel oil and gas leases off the coast of California.
After the recent oil spill, environmentalists urged U.S. regulators to suspend and cancel oil and gas leases in federal waters off the coast of California.
On Wednesday, about three dozen environmental groups filed a petition with the U.S. Department of the Interior stating that it has the right to suspend and eventually cancel the oil lease.
Less than a month after asking the administration of US President Joe Biden to cancel mining activities in the area, it issued an appeal. Underwater pipeline transportation of oil From the offshore platform to the California coast, 94,635 liters of crude oil spilled into the ocean.
California extraction According to data from the U.S. government, 2019 is the most recent year for which data are available. Approximately 7 million barrels of oil came from the sea.
Emily Jeffers, an attorney for the Center for Biodiversity that wrote the petition, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Federal officials have the power and responsibility to prevent the oil industry from killing our birds and polluting our Beaches and pollute our climate.” “The Biden government needs to put pressure on offshore drilling in California federal waters.”
After being asked by the Associated Press, the Interior Department declined to comment on the petition.
Jeffers said the department must respond to the petition. If not, she said that environmental organizations can take legal action.
Leak, believed to have occurred at some time Around October 1The Center for Biodiversity said that so far, they have polluted sensitive beaches and wetlands, forced fisheries to close, and injured or killed dozens of fish and birds.this Total destruction of wildlife It added that it may take several months to show up.
Local officials and businesses in Huntington Beach, California are also worried that oil pollution will damage tourism in this area known for surfing.
When the oil spill occurred in early October, Huntington Beach Mayor Kincar said that approximately 34 square kilometers (13 square miles) of ocean and part of the town’s coastline were “covered by oil”. However, the amount of oil spilled was less than previously thought.
U.S. investigators said they believed that at the beginning of this year, a 366-meter (1,200-foot) cargo ship towed an anchor on rough seas, seized an underwater pipeline operated by Houston-based Amplify Energy and towed it across the seabed .
They have not yet determined whether the impact of the MSC DANIT registered with Panama caused the leak, or whether the line was hit by something else or failed due to previous problems.
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