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In the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

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In the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana Case 2:21-cv-00778-TAD-KK Document 3-1 Filed 03/31/21 Page 1 of 33 PageID #: 109 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, By and through its Attorney General, JEFF LANDRY, et al., PLAINTIFFS, v. CIV. NO. 2:21-CV-00778-TAD-KK JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., in his official capacity as President of the United States; et al., DEFENDANTS. MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Case 2:21-cv-00778-TAD-KK Document 3-1 Filed 03/31/21 Page 2 of 33 PageID #: 110 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ......................................................................................................................... ii INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................................. 2 I. BY STATUTE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST REGULARLY OPEN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT. ..................................................................... 2 A. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Establishes a Mandatory, Four-Step Process for Scheduling Lease Sales in the Outer Continental Shelf. .................................................. 2 B. President Obama’s Heavily Vetted Five-Year Program Governs Lease Sales Occurring Now Through the End Of 2022. ........................................................................... 2 C. President Obama’s Five-Year Program Approves Lease Sale 257 in the Gulf of Mexico and Lease Sale 258 in Cook Inlet, Alaska. ................................................................. 4 II. THE MINERAL LEASING ACT REQUIRES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO HOLD LEASE SALES AT LEAST QUARTERLY FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON FEDERAL LANDS. ..................... 6 III. PRESIDENT BIDEN ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER 14008, IMPOSING A MORATORIUM ON OFFSHORE AND ONSHORE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION. ...................................................... 7 A. Relying Solely on the Biden Ban, BOEM Cancels Lease Sales 257 and 258. ..................... 8 B. Relying Solely on the Biden Ban, BLM Cancels All Quarterly Lease Sales. ....................... 8 ARGUMENT..................................................................................................................................................... 9 I. PLAINTIFF STATES HAVE STANDING TO CHALLENGE THE BIDEN BAN AND THE RESULTING OFFSHORE AND ONSHORE LEASE-SALE MORATORIUMS.................................................................. 9 II. PLAINTIFF STATES ARE ENTITLED TO A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION. ......................................... 12 A. Plaintiffs Are Likely to Succeed on Their Claims that the Biden Ban on OCSLA Leasing, and the Recission of Lease Sale 257, Violate the APA. ........................................ 12 B. Plaintiffs Are Likely to Succeed on Their Claims that the Biden Ban on MLA Lease Sales Violates the APA. ............................................................................................................ 19 C. Plaintiff States Will Suffer Irreparable Harm Without An Injunction............................... 22 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 25 Case 2:21-cv-00778-TAD-KK Document 3-1 Filed 03/31/21 Page 3 of 33 PageID #: 111 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc. v. Puerto Rico ex rel. Barez, 458 U.S. 592 (1982) ....................................... 10, 24 California v. Bernhardt, 472 F. Supp. 3d 573 (N.D. Cal. 2020) .............................................................. 17, 20 Clean Water Action v. EPA, 936 F.3d 308 (5th Cir. 2019) .................................................................... 13, 17 Collins v. Mnuchin, 938 F.3d 553 (5th Cir. 2019) ........................................................................................... 11 Daniels Health Scis., L.L.C. v. Vascular Health Scis., L.L.C., 710 F.3d 579 (5th Cir. 2013) ...................... 25 Dep’t of Commerce v. New York, 139 S. Ct. 2551 (2019) ................................................................................. 19 Dep’t of Homeland Sec. v. Regents of the Univ. of California, 140 S. Ct. 1891 (2020) ....................................... 18 Dep’t of Labor v. Kast Metals Corp., 744 F.2d 1145 (5th Cir. 1984) ....................................................... 13, 14 Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 136 S. Ct. 2117 (2016) .................................................................... 18, 20 Ensco Offshore Co. v. Salazar, 781 F. Supp. 2d 332 (E.D. La. 2011) .................................................... passim F.C.C. v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 556 U.S. 502 (2009) ............................................................... 17, 18, 20 Hornbeck Offshore Servs., L.L.C. v. Salazar, 696 F. Supp. 2d 627 (E.D. La. 2010) ............................. passim Humana, Inc. v. Avram A. Jacobson, M.D., P.A., 804 F.2d 1390 (5th Cir. 1986) ........................................ 22 In re Aiken Cty., 725 F.3d 255 (D.C. Cir. 2013)............................................................................................ 20 League of Women Voters of United States v. Newby, 838 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016) .......................................... 25 Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., 572 U.S. 118 (2014).................................................... 11 Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) ............................................................................................... 9, 10 Opulent Life Church v. City of Holly Springs, Miss., 697 F.3d 279 (5th Cir. 2012)......................................... 12 Orangeburg, S.C. v. FERC, 862 F.3d 1071 (D.C. Cir. 2017) ........................................................................ 10 Perez v. Mortg. Bankers Ass’n, 135 S. Ct. 1199 (2015) .................................................................................... 13 Pros. & Patients for Customized Care v. Shalala, 56 F.3d 592 (5th Cir. 1995) ............................................... 12 Pub. Citizen, Inc. v. Trump, 435 F. Supp. 3d 144 (D.D.C. 2019) .................................................................. 11 Sec’y of the Interior v. California, 464 U.S. 312 (1984) ................................................................................ 2, 14 Texas v. United States, 2021 WL 723856 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 23, 2021) .................................................... passim Texas v. United States, 809 F.3d 134 (5th Cir. 2015) ............................................................................. passim U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs v. Hawkes Co., 136 S. Ct. 1807 (2016) ................................................................ 10 W. Energy All. v. Jewell, 2017 WL 3600740 (D.N.M. Jan. 13, 2017) .......................................................... 19 W. Energy All. v. Zinke, 877 F.3d 1157 (10th Cir. 2017) ............................................................................. 19 Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952) .......................................................................... 1 ii Case 2:21-cv-00778-TAD-KK Document 3-1 Filed 03/31/21 Page 4 of 33 PageID #: 112 Statutes 5 U.S.C. §553 ............................................................................................................................................. 12, 21 5 U.S.C. §706 ............................................................................................................................................ passim 30 U.S.C. §191 ................................................................................................................................. 6, 10, 12, 23 30 U.S.C. §226 ............................................................................................................................................. 6, 19 43 U.S.C. §1331 note .......................................................................................................................... 10, 12, 22 43 U.S.C. §1332 ........................................................................................................................................... 2, 16 43 U.S.C. §1334 .................................................................................................................................................. 2 43 U.S.C. §1337 ........................................................................................................................................... 2, 10 43 U.S.C. §1344 ..................................................................................................................................... 3, 14, 15 43 U.S.C. §1345 ......................................................................................................................................... 11, 15 43 U.S.C. §1356a ................................................................................................................................. 10, 12, 22 43 U.S.C. §1701 .................................................................................................................................................... Regulations 43 C.F.R. §3120 .................................................................................................................................................. 6 43 C.F.R. §3120.1-2 ..........................................................................................................................................
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