Gordon Blasts Feds Brief On Leasing Pause Ruling

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon is not happy about the U.S. Department of the Interior's response to a court ruling on the Biden Administration's pause on oil and gas leasing on federal land.

Get our free mobile app

Governor Gordon responded to the Interior Department brief with the following statement on Wednesday morning:

''The Department of Interior’s disrespectful response to the Court's order leaves much to be desired. Wyoming does not believe that Interior is following either the letter or the spirit of the Court's ruling, and certainly continues to violate the law. Interior has only committed to move forward with preliminary scoping for the past canceled lease sales, an action that should have occurred long ago.

From these actions it is clear that Interior has no intention of conducting a lease sale at all this year. That is unacceptable and unlawful. This lackadaisical movement is all the more suspect because the Biden administration has continued to appeal the Court's decision, thus hoping to stop the process should the appeals court give them any reason to do so.

Sadly, none of this recalcitrance does anything to address climate or the environment– it only hurts Western Federal lands states and their citizens. Wyoming's lawsuit is still in progress and we will continue to pursue our legal options to preserve Wyoming's ability to produce federal oil and gas."

The oil and gas industries are critical components of Wyoming's economy.

- 12 Cringeworthy Things Guaranteed to Piss Off Wyomingites

- Here Are Words And Phrases That Drive Wyomingites Crazy