Jindal Sues to Lift Obama Drilling Ban

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is taking his battle against the Obama administration’s six-month freeze on deepwater oil-and-gas drilling to court.

Jindal and state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell on Sunday filed a legal brief in support of a Louisiana-based offshore services company that’s asking a federal judge to lift the ban, according to The Hill.

The ban is “effectively turning an environmental disaster into an economic catastrophe for the state,” the brief alleges. The ban is in place until a White House-created independent commission review drilling safety in the wake of the BP oil spill.

Jindal’s brief — filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana — alleges the Interior Department “completely ignored” the effect the ban will have on Louisiana’s economy.

The brief claims that once deepwater rigs move out of the Gulf, they will become tied up as companies make long-term commitments for projects in Brazil, Africa and elsewhere.

“Having to wait an additional year or more for available rigs will turn the short-term adverse effects of the moratorium into a long-term economic disaster for Louisiana,” their filing states.

Read the entire story at The Hill.