<strong>From staff reports</strong>

President Joe Biden took quick action on his commitment to ban all new oil drilling on public lands and waters on his first day in office.

According to the Washington Post, within hours of taking office, Scott de la Vega, President Biden’s acting Interior Secretary, issued an order preventing staff from producing any new fossil fuel leases or permits without sign-off from a top political appointee.

This effectively freezes new oil, gas and coal development on federal lands and waters for the next 60 days. Though the ban is for only a couple months, the battle over drilling off the coast of South Carolina is on hiatus for now.

The Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are not expected to be including oil drilling in the Atlantic in their next 5-year plan for offshore energy.

Opponents of drilling off the South Carolina coast are hopeful President Biden and the Congress will make the ban permanent.