North Dakota is sueing the Biden organization over its choice to end new federal oil and gas lease sales to combat climate change.
As indicated by state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, the state may have effectively lost $80 million to the Inauguration Day executive order.
“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,” Stenehjem said in a news conference.
“Without following the legally required procedures, [the Bureau of Land Management] arbitrarily canceled the March and June lease auctions and shows every sign of continuing to violate its statutory duties,” the release continued.
“Stenehjem says that the cancellation of the March and June auctions will cost the State over $80 million in lost revenues, a number that could grow to into billions in the coming months unless BLM’s illegal cancellations are stopped.”
Fortunately, a Louisiana federal judge last month ordered a nationwide injunction blocking the ban on new leases.
North Dakota’s economy relies intensely on the non-renewable energy source industry.
“Oil and gas production are central to North Dakota’s economy and the welfare of its citizens, responsible for 54% of the value of the State’s economy, generating approximately 76% of the State’s tax revenue and creating approximately 66,000 good-paying jobs in the State,” the complaint states.
By suddenly halting new leases, the Biden administration gave the bureaucratic middle finger to blue-collar North Dakotans.
Heartland America isn’t a dollhouse where the federal government can play around with people’s lives without consequences, as the current White House assumes.
The push for “green” energy gives the Biden administration an excuse to steamroll states and makes crazy one-sided moves without really considering the regular Americans who need to put food on the table.
Any attack on the fossil fuel sector needs to be directly matched with alternative opportunities for workers.
